In July and August, the members of the Greater Princeton branch of AYLUS (GPA) worked again at the Princeton Mountain Lake Forest Restoration site to Stop the Stilt grass!
Stilt grass (Macrostomia Vimineum) is an invasive annual grass that out-competes native plant species and forms monocultures across the forest floor.
During this session, GPA members and other volunteers learned to identify stilt grass and help to remove it from target areas of the restoration site. Our work allows for recently planted native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers to thrive, such as the young hickory tree featured below.
Before & After:
GPA members brought water bottles and work gloves to the stewardship sessions. They wear long sleeves, long pants, and good work boots-it was muddy out there. We followed social distancing practices by wearing a mask and maintaining a 6 ft distance from others.
Meeting Location: GPA members and other volunteers from the Greater Princeton community met at the Mountain Lake House Parking lot, 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton NJ, and then walked over to the project site as a group (Be sure to drive down the long paved entryway to the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, marked by a series of white mail boxes, the gravel parking lot is on your left about a 1/2 mile down the paved driveway).
GPA Volunteers: Sophia Song (7/31, 2.5 hrs), Cosner Yang (7/31, 2.5 hrs), Pearl Song (7/31, 2.5 hrs), Catherine Feng (7/31, 2.5 hrs), Claire Cheng (7/31, 2.5 hrs), Cynthia Jinghui Huang (7/31, 2.5 hrs), Bowen Hou (7/31, 2.5 hrs; 8/14, 2.5 hrs).
