English Ivy Removal Project

A few times per year, Eddie and I retreat to a mountain cabin to bathe in the beauty of Western North Carolina. During our time here, we take exhilarating cold plunges into the river, celebrate the aging trees (this land, as much land in WNC, was once logged), and admire the biodiverse forest. Every time we come, we are in awe. The forest’s top is blanketed with Oaks, Maples, Hickories, Pines, and Southern Magnolias. From the wet floor, you will find green moss, lichen, Galax, Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel, and Dogwoods. Birds chat and sing as they soar between the trees, otters swim through the water like butter to get to their cozy home, fish surf in the river’s current on their way upstream. This place is magical. It is also under attack. English Ivy (once planted in a garden years ago) is spreading.

Though English Ivy looks pretty, the powerful plant disrupts the health of the native forest. It overtakes native species, including trees, and rids the forest of biodiversity (it’s key ingredient to health).

Luckily, there is still so much incredible forest that hasn’t been touched by the Ivy, but action needs to be taken. Thus began our English Ivy Removal Project. Eddie and I are out to remove the invasive species from the grounds.

Day 1 - Saving the Trees,
*April 2021*

Our first plan of action was to free the trees from the Ivy. We took clippers and cut the Ivy around the tree, leaving about 5 feet between the tree and the ground. This causes the Ivy on the tree to die and eventually fall off. The picture shown shows what the Ivy looked like 6 months after cutting the vine from its roots.
We realized that working in Spring, when vegetation was full, was not ideal (I got a hefty case of poison Ivy following this venture). We plan to do most work moving forward in the fall or early Spring, when vegetation is lighter and it is easier to walk through the forest.

Day 2 - The Power of Hope,
*October 13 2021*

Now that we bought time for the trees, it was time to dig up the roots. We decided that the best method would be to work from the outside of the spread and move towards the “hot spots.”
We picked the smaller of the 2 sections to start, and went into the back of the woods. We scoured for Ivy, pulling the roots gently out and reversing the plant’s progress into the forest. English Ivy’s root system is like an underground subway; it trudges through the floor about 4 inches underground and pops up whenever suitable. The lines of the Ivy often connected, and because they generally stayed shallow, we could pull them out of the ground, breaking as few roots as possible.
This method felt powerful; not only did it allow us to be thorough, but it was tremendously hopeful. Instead of focusing on the massive amounts of Ivy we had to remove, we were focused on the massive amounts of trees & plants in the forest that we were saving.
After 4 laborious hours later (8 hours combined), we had effectively surrounded the “hot spot”. The next step will be to remove the hot spot.

Day 3 & 4 - Little By Little,
*October 14 and 16 2021*

Over the past few months, I have been practicing Vedic Meditation. My meditation teacher, Hardy, once told me a story of a hike he took with a friend. When initially looking at the tall peak, he felt overwhelmed at the prospect of the climb. However, he found that by focusing on each small, manageable step, rather than the monumental task itself, he found himself up at the top. That is the approach we took these next few days. After 12 hours of labor, the hot spot was still not conquered, but little by little, we had made massive gains.

Day 5 - The Mother Root,
*October 17 2021*

Holy Moly we found the Mother! Eddie works tirelessly to dig this beast up. 4 more hours logged, and we are so close to clearing out the entire section.

Day 6 - SECTION 1 CLEARED! October 22 2021

After 28 hours of labor, we have cleared section 1! Ivy tends to hide and come back, especially if any roots were lefts in the ground. We plan to return every year for the next few years to do maintenance and take out anything missed. Next, we move to the big section