[Mintwood-place] Land management in Kalorama Park

[John.Cloud at noaa.gov]

Some quick responses form Oregon, where I am:

(0) Recent events in the park make clear there is a big difference between landscaping and effective land management.  In landscaping, one fluffy tree symbol on a map is as good as another. If a tree gets damaged by egregious inaction by contractors and DPR staff, in landscaping you just cut it down and put in another, and everything is "equal". .  In land management, one prioritizes saving the tre es that are already there. The following specific comments are from a Kalorama land management perspective now sadly missing from official plans.   

(1)  Not all small herbacious plants are "weeds".  Specifically, poke berry (Phytolacca americana) is a native perennial plant that is one of the best late summer forage plants for native songbirds.  It's also very beautiful as it matures.  Please do not disturb the poke berries that have been marked with red ribbons in the park.  

(2) The beds of the hedges around the Community Garden do NOT  have shovel-cut edges to keep a banked gutter in place, and they do not require such. Banked gutters are landscaping.  Effective land management doesn't require them.  Please leave the beds of the Community Garden alone, as they are already maintained. 



----- Original Message -----
From: Belinda Reeder <bcr at archetypestudio.net>
Date: Friday, June 26, 2009 7:36 am
Subject: Weeding and mulching in Kalorama Park

> Dear all,
> I spoke with Jill Wohrle of the District Department of the 
> Environment  
> today.  They are working with the Urban Forestry Administration to  
> perform volunteer landscape services in the city, and are available 
> to  
> work in Kalorama Park over the next two weeks.  After hearing that  
> this organization is working with the Urban Forestry Administration 
> 
> and that the girls who will be  doing the volunteer work have been  
> trained and will be supervised by Mr. Chestnut, a seasoned  
> professional, and that they will only perform the agreed scope of  
> work, I am confident that they will be able to make a positive  
> contribution to our Kalorama Park. I  understand that they are not 
> the  
> group who worked unsupervised last year and brutalized our privet  
> hedges.   I also realize that they only have two weeks left to do  
> anything in our park, so time is of the essence.
> 
> The scope of work that the Fund would like to have performed is as  
> follows:
> 
> At all planting beds of small trees and shrubs, pull out all weeds. 
>  
> Shovel cut the edges of the planting beds to keep the banked gutter 
> in  
> place.  All the beds already have this edge, so the work will be to 
> 
> just reinforce it.  Mulch with compost.  Do not use shredded 
> hardwood  
> mulch.  Do not perform any pruning whatsoever.   One of the worst  
> conditions in the park is the bank of juniper shrubs with kousa  
> dogwoods at the top edge.  The weeds are overwhelming the junipers. 
>  
> This bank is located on the hill running parallel to 19th Street.  
> If  
> they could start with that and then work at other planting beds at  
> small trees and shrubs in the park, that would be great.
> 
> I realize that people in our neighborhood are very concerned about 
> the  
> park and want things to be done properly.  The scope of work I have 
> 
> described is correct from a landscape procedural standpoint, and is 
> 
> what we have been doing in the park for years and so I am sure we 
> will  
> have consensus on it.
> 
> I have requested that the volunteers start this work next week.  If 
> 
> you have any questions, please contact Matt Forman at the above 
> email  
> address.
> 
> 
> Belinda Reeder, President of the Fund for Kalorama Park
> 
> archetype
> 2320 19th Street, NW
> Washington, DC 20009
> 
> t: 202.265.7565
> f: 202.265.7566
> bcr at archetypestudio.net
> 
> 
> 
>