Washington Middle School’s Environmental Club hosted its community-wide invasives removal day at Miller-Post Nature Reserve in Washington on Saturday, March 30.
The WMS Environmental Club, led by adviser Stefanie Virgen, and Virgen Stream Team spearheaded efforts to remove invasive bush honeysuckle at the nature reserve.
The event, sponsored by the WMS Environmental Club and Virgen Stream Team, brought together community members and students interested in removing invasives at Miller-Post Nature Reserve in the riparian corridor of St. John's Creek. Future plans include tagging of trees and creation of an educational arboretum.
A cold and wet day did not stop participants to move forward with the project. See the photos below.
Click here to see the Washington Missourian’s photo gallery from the event.
Part of the original goal of the family who donated the land was to connect back to the schools in meaningful ways, provide a place where disadvantaged people could experience a "state park" environment without having to travel, and to preserve the land for all Washington residents now and in the future.
“Connecting my students back to this resource by giving our efforts to improve it and promote its value to our community, I am also honoring the original wishes of the Miller family,” Virgen said. “The first time we stepped foot in Miller-Post Nature Reserve, not long after it was opened, my children and I felt like we were exploring a hidden jewel. We wandered along St. John's Creek through the woods, traipsed along the trails until we discovered a beautiful pond rimmed with bluffs, marveled at the lake and old house that rose suddenly while cresting the hill.
“I had no idea at the time that it would be this house and surrounding area that would be the site of an educational arboretum as WMS Environmental Club partners with the Parks Department, to make those plans. All that occurred to me at the time was that the lovely trails were choked with invasives and that there was a nice variety of Missouri natives just waiting to be identified for the education of all the community.”
After much work behind the scenes, Virgen was told that she had been granted enthusiastic permission from the Miller-Post Advisory Board to move forward with this project.
In January, she obtained permission from the Parks Department for five rounds of dates for various events: two invasives removal events in March and April, one Arbor Day event in April hosted by the Parks Department, a September event in which WMS students will donate and install tree tags for community education, and an October event planting within an educational arboretum created in partnership between WMS Environmental Club and the Parks Department.
