Battle of the Oriental bittersweet
Ten AmeriCorps youths valiantly fend off Charlottesville's most invasive intruders at Buford School: porcelain berry, oriental bittersweet, and autumn olive.
"It can be difficult," reports Californian Jennifer Murphy of the long days of eradicating kudzu and English ivy on public land around town. Casualties include scratches, poison ivy, and in a few cases, "People pulled vines and ended up on their rears," she says.
AmeriCorps' National Civilian Community Corps puts 18- to 24-year-olds to work in communities around the country. Since March 10, the team here has worked at McIntire, Pen, Azalea and Quarry parks, as well as taken out a huge swath of kudzu and oriental bittersweet behind Bodo's and the English Inn. They've put in a new trail at Buford so kids can walk to school, and this afternoon they head over to Greenleaf Park.
"We're going to try to encircle and contain one acre of kudzu," says Susan Pleiss with city parks and rec. "It's threatening four neighboring homes and engulfing trees. Kudzu is easy to contain if it can be mowed. We'll push inward."
Despite the overwhelming odds against defeating the invasive species on a paltry meal allowance of $4.50 a day, the youths seem upbeat– and some have even taken on extra volunteer projects at Camp Holiday Trails, where they're being housed.
Next stop for the young men and women: New Orleans.
3 comments
Forget honesty or integrity in reporting. A HOOK "reporter" takes a 20 minute interview, uses answers completely out of context, and incorrectly paraphrases (i.e. fabricates) "quotes" in an attempt to validate HER own misguided agenda. Guess the truth isn't exciting enough to sell HOOK advertising space? Obviously, your "reporting" isn't.
Those darn Hook reporters with their misguided agendas --incorrectly paraphrasing statements about Oriental bittersweet and kudzu. A total lack of integrity and honesty now colors all the paper's reporting about porcelain berry. One shudders to imagine what they might say about poison ivy or dandelions after taking incendiary "quotes" completely out of context about encircling and containing "one acre of kudzu." I say string that reporter up with a length of Virginia creeper.
Yeah that stuff is good ground cover, and will probably feed us in the coming ethanol-induced famine. Trees! Who needs trees? Kudzu is the original tree hugger, it just can't let go. Etc. etc. I'll be here all week.