On May 11th, 2024, AYLUS Oakland Gardens held its 70th event at Crocheron Park. We were accompanied by the Friends of Crocheron & John Golden Park. Dana Gumb, Paul Brumb, and Gene are volunteers who are dedicated to maintaining the park. We have worked with them on multiple occasions in the past, and for this event, they led various activities around the park, such as clipping Japanese knotweed, collecting wood branches and debris chips, planting plants in the garden, and spreading sweet gum balls along the fields to expand the forest.
Before starting any of our activities, our members took a path along the park, while Dana provided insights into the plant and tree species that reside in the area. Dana warned that poison ivy can be commonly spotted and advised us to avoid it when working around the area. He states the mnemonic “three leaves, let it be.” Dana also introduced us to garlic mustard, which releases a garlic scent when its leaves are crunched. Additionally, he shared unique features of tree species, including redbud trees with pink flowers along brittle branches, black cherry trees that grow small cherries and produce pollen, and the invasive white mulberry tree, whose leaves are silkworm favorites.
Following the tour across the park, our members divided ourselves amongst three teams to tackle the tasks ahead of us. The younger members focused on clipping Japanese knotweeds. Meanwhile, our older members were put into groups in charge of gardening and debris collection.
Our first group addressed the invasive Japanese knotweed species, which posed a threat to the park’s ecosystem. As its name suggests, the knotweed originated in Japan, where it evolved to withstand frequent volcanic eruptions by keeping the roots alive to immediately regrow its stem and leaves. However, when the species arrived here, nothing was stopping its continual growth, causing a huge overgrowth of knotweeds in this park, especially along a path. Our young group was charged with the task of regulating this growth by clipping off overgrown stems. Due to this group’s age range, Dana made sure everyone understood the safety precautions when handling the clippers in order to prevent unnecessary injuries to our members. The stems that hung from the road were clipped and collected, clearing the way for park visitors.
While past park workers trimmed down trees by cutting off branches, they left excess wood debris on the ground. This is where our debris collection group comes into play. With the help of our guides, our group was able to clear a wide field from many tree branches and chips that were scattered around. We had to make sure that when piling up the large branches, the flat edges from the cut were to be facing the path in order to keep everything organized and allow transportation to be more manageable. As they cleared up their section, they moved onto the garden for planting.
Our gardening group was given instructions on planting seedlings that supported pollinators such as bees, flies, and hummingbirds. They rely on pollen to produce honey while unintentionally spreading the flower seeds. To begin, we gently tapped the plant pots in order to extract the seedling from the soil. We used a knife or trowel to cut the bottom roots; this doesn’t actually hurt the plant but loosens the roots so they can continue their growth. The sapling was then relocated into the garden soil after a hole was dug with the shovel or trowel. It is important to align the soil depth with the sapling’s height when the plant is placed. Finally, the soil around the planted sapling was compressed so it fit snugly into the round.
As our groups completed their tasks one by one, they were relocated for the final activity, collecting sweet gum. A hill field near the park entrance had been filled to the brim with sweet gum balls that dropped from a large sweet gum tree. We employed rakes to gather and lift large groups of sweet gum balls into wheelbarrows, where they would be brought to a field located further in the park. The sweet gum balls were then used as mulch to protect trees on a lawn and expand the forest next to them. When lawnmowers trimmed the grass on the lawn, they accidentally damaged one of the trees upon contact. To prevent this, we spread the sweet gum balls around the trees so that grass will no longer grow in the area. While humans adore the sight of a large, fresh patch of lawn in a park, the forest is still home to many inhabiting species that only thrive in this environment.
Throughout the event, Dana discussed some future plans and collaborations. He wants to further explore “shade spots” within the park to grow shade plants thriving without sunlight and also prepare the expansion of the forest through mulching and shrub planting. He explained that ever since retirement, he’s been leading the maintenance of the park. Although he regularly keeps most of the park vines cleared, there is still a section of vines that he believes to be too difficult for him to handle, though he speculates that it could be possible given enough people and effort.
We extend our gratitude to all volunteers who participated in this event and to the Friends of Crocheron & John Golden Park—Dana, Gene, and Paul—for their dedication to this park’s environment and ecosystem. We eagerly anticipate our future collaborations with them to enhance the park’s beauty and sustainability.
Our volunteers:
Derrick Gao: 3.5 hours
Sophia Gao: 3.5 hours
Hong Hao Liu: 3.5 hours
Sabrina Gao: 3.5 hours
Sunny Chen: 3.5 hours
Austin Yuel: 3.5 hours
Evaline Yuel: 3.5 hours
Sophia You: 3.5 hours
Kaisa Wu: 3.5 hours
XiLin Huang: 3.5 hours
Alex Lu: 3.5 hours
Rex He: 3.5 hours
Bowen Chen: 3.5 hours
Jiayuan He: 3.5 hours
Aiden Lin: 3.5 hours
Brandon Lin : 3.5 hours
Songen Yang: 3.5 hours
Ziheng Jiao: 3.5 hours
Charles Chen: 3.5 hours
Vicki Lin: 3.5 hours
Tianxiang Ding: 3.5 hours
Blake Han: 3.5 hours
Kingsley Chen: 3.5 hours
Iokseng Lin: 3.5 hours
Ioklee Lin: 3.5 hours
Ethan Lin: 3.5 hours
Sophia Li: 3.5 hours
Alecia Zhao: 3.5 hours
Carolyn Zhao: 3.5 hours
Aaron Shi: 3.5 hours
Darren Li: 3.5 hours
Justin Cheong: 3.5 hours
Ryan Wu: 3.5 hours
Yuan Gu : 3.5 hours
Jasmine Lin: 3.5 hours
Matthew Lin: 2.5 hours
Tyler Siegel: 2.5 hours
Elina Lee: 2.5 hours
Ian Lee: 2.5 hours
Cindy Siegel: 2.5 hours
Parent Adviser Team:
Cui Fang Li (Fannie): 4.5 hours
Hsinhui Liao (Karen): 4.5 hours
Teng Fei Liu (Faye): 4.5 hours
Report written by: Brandon Lin
Reviewed by: Jia Qi (Angela) Liu
