Forestry Volunteer
A portion of the site we care for includes two separate forest areas, which we call the upper and lower forests.
The upper one, near the natural playground, tends to have litter strewn about, which needs to be removed regularly. Our priority goal for this area is simply safety, for both wildlife and people. People often frequent the area, so trash pickup is the main job of volunteers working in this forest area.
The lower forest is much larger and contains several natural springs which feed into the lake before traveling through the levee and on down towards the Cumberland River. This forest parcel, sadly, is overrun by invasive plants which jeopardize the overall health of the forest and threaten the sustainability of wildlife there. Our priority goals for this area center around three major components: removing invasive plants (Chinese Privet, Chinese Honeysuckle, and Euonymus), restoration of the forest through vigorous tree replanting, and protection of the waterway through pollution control and storm water runoff management.
As you can see, our work here is one of conservation and environmental protection. If you are a hiker, nature lover, or wildlife champion, the forestry team might be the one for you!
Here's a collection of images showing parts of the forest, some of the work we've accomplished this year, and the benefit that work has had on local children:
We are in great need of persons such as arborists, carpenters, naturalists, and wildlife specialists who can assist us with our goals for the forest spaces at GROW. We also need regular people who just want to help save the environment! Our goals include:
Removing remaining litter from both forest areas
Removing fallen trees and debris from existing trails
Maintaining/adding small back-filled steps on the steep slope section of the lower forest trail to prevent further erosion in lower forest
Continued work with our friends from the TN Invasive Plant Council on the removal of all invasive non-native plant species from the lower forest through participation in the state-wide "Weed Wrangle" event
Grant writing or recruiting donors for funding to support these project goals
If you are interested in helping with this portion of our project please fill out the form on the right and a member of our team will contact you.