Many Hands Make Light of Heavy Work in Mt. Jefferson Park

Text and photos by Devin Reese unless otherwise noted

Mt. Jefferson Park and Greenway in Alexandria is a remnant right of way for the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad train line from a time when Potomac Yard was still a wetland (see 1945 map). Once defunct, the railway left a record in the gravel, iron rails, and railroad ties that underpin Mt. Jefferson Park’s soils, making ecological restoration particularly difficult. But things have been taking root in the park since the last train ran through it in 1968.

Almost everything likes to grow in the Northern Virginia climate of long, humid summers. So, Mt. Jefferson Park became a wild jungle of invasive plants with smatterings of natives like maples and elms weighed down by a tangle of aggressive porcelain berries. The past few years have seen investments by the City of Alexandria and cadres of ARMN volunteers to remove nonnative vegetation from the park.

Multiple planting events this spring have populated newly cleared areas with native trees and shrubs. With the help of “plant acquisition” ARMN volunteer Alisa Wong, ARMN Co-Stewards Devin Reese and Hal Cardwell ordered ground cover plants at a modest cost from the Capital Area Native Plants Group, including pollinating bee favorites like golden ragwort, spotted bee balm, blue flag iris, showy goldenrod, and Virginia mountain mint. Neighbors contributed other native plants from their yards to round out the plant diversity.    

Alisa also requested plants for the park at the Del Ray Citizen’s Association Gardenfest, which resulted in the donation of more than 100 bareroot trees, a mix of loblolly pines, smooth sumacs, chokeberries, white oaks, eastern redbuds, and native hollies. When Alisa brought them to Hal and Devin’s house, they were delighted …and then challenged to keep them alive while recruiting enough volunteers to plant them in their new park home. Thanks to YouTube instructions, nearly all the trees survived five days in the refrigerator followed by two weeks tightly packed into pots with newspaper and soil.

And even more native plants are headed to Mt. Jefferson Park! Tree Steward Kelly Miller helped Alisa draft a proposal to the Bona Terra Plant Grant that won a donation to Mt. Jefferson Park of more than one hundred ground cover and shrub seedlings, which will be planted later this month.

Meanwhile, in multiple meetups, community and ARMN volunteers have been getting all of these new plants into the ground. The extensive plantings have inspired a citizen watering program for Mt. Jefferson Park. People who regularly walk through the park adopt a plant to water, with the theory that one water-bottle-worth is dramatically more than no water from a thirsty plant’s perspective. Each adopter adds their name to a wooden stake tag to affirm their adoption. The barrier to participation is low, as adopters are encouraged to “not worry if you’re away or forget sometimes” since any contribution of water gives the young plants a leg up. We’ve been lucky with spring rains, but the waterings will help plants survive the drier seasons to come.

Dogs who adopt plants to water get their own names on the stakes.

In a show of welcome collaboration, City of Alexandria staff have also been contributing their time and expertise to guiding the volunteer restoration effort in Mt. Jefferson Park. In the recent planting of 100 Del Ray Citizen’s Association bareroot trees, Judy Lo and Phil Jubert advised steward Park Steward Hal on where and how to plant to ensure the best results. Phil brought tree tubes (white in photos above) engineered to protect the growing seedlings from herbivory (chomping by plant-loving animals) and other damage. ARMN naturalists Shay Pratt and Russ Bailey (who is also a Tree Steward) modeled proper tree planting methods.

People passing by are noticing the labeled tubes. During a recent planting, a dog walker asked Devin, “What are you all doing and how can I get involved?” As the area behind Mt. Jefferson Park has been redeveloped with higher-density condo housing and businesses, foot traffic in the park has increased. The downside is the loss of forest cover, resulting in more light, noise, and turf grass in the park.

But there’s a silver lining. As neighbors walking through Mt. Jefferson Park notice the restoration effort, there appears to be rising interest in participating, juding from burgeoning volunteer counts. A signup sheet with a QR code at the main park entrance has generated lots of new members to the Mt. Jefferson Restoration Team Google Group where events are announced.

The following collage highlights the restoration of Mt. Jefferson Park in shovels, seedlings, and smiles, recognizing the myriad community members who have been lending a hand.