Local War on Ivy makes Style Weekly
Image courtesy of IvyOutofRichmond website
We’ve helped sound the alarm and we’re fighting our own private battle in the backyard, so it’s nice to see two locals getting some attention from other RVA media.
“It’s unfortunate that it can look so beautiful to people, and yet it’s not — it’s evil,” says Ruth Robin, who lives near ivy-infested Forest Hill Park. “We want to inspire people to rise up and fight the ivy before it swallows Richmond whole.”
Robin and her neighbor Suzette Lyon have been waging a quiet battle against the plant for years, among other things organizing volunteers to remove ivy from city parks.
Now the two women are taking their appeal to the masses. They’ve launched IvyOutOfRichmond.org, which encourages homeowners to make their property “ivy-free zones,” and details the gravity of the threat. [Full Story]
Great website! Thanks for posting this.
I was hoping to read that the organization was focused on eradicating poison ivy in the park system instead of English ivy.
Poison Ivy is a native species and so has a place in our ecosystem. No reason to eradicate it from our parks.
The article suggests clipping it at the base. My friend, who is studying to be a Master Naturalist through the state extension office, also advised this, which will cause the ivy to die and turn brown but prevent further damage to the tree.
If this is a good idea to do in the park system, we should have a volunteer work/training day, and then those of us who spend a lot of time in the parks could continue clipping ivy during our walks, according to how the park management wants it done.
Contact the Friends of Forest Hill Park: they organize ‘ivy pulling’ days and are always looking for volunteers.