Taking Care

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and six volunteers showed up to help take care of the neglected Native Plant Area in Cesar Chavez Park. The photo above shows Jutta and Katie clearing the nasty invasive Kikuyu grass from the base of a Lemonadeberry bush in the southern apron of the Native Plant Area. Below, volunteers Keith, Bob, and Clyde clear a border around the overgrown Himalayan blackberry bush on the northern side of the area, in preparation for pruning the bush. They also removed invasive burdens to a California Sage bush and made some space around a native buckeye that was crowded by dead acacias. Meanwhile on the northeast edge of the park, volunteer Marty cleared choking weeds around the base of a young Holly Oak tree that had been burned in last year’s July 4 fire, but is resprouting from its root crown. Chavez Park Conservancy Volunteer Coordinator Bob Huttar expressed appreciation to Berkeley Parks Landscape Gardening Supervisor Jacob Several for the cooperation of his crew in donating big plastic bags and removing the piles of debris that volunteer workers generated.

The Holly Oak tree on the northeast side of the park, before and after.
thank you for your work and care!