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Cleaning up Croydon Woods With Fulton Bank

At the end of June, volunteers from Fulton Bank joined Heritage Conservancy staff members at our Croydon Woods Nature Preserve for a corporate workday.

This is the second year in a row that volunteers from Fulton Bank have donated their time toward caring for Croydon Woods. Last year, volunteers began the work of removing invasive plants from the area; they installed two “Life Under Logs” education stations; and they removed Japanese honeysuckle vines from trees at the trailhead.

A year since their last encounter with the fragrant foe, this dedicated group got right to work continuing what they started last year on the invasive honeysuckle. This time, they moved farther into the forest to remove the vines from the native trees and shrubs to help protect them.

The group also weeded the pollinator patch adjacent to the outdoor classroom, which provides learning opportunities and a front row seat to the wonders of nature for local students. Lastly, additional “Life Under Logs” stations were constructed from woody debris. These stations enable the students from Keystone Elementary School to explore the concept of a food web when they visit the forest.

Thank you to the Fulton Bank staff for its hard work! Fulton Bank has been supporting Heritage Conservancy’s mission since 1991.

Wondering more about the pollinator patch at Croydon Woods? Installed last year following Fulton Bank’s first workday, the pollinator patch is flourishing. It is surrounded by native shrubs that provide early spring nectar for pollinators. The pollinators have done their work, and the shrubs are producing blueberries and beach plums for the wildlife! The herbaceous plants in the patch provide nectar for adults, and their leaves are larval food sources for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.