<div class="ck-content"><h3>First, a chart to delight your senses</h3><p>As some of you know, I am rather obsessive about keeping track of the tree rescues carried out by volunteers. And since I am a database software guy, I have some nice tools to work with. The chart you see below shows the number of events for which I have photographic records (which means: just a fraction of the total), per month. The blue line are those tree rescues in which I was the only volunteer. </p><p>As you can see, things are definitely moving in the right direction! A steady and, of late, steep increase in the level of activity. </p><p>If you lead groups of volunteers or even just go out by yourself, please take pictures (before/after are best). Then send me an overview of your event and the pictures. I will add them to the Triangle Rewilding drive, so that your efforts can be used to inspire others.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1THw_q4eYUOGPhFa-DJyNOov35lkHelPA&sz=w1000-h380"></div><h3>Tree “protection” area?</h3><p>When I first moved to Chapel Hill in September 2018, I'd drive along roads and see areas where forests were being cleared to make room for (many, many, many) new housing developments. I was slightly comforted by the trees that were left, often inside plastic fencing with lots of signs that said “TREE PROTECTION AREA - DO NOT ENTER.” Hurray, I thought. An effort was being made to save trees.</p><p>Ha. Ha ha. I soon learned the truth: these fences and signs really just meant “Stay out” and reliably predicted where more trees would soon be removed. Grrrrrrrrrr.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1vn_eq_LFgF77OS0UqFDIP0Ro3GYjbsHZ&sz=w600-h400" alt="REPLACE" width="600" height="400"></div><h3>Manufacturing</h3><p>From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing">Wikipedia</a>, a definition of manufacturing:</p><blockquote><p>Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation.</p></blockquote><p style="margin-left:0px;">I'd like to offer a definition from the perspective of non-humans:</p><blockquote><p style="margin-left:0px;">Manufacturing is the process by which humans make dead things from living things.</p></blockquote><h3>Mimosa: pink flowers and red lines</h3><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1sWFaCUEmXu5KyuqFYwH3MUhHvWYt6tbc&sz=w600-h400" alt="REPLACE" width="600" height="400"></div><p>Albizia julibrissin (mimosa or silk tree) is such a <i>pretty </i>tree, with those fluffy pink flowers and delicate leaves. Sure, I knew intellectually that mimosa was an invasive; it is, after all, on the <a href="https://nc-ipc.weebly.com/uploads/6/8/4/6/6846349/invasive_plant_list_-_ranked_-_2023-11-16.pdf">NC-IPC invasive plant list</a>, a rank 1 severe threat, even. But June 20th was the day I first really experienced mimosa as an <i>invasive</i>. </p><p>Throughout 2022 and 2023, I removed privet, multiflora rose and olive along the Morgan Creek Greenway (the very first Chapel Hill park I'd adopted). As I did this, I met many neighbors of the greenway who expressed appreciation for my work. I'd noticed a scattering of large mimosa along Morgan Creek, but it wasn't a priority. Finally, though, in July 2023, I got fed up with them, and cut down some of the larger ones that were growing right over the creek. </p><p>This was hard work. I had to scramble down steep banks and use my big Katanaboy hand saws to take them down (couldn't trust myself with a chainsaw in those precarious locations). But down they went. </p><p>So you can imagine my irritation when one of my “fans," who I'd talked with a dozen times in the last year and who was very supportive, asked me when next we met: “Did you cut down the mimosa trees?” Yes, I did. Turns out that was his red line. For him, that was a step too far. “They are so beautiful! What you are doing is racist and xenophobic.”</p><p>All I could do was shake my head. I wonder where he picked that up from. </p><p>Part of the problem here (besides the pretty flowers) is that even though there were a number of mature mimosa trees there, with many smaller ones growing, they just didn't seem all that <i>invasive</i>.</p><p>I've noticed that pointing out an invasive plant to a person doesn't really have a big impact, because hey it's just one or a few plants. You don't really “get” what it means for a non-native species to be <i>invasive</i> until you see what happens when it….<i>invades</i>, and spreads and dominates.</p><p>At Leigh Farm Park near disc golf hole 5, though, I got to see up close what happens when it spreads and grows for decades. I first went to this area because I'd been told the wisteria was really bad - and it was.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=14JzbZ3wog2RUeuagRg_MWwhcheNhZesY&sz=w600-h400" alt="REPLACE" width="600" height="400"></div><p>So we got to work cutting and killing all those vines. Ah, the satisfaction of coming back two weeks later and seeing this:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1DZopx2CqLzGm7_99q6J6YyONH_vP1ooG&sz=w400-h600"></div><p>As we cleared away the wisteria, though, I realized how many of the trees in this area were mimosa. So. many. trees. So. many. big. trees.