Using a first-of-its-kind system pioneered here in 2021, hundreds of volunteers in Takoma Park, Maryland have systematically rescued more than 4,000 trees previously identified as dying from invasive vines such as English ivy (Hedera helix). Meeting on Saturday mornings for just over a year and equipped with simple garden clippers and pruning saws, the volunteers have now saved 80% of the infested trees in this city of 18,000 people, creating a blueprint for communities nationwide. The 4,000th tree – a 75-year-old red oak – was rescued by volunteers on June 30th.
Now, in a city where dying trees were once a common sight on both public and private land, it is rare to see any trees choking from such killers as English ivy, Wintercreeper (Euonymous fortunei), Porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata), Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis), and others.