BHNP Spring Recap 2025

Twice a month is how often you’ll find the Woods Keeper crew out on the trails of Blue Heron Nature Preserve. Throughout this spring we’ve targeted a variety of invasive plants including Wisteria (Wisteria sinense), Linden viburnum (Viburnum dilatatum), Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), Dayflower (Commelina communis), Chaff flower (Achyranthes japonica), and much more. We’ve uncovered so many wonderful native plants along the way including the beautiful Trillium rugelli!

Now is the time of year when we set our sights on the particularly hard-to-handle invasive chaff flower before it produces seed. Seeds of Achyranthes japonica have a germination rate over 90% and they easily stick to clothing and pets. We’re making it a point to remove this plant from the trail corridor to limit the spread.

Looking at the big picture, we are continuing to push NE along Nancy Creek to remove the bulk of the invasive shrubs and climbing vines. We’re approaching an overgrown creek-side trail and we can’t wait to uncover the many native plants such as Rivercane and Virginia Dayflower that are being smothered.

If you are out and about and see us in the woods please feel free to say hey! We’re happy to discuss our work and talk about all the neat things we are observing around the park. There’s so much life in this preserve!