See the prairie wild flowers at the Oak Ridge Cedar Barren on Saturday, August 24, during a hands-on maintenance activity with plant experts to identify wild flowers and grasses. Volunteers are needed to uproot invasive plants that would otherwise shade and kill the native cedar barren prairie plants, a press release said.
Located next to Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, the barren is a joint project of the City of Oak Ridge, the State Natural Areas Division, and Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning. One of just a few cedar barrens in East Tennessee, the area is subject to invasion by Chinese lespedeza, Japanese privet, autumn olive, mimosa, Nepal grass, multiflora rose, and woody plants that threaten the system’s prairie grasses, the press release said.
“This cleanup helps to eliminate invasives and other shade-producing plants that prevent the prairie grasses from getting needed sun,” the press release said. “The late-summer work day is optimum for viewing prairie wild flowers that flourish at the barren.”
Volunteers should meet in the Jefferson Middle School parking lot at 9 a.m. Saturday and wear sturdy shoes and bring loppers, gloves, and water, the press release said. The work session will conclude at noon with a pizza lunch. For additional information, contact Tim Bigelow at [email protected] or at (865) 607-6781.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected].
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