Take a hike, plant a tree!

As the Earth Day 2011 draws near, the River Revitalization Foundation is swinging into its 15th year with Plant a Tree, Take a Hike! On the rainy morning of April the 16th, seven volunteers trouped out of the city and into the woods to pick up trash, meeting others at the end. "You can smell the garlic mustard," said Eli, a UWM student in conservation and environmental science, "you can actually make pesto out of it, though this soil is pretty contaminated." Everywhere the little leaflets of this invasive species were just beginning to sprout through the spring soil. Next to the Garlic Mustard, however, small clusters of Virginia Waterleaf, a pretty, mottled plant that resembles a watercolor, are crowding for real-estate. These plants will need more space if they hope to regain the ground cover. Also along the path, new arms of Dogwood have been transported from larger clumps to help thin out the Burdock, another invasive. These native species are a key factor in 'filling the ecological niche'.

All along the trail as the intrepid volunteers; Dan, Maria, Ryan, and Mario, disentangled blown-in bits of trash from the sharp slopes lining the west side of the Beerline Trail,Eli, and coordinators Theresa and Kimberly showed me the beginnings what will be one of this area's biggest projects, The Rotary Centennial Arboretum. The project, sponsored by the River Revitalization Foundation, The Urban Ecology Center, and The Milwaukee Urban Rivers Foundation, among others, will clear out, regrade, sculpt, and re introduce nutrients to many parts of the Milwaukee River basin. This project is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

As the trail poured out onto Riverboat Rd, south of North ave, the projects of the day culminated in a large group of people all of whom were digging holes, planting new local species, and using pulled up Buckthorn; another invasive species, making fences to keep their new planting safe while they take to their new homes. Other volunteers kept scouring the river valley for trash-there was so much!

Some volunteers were affiliated with the parent organizations that helped bring together Global Youth Service day in association with the Institute for Service Learning Center at UWM. Many of these people came on their own, in general interest for the environment. All took part in making a difference in their community.