Certified and accredited by the National Land Trust Accreditation Commission
February 22, 2012Who We Are
March 5, 2012
A crew of eight Catawba Lands Conservancy volunteers and several volunteers and staff from the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden chopped and cut kudzu from a three-acre area at the Seven Oaks Preserve in Gaston County on Feb. 22.
Andy Kane, CLC’s land stewardship associate led the team of volunteers. Volunteers worked to cut kudzu vines that have been growing on trees, preventing additional growth and making the kudzu more accessible in order for goats to eat the plant.
“Your efforts were a great start of a long journey to win the war on the kudzu on this beautiful property,” said Andy. “We definitely saved some specimen trees today and struck some fear into the kudzu! It was a pleasure working with such an upbeat group of kudzu killers.”
CLC will set another volunteer workday before May to cut more kudzu vines at the preserve. This kudzu removal/land restoration project is sponsored by a Duke Habitat Enhancement Grant that CLC received in October 2011. The kudzu infestation area is about 10 acres. In May 2012, CLC will use approximately 50 goats from Wells Farm in Horse Shoe, NC, to eat the kudzu, thus removing the invasive plant from the preserve.
CLC Land Stewardship Director Sharon Wilson also thanked the volunteers, and the CLC and DSBG staffs for their help with the volunteer effort. “Eradicating kudzu is a thankless task in some ways and often appears to be an impossible task,” said Sharon. “Your work will pay dividends when the goats arrive. Many thanks to those who invested their time and energy.”
If you are interested in volunteering for the next kudzu workday, please contact Andy Kane at andy@catawbalands.org or 704-342-3330 ext. 208. You’ll be contacted when the next volunteer workday is scheduled.