Overload on #TextureTuesday











#texture #ivy #IvyWall #EnglishIvy #HederaHelix #ClimbingPlants #PlantTexture #NaturePhotography #concrete #AbandonedPlaces #abandoned #moody #MoodyNature #UrbanJungle #foliage

Ivy Geometry

#photography #ttartisan #ttartisan50mmf12

#ivy #englishivy #hederahelix #leaf #leaves #green #plant #plants #plantlife #botanical #nature #naturephotography #macro #macrophotography #closeup #texture #forest #woodland #evergreen #earthfocus

In North America, invasive English ivy is ecologically awful for many reasons and I hate it. But the tangle of stems also makes it dangerous for arborists when they need to climb trees. This pic is from Friday when my neighbor had a tree taken down. Everything went fine but you could tell the guy was being extra careful when he repositioned his spurs. #EnglishIvy #hedera #ivy #trees #arborist #invasive #vines #chainsaw

Yesterday I got a text with a new neighbor requesting me to remove ivy. Normally they'd end up on a wait list since I have a lot of orange lit properties in progress and my big project is still ongoing, but the photo they sent showed it was a quick job and I figured I'd tackle it for a day. 4.5 hours later it was all finished and a new green zone got added to my progress map! It feels good to treat the cancer before it spread too far in this nice patch of woods. Two more neighbors completed their ivy removal and got lit in blue on the map, so we're getting some nice coverage of the neighborhood at this point.

#invasiveplants #plants #forest #carync #northcarolina #habitat #habitatrestoration #environment #englishivy #nature

Watching the ivy roll back to reveal the forest behind is so rewarding. Removed around 68 trash cans full of ivy from this property. Pics are from yesterday (1), December (2), October (3), late September (4), and early September at the start of the project (5). Last two pics are of the people that have helped me remove 10 trash cans, and I have removed the other 58 myself.

#invasiveplants #nativeplants #plants #nature #forest #englishivy #habitat #habitatrestoration #ecosystem #ecology #environment #environmentalism #northcarolina

So this post will be an introduction to one topic I want to cover on here: the issue of invasive species. Here in central North Carolina, our yards and the native spaces attached to those yards are covered in foreign species, mostly from Asia, that include English ivy, Chinese privet, glossy privet, nandina, leatherleaf mahonia, Rose of Sharon, Japanese honeysuckle, and many other species. These plants are planted partly for mindless reasons (the stores sell them, and people buy them without knowing they are a huge problem), but partly because people see plants as decoration instead of living things. Yard owners don't want their yard plants full of holes from bugs eating them, and these plants remain pristine because no insect in America has the ability to eat them. Yardowners also want quick gratification and pick plants that grow quickly. When you combine the traits of pest-immunity and quick growth together, you get a plant that escapes the yard and takes over every space it enters. As these plants expand and displace native plants in the few places we don't pave over, the result is starvation of native insects and all of the animals that feed on those insects. Imagine trying to go to a grocery store and realizing all of the food around you is made of plastic. That is the reality for our native bugs, and that is why insect populations have been halved in the last half century. To say this is a dire situation is frankly an understatement, and there are other factors I won't get into on this post that make the issue even worse.

One of my side projects in life is to remove English ivy and restore my neighborhood's native spaces. It's hard work, but I've restored 12 properties so far. If you can, please consider removing harmful species from your yard and planting native, your yard can become a haven for our wildlife.

#invasivespecies #plants #englishivy #nativeplants #habitat #ecyosystems #northcarolina #habitatrestoration #yard #yardwork #nature