Restoration of Johnson Woods – Bird Sanctuary
Started in October 2018
Who are we? Town & Country Garden Club is a chapter of a national organization called the Garden Club of America(GCA). www.gcamerica.org
The Garden Club of America has developed a program called Partners for Plants. Partners for Plants (P4P), which began in 1992, is a joint initiative of the GCA’s Horticulture and Conservation Committees to restore native habitat on federal, state, county, regional and local public lands. P4P encourages club members at the hands-on level to work together with land managers, botanists, and other horticultural professionals to monitor and conserve rare plants, restore native habitats, and remove invasives. A P4P project is an excellent educational tool to increase knowledge of native plants and ecosystems as well as to encourage environmentally friendly, sustainable action. We appreciate that our Park system has been stretched, and we want to help them address this overlooked space. It is owned by the Park Board so it fits our requirement of a public space. Our intention is to work with neighbors and other volunteers to remove invasive plants, eventually reintroduce native plants, and thus restore the woodland setting Myron G. Johnson Jr envisioned as a safe and beneficial space for all beings. Johnson Jr? Myron is the son of Myron and Eva Bramble Johnson. His father started Johnson Lumber Company in Northside, which Myron eventually joined. He was a fan of birds, bird watching, educating others about birds and donated the 3 lots in 1972 to protect birds. What will it look like eventually? The ultimate goal is to create an “adopt a plot” type maintenance program. Neighbors, businesses, and/or clubs will take on small sections to keep the troublesome plants including, euonymus fortunei, honeysuckle, lesser celandine, garlic mustard, and trash under control and out of the space. We are not including “trails” or benches at this time, although there will be paths to get to all the areas. This is to be a space for wildlife, protected and supported by humans. Our current plan is to use as little chemical treatment as possible and leave what we can to decompose. All of this is subject to change at anytime.