</p><p>It was chainsaw time. First, I girdled and poisoned the biggest of them all, at least 18" in diameter, too big to cut down entirely without damaging native trees and possibly myself. </p><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1zIdjHfFST0FBsDhn5FMtCFyRUgBTje5V&sz=w400-h600"></div><p>Then I moved on to cut 3 or 4 mimosa with 8"+ diameters and easily a dozen of smaller trees (still, 4-6" and at least 15-20 feet tall). It was wonderful taking them down and watching the understory light up with sun. Unfortunately, I ran out of battery power and there are still a few more to go. That's OK. We'll be back. Soon.</p><p>Here's a before showing a small grove of the mimosa:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1TvwV045IP-B9ACdkxmjNqlboj2QtcVHN&sz=w600-h400" alt="REPLACE" width="600" height="400"></div><p>and after….</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1S9pMt6S6AaO-MVH0chxBGpS6-pXIoAVU&sz=w600-h400" alt="REPLACE" width="600" height="400"></div><p>It's a bit of a mess over there now; I really should carve the downed trees into smaller pieces, and make piles. Hard to make time for that, though, when there are so many other invasives to kill.</p><p>Check out this <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ig51N-seZtez4cvhvnlve1GuOeHxMq3z">Triangle Rewilding folder</a> for more pictures of mimosa removal.</p><h3>Should I live like a “monk in a cave"?</h3><p>Have you ever been in a discussion with someone, criticizing how humans are wrecking our planet, and been challenged with: </p><blockquote><p>If you think consumption is so bad, why don't you go live in a cave like a monk?</p></blockquote><p>I suppose that if all i cared about was my guilty conscience, I might do that. I could avoid consuming plastic, the planet killer. I could be smug in my retreat from all that humans are doing to non-humans. </p><p>It seems to me, though, that the question they should ask me and themselves is more like: </p><blockquote><p>If you think consumption is so bad, why don't you do everything you can to ameliorate the effects of that consumption? Why don't you save as much non-human life as you can?</p></blockquote><p>Yes, why don't I? OK, that's what I'll do with the years I have left to me.</p><h3>Insect Shield - They'll treat clothes for you!</h3><p>A while ago I bought some Picaridin spray. The idea is that you spray your clothing with this insect repellent and then you don't have to spray or put lotion on your skin every time you go out. Unfortunately, living in an apartment with dogs, I wasn't comfortable with spraying. </p><p>Then I found out about <a href="https://insectshield.com">Insect Shield</a>. You can order all sorts of things from them, but I was excited to see this:</p><p><strong>Send us your clothes. We'll add insect repellent.</strong></p><p>That's right. You can send them individual pieces of clothing or buy an envelope that you can fill and send in as many times as you want. They apply the insecticide and return the clothing to you in 7-10 days. Supposedly lasts for 50 washes!</p><p>If you are outdoors a lot and really, really don't want to deal with ticks and other insects, check it out.</p></div><div class="ck-content"><h4>Receive all my reports on tree rescues!</h4><p>If you'd like to get some good news about restoring native habitats delivered straight to your brain upwards of a few times a week, sign in to <a href="https://rewildearth.net">Rewild Earth</a>, click on your name in top right, then My profile. Under Communication Preferences, switch “Send reports of all events” to ON. </p><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1BeynVqu8taOGrsvi56u0mmDKuNJko22h&sz=w600-h400" alt="REPLACE" width="358" height="138"></div><p>Resources you might find useful:</p><ul><li><a href="https://shop.naisma.org/collections/buckthorn-blaster">Buckthorn Blasters</a>: safe, easy herbicide delivery system from the North American Invasive Species Management Association. Don't start cutting without them!</li><li><a href="https://nc-ipc.weebly.com/nc-invasive-plants.html">NC Invasive Plants list</a>: recently updated by NC-IPC, the NC Invasives Plants Council.</li><li><a href="https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG259">Overview of different herbicides</a>: glyposphate, triclopyr and others - which should you use?</li><li>Volunteer for <a href="https://triangleland.org">Triangle Land Conservancy</a>: the biggest land conservancy group in our area. </li><li>Volunteer for <a href="https://ellerbecreek.org">Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association</a> (Durham): a wonderful group working hard to maintain contiguous natural areas along Ellerbe Creek.</li></ul></div> |