There’s a spot on the Hilltop’s eastern slope just east of the Highlands apartment complex, where we had to eradicate a severe porcelain-berry vine infestation in 2022. After removing the porcelain-berry and other invasives, we only found one sycamore, one red mulberry and four raggedy boxelder trees — everything else had either been smothered or succumbed to disease (e.g., ash yellows, emerald ash borer).
However, after we cleared out the invasives and dead branches / trees, this also presented us with a great forest regeneration opportunity:
- In 2023 we engaged a contractor to dig >50 tree pits and then had volunteers bring supplies and prep the planting holes. After that another volunteer team rolled in to plant and protect 50 native trees and shrubs, including: white oak, blackgum, sweetgum, tuliptree, red mulberry, downy serviceberry, elderberry, blackhaw.
- In 2024, we organized volunteer events to apply mulch around the new plantings to protect against drought, and tightened up cages and trunk guards to protect against deer damage.
- In 2026, we’ll be knocking back invasives like mugwort and mile-a-minute vine to help reduce competition so the new trees can continue to thrive, and seeding some wildflowers to make pollinators happy while the tree saplings mature.
