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A brief history
A brief history
As with many other areas in cities that have felt the footprint of human disturbance, the area around the creek in our backyard had been taken over by invasive plants such as porcelain-berry, multiflora rose, tree of heaven, and others. This meant that the vast majority of native plants in the area had been killed or completely grown over with invasive vegetation, disrupting the delicate, balanced native ecosystem that provides for so many forms of life. Having grown up going hiking in the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah National Park, I had seen many examples of healthy ecosystems. I wanted our creekside to house a healthy piedmont creekside ecosystem like the healthy mountain ecosystems I had seen. So about three years ago, I set out to repair the damaged ecosystem and restore the habitat to what it would have been before major human-caused disturbance and the arrival of invasive plants.
One of the first steps for restoring this area was removing an old rusty metal playground set and other trash and debris.
The creekside in the early spring of 2024 when invasive plants were still dominant. The multiflora rose is starting to leaf out and you can see last year's porcelain-berry vines across the photo. The barely visible caged-off areas are established native plants.
Process
Process
Eradicate invasive plants through a combination of manual labor and conservative usage of paint-on herbicides
Re-introduce native plants to the ecosystem
Maintain control of invasive plants while allowing native plants to spread and shape the habitat on their own
Using a machete to cut back the invasive multiflora rose and expose the bases of the plant to paint on herbicide to kill the roots.
Where we are today
Where we are today
Over the past couple of years, we have simultaneously started the control of invasive species and reintroduction of native species. Every year or so, we clear a small area and plant patches of native plants, which become established over time. Last spring, we managed to get most of the multiflora rose under control just as it was leafing out, though when summer arrived and time became limited porcelain-berry became a problem. Despite this, we have been able to keep most areas with established native plants clear.
Collaboration with City of Charlottesville
Collaboration with City of Charlottesville
We are currently providing input to the city of Charlottesville on a project to increase the flow of the creek and stabilize the banks. We met with them in early May of 2025 to discuss the preliminary plans. The project is currently in the design phase, and we will be collaborating with them through this process.
Impact
Planting a native sycamore tree near the creek in 2021.
In 2025, a young Red-shouldered Hawk in the sycamore tree we planted. This sycamore tree is an example of the impact our restoration has had on the creek. It has helped to create a habitat for this young Red-Shouldered Hawk, which helps to keep balance in the ecosystem by keeping the rodent population under control.
A map showing the native trees and shrubs in the area, both pre-existing and recently planted
Often we found native plants buried under the invasive vines, such as this spicebush. Once they were freed from the invasive plants, they were able to thrive. Native flora is often already present in an area overtaken with invasive vegetation and needs the extra help from us to be able to thrive.
Chopping down a dead tree covered in invasive vines. All the vines shown were then removed and killed.
Kits from a fox family of 2 adults and 6 kits in the spring of 2025 that have been exploring the creek area.
Every spring, these native plants that I planted in 2023 come into bloom:
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