Our project site at Two Rivers Park covers almost 14 acres worth of the park, at the far northern edge. It contains open farmland, a lake (aquatic ecosystem), and two distinct “pocket forests.” Both of our forest parcels have been severely affected by invasive non-native plant species. From now until April we are seeking volunteers every Saturday from 9am-12pm to help with eradicating these invasive plants. Please reference the following documents for more information about the project and directions to our site. Thank you for your interest in GROW's mission!

At GROW, we’ve taken on the ambitious task of eradicating these species and replanting native trees, shrubs, and perennials. Our partners in this work include the TN Invasive Plant Council, TN Environmental Council, and local native plant supplier GroWild.  Together with these partners we host two large scale events each March; Weed Wrangle and 250K Tree Day. However, the system is in such dire condition that we must continue to work on this issue year round. That’s where you come in!

Here are some typical tasks associated with this kind of volunteer work

• Using pruners, loppers, or *Uprooter tool to remove invasive plants

• Widening existing hiking trails by removing vegetation (thereby allowing access to new areas where we can begin reforestation efforts)

• Tagging significant native species flora for increased visibility during the reforestation process (This helps protect them from being accidentally removed!)

• Planting new trees, shrubs, or native perennials

• Spreading wood chip mulch 

• Removing trash and other debris from the forest system 

• Installing educational signage

Special skills you might learn or get to practice

• Agroforestry and permaculture style farming techniques

• Learning about various tools used for invasive plant control and Agroforestry

• Identification of native plants and our top 3 invasive non-native plants: Bush Honeysuckle, Chinese Privet, and Euonymus vine

• Companion planting and planting for the benefit of native pollinators 

• Trail blazing

• History of the forest parcel as it relates to the McGavock/Harding family and the Two Rivers Mansion estate (which remains to this day the largest historical property in Nashville)