On Monday, January 15, tree protection in Buddy Attick Park was the main focus of Greenbelt’s Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service. The Co-Existing with Beavers volunteer workday, jointly sponsored by the City of Greenbelt Department of Public Works and local environmental non-profit CHEARS (Chesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society), helped community members learn about beavers and English ivy, and protecting trees from both.
The day started with breakfast as everyone enjoyed bagels generously donated from The Bagel Place of College Park. Public Works Environmental Coordinator Jason Martin educated the volunteers about beavers and their importance to the environment. Beavers are considered ecosystem engineers, meaning they directly change their environment. They build dams which create wetlands by blocking waterways. Wetlands are critical habitat for many different species of plants and animals.
Beavers are well known for chewing on tree trunks for food and to collect wood material for their dams and lodges. Tree caging is a great method to discourage beavers from chewing and felling native trees in areas frequented by the public. On MLK Day, large trees close to the walking trail around Greenbelt Lake were targeted for caging while smaller trees were left uncaged. This prevented beavers from felling large trees, which can pose a public safety problem, while leaving the smaller trees for the beavers. This enables us to safely co-exist with the beavers at Buddy Attick Park.
Read more of this story in the January 18 News Review.