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Home Community Work in our Park

Wintercreeper Wednesdays

Created: 21 April 2024
Updated: 05 January 2025
Published: 21 April 2024
Written by Native
Hits: 2377
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FROM invasive wintercreeper monoculture TO Diversity and Ecological Restoration.FROM invasive wintercreeper monoculture TO Diversity and Ecological Restoration.

WINTERCREEPER WEDNESDAYS
Twice a month, thru 2024

Twelve volunteer work sessions from early May through late October, 2024. 

Why? - Because wintercreeper snuffs out native plants (and trees).

Wintercreeper on the trees will continue to spread seeds of this aggressive invasive plant throughout our park and neighborhoods unless we get it under control by cutting and treating. Read more on this site about why wintercreeper is bad.

Our 2023-2024 Rebuild KC grant funded ecological restoration contractors did work on the park's "best 6 acres" a couple times. After a walk-through with KCMO Parks' environmental manager, they were tasked with using cut/treat methods on bush honeysuckle, spraying ground carpets of wintercreeper, and basal bark spraying buckthorn and tree of heaven. This was a dramatic frontal assault on the park's worst invaders. 

But they didn't get the wintercreeper growing up trees. That’s up to us volunteers.

See the "Best 6 ac -Volunteers" map for areas and notes with a focus on what us volunteers can do. Orange markers/areas were recently done. Red markers/areas are not yet done. The Wintercreeper Wednesday work sessions will focus on getting all the wintercreeper growing up trees within these areas as noted on the map. Burroughs Audubon recently posted about the inspiring rebirth of the Shirling Sanctuary in Swope park, using the same methods we're employing: contractors spraying the wintercreeper in September and volunteers cutting/treating it from the trees year 'round: facebook.com/AudubonKC/post... Another inspiring story is the KC Parks Ambassadors group that finished cutting ALL the honeysuckle from Gillham Park in 2023.

To find out about similar work efforts, message RoanokeParkKC on Facebook or on Instagram, or email Chris DeLong at nature(at)roanokeparkkc(dot)org.
Join the email from our home page and check [✔️] "Interested in Work Days" to get notice of these and other cleanups and habitat improvement events.

These events were added to the calendar of KC Parks Ambassadors. If you aren't a member, leaders Kelly Turner (Jander) and Sara Becker are inspirations and would love it if you joined them. 
Learn about it here: https://kcparks.org/volunteering/ 

Let’s form a community of Wintercreeper Warriors!

Session #1 Report (May 8)
Thanks to ADAM for helping Chris with the first event. We exposed a neat rock face topped by a rock wall dating to circa 1900 at the property line. Four volunteer hours logged.

Read more ...

Spring Cleanup 2022

Created: 30 March 2022
Updated: 19 May 2022
Published: 30 March 2022
Written by Native
Hits: 2272
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Spring Cleanup 2022 / Great KC Cleanup 2022

Click for a blowup gallery of the cleanup.Click for a blowup gallery of the cleanup.

Over 50 helpers showed Roanoke Park some love on Earth Day weekend, just one slice of the city-wide GREAT KANSAS CITY CLEANUP.

Coffee provided by Broadway Cafe and Roasting awaited volunteers before they headed into the park. Many bags of litter were picked up along the trails or playgrounds. We can't give you a count because the parks department was scooping them up as fast as we filled them. Thanks to Gary, Terry, and H! One of those spots was handled by Councilman Eric Bunch and his family!

Conservancy board member Bret Kassen put in double duty! He helped cleanups as a city employee the day before then brought his whole family out for the Roanoke Park cleanup. Video evidence: instagram.com/p/CcyiWGdpA8a/

  • Help support Roanoke Park Conservancy by visiting our Donate Page: If you weren’t aware, we’ve been hiring a regular litter picker upper focussing around the playgrounds. 
  • Sign up for occasional news and events emails in the right column of this website. 

Enjoy the park!

Regarding the map in the blowup (click the top image): We didn't get the concrete, but the other trashy spots were cleaned up. (The concrete dump was noticed Feb. 13th. We don't know who did it. Same with the grafitti tag on the bluff rocks noticed May 12th. KCMO 311 requests have been put in on both issues.)

Gary and Eric Black truck Cleanup mapEvent promo shroom

More Articles ...

  1. 2017 Spring Cleanup and Planting Report
  2. Spring Cleanup! Yum!
  3. Park Cleanup was a great success!
  4. Roanoke Park May/June 2012

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