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Underwood students clear trail [UPDATED]

Students in the Environmental Science class at Underwood pulled buckthorn in the woods by the school. Kayla Stock, Kevin Forer and classmates tried to pull as much as possible in about forty minutes. Mr. Chuck Ross’s classes from grades seven through twelve were able to help during the day. He has been teaching environmental stewardship for 13 years in Underwood and encourages students to participate in service learning projects.

Controlling buckthorn is a difficult job when there is so much in the area. Seeds can be viable in the soil for up to five years, but by cutting, spraying, and pulling in the early spring and late fall every year, it’s more manageable. Tanner Carlson found a difficult one to pull out.

Buckthorn grows and spreads quickly and can quickly make a woodlot impassable for humans. Even deer won’t enter an area that has been taken over by this invasive species. Logan Bolstad, Ryan Waerzeggers and Ashley Schauff are starting to clear an area. Underwood School first started to control buckthorn on its property in 2003. Many properties in the area have buckthorn that is 20-30 feet tall, so you can see that it takes an effort to keep this non-native invasive plant under control.

The buckthorn that was removed from the forest made a huge pile. This is the size on day one of three in removing it.

Stephanie Wold and Ashley Winkels are still smiling after hauling many branches.

Members of the Conservation Corps Crew tackled most of the work of clearing the buckthorn and provided maintenance on the trail through the woods.

Team members include Tom, Nicole, Emma, Carl, and Dale. The Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa is an AmeriCorps program that provides meaningful hands-on work for young people in conserving natural resources and energy.

It became a non-profit organization in 2003 to work on all types of service projects including shoreline restoration, erosion control, wildfire suppression, prairie restoration, native planting, disaster help, timber stand improvement, and other environmental projects.

They are all college students or graduates and receive an award for student loans as part of their living stipend. Their crews are based in the northwest, northeast, metro and southern part of Minnesota and also in Iowa.

Underwood Preschoolers enjoyed a beautiful day to check out the trail in the school woods. The trail starts by the bench near the white shed on the practice football field and is approximately 1/4-mile long.