Case Study 1
Bringing the needs of other species into alignment with the human desire for aesthetic fulfillment.
This wooded hillside in South Knoxville was overtaken by english ivy. The client asked us to remove the vines and haul the mass away from the site. As with any invasive species management project, the long term success of this project is contingent on the near term strategy for working towards eradication. The time horizon we generally set for english ivy is 3-5 months, contingent upon the willingness of the client to allow us to follow a regimented process during that time frame.
The hillside is a mostly gentle slope where english ivy has nearly homogenized the ground layer, other than sparkleberry (vaccinium arboreum) and some young hardwoods. There are some steep sections towards the bottom of the slope, a few large fallen trees, and some internet wires tangled beneath the vines.
The first phase of any invasive species management project is to take an inventory of what wanted and unwanted species are on the site, make notes of any special treatment certain species may require, and then to get as much of the biomass out as possible. This particular site was relatively simple, considering we would be working almost exclusively with english ivy. Our strategy does not require any chemical treatments, but rather addresses the ivy through a labor intensive process of manual and mechanical extraction.
We were able to clear this hillside in 5 days with 3 workers. The work is grueling, and occasionally brutal — but the final product is spectacular.
The long term success of this project will be contingent upon the continued care of the site. This client opted to manage the site himself after our initial work was complete. He has done an incredible job, though it has taken him longer to reach eradication than if our crew would have executed the follow ups. This is not a problem, per se, and long term success is very much achievable with this approach!