Tree Friends United volunteers recently cleared invasives at C&O Canal Lock 10

Next Outing:  Saturday, September 12, 10am-12pm at Burning Tree Local Park (7904 Beechtree Road, Bethesda).  Tree Friend Jesse Swart leads an outing for Montgomery Parks to clear the vines smothering the tall trees.  Student SSL credit is possible.  Link for details and registration:  https://montgomeryparks.org/events/weed-warrior-burning-tree-local-park/.  Contact Jesse at jesselks@gmail.com with questions.

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Monday, September 14, 10am-12pm by the Sycamore Store (7025 Macarthur Blvd). We will continue our work on controlling invasives in the area. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0549A4A92EA0F94-65330615-sycamore

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Sunday, September 20, 10:30 am-12:30 pm at Fletcher's Cove on Canal Rd in DC.  Tree Friends are needed to assist National Park Service volunteers fight kudzu at this popular boating site in celebration of National Public Lands Day.  NPS registration is at https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volopprecord?listing=a09SJ00000QazcHYAR.  Note that Fletcher's Cove's sharp entrance can be accessed only from Reservoir Road or Canal Road outbound.

For more information, or to join our mailing list, send email to: avanti7700@verizon.net

Tree Friends United is a group of 300 citizens centered in the Glen Echo, MD area who are concerned with the accelerating spread of invasive species overwhelming Montgomery County's parklands, roads, and neighborhoods. As volunteers, we assist the National Park Service (NPS), the county, and residents to remove invasive vines that are smothering trees and the plants that are destroying native ecosystems. As advocates, we are allied with other groups to seek broader public awareness of the growing problem, achieve better funding, and establish coordinated action to counter the invasives. Further, we seek changes in park service policies to actively engage our communities to maintain the ecological vibrancy of our public lands. 

Without decisive action, the future of our parklands is well represented by the photo above of the huge spread of kudzu on NPS land near historic Glen Echo Park. Like a growing cancer, the kudzu's relentless expansion has flattened many acres of tall trees. It is now extending its devastation towards the C&O Canal and Potomac River. On the Virginia side, kudzu patches have appeared on NPS's George Washington Memorial Parkway which will smother vibrant ecosystem along the river. 

Allowing invasive vines to kill our communities' trees and the expanding deterioration of our parklands is not acceptable. It can be solved. Ignoring the problems allows them to exponentially increase. But it takes community action and support to reverse the course.   We count on you to help restore our trees, ecosystems, and make our voices heard!