This mini-oasis is in the Mt.Pleasant neighborhood in NW Washington, D.C. The site has a series of official and unofficial trails that make it a popular location for local Rock Creek hikers. Notably, the forest floor here is almost completely covered in invasive plants like English ivy.
Fun Fact
This site is just a 10-minute walk from the Columbia Heights metro station!
Size: 2.0 acres
Status: Currently restoring this site.
Primary issue: Invasive plant removal and understory restoration
Site Details
The Piney Branch – Ingleside Mini-Oasis falls in a southern section of Piney Branch Park in NW Washington, DC. The site is bordered on the South by an alley just off of Ingleside Terrace NW and Bancroft Elementary School, Piney Branch Parkway to the North, Mt. Pleasant St NW to the East, and a staircase entering Rock Creek Park off of the Ingleside Alley to the West.
This is a highly trafficked area with a network of trails (both official and social) that are used by the surrounding community for hiking, dog walking and general recreating.
Upcoming Work
Plant Maintenance: The site requires monthly efforts to maintain recently planted natives including removal of weeds and watering of plants.
Chinese Hackberry and Siebold Viburnum Removal: Targeted efforts to remove these larger shrubs and trees will be coordinated by Rock Creek Conservancy. This will require more advanced volunteers and the use of saws and loppers for removal. After removal, the Conservancy will chemically treat the cut stumps with targeted herbicide applications to prevent regrowth.
Planting Natives: In the Spring of 2019, Rock Creek Conservancy volunteers will plant native shrubs, trees, and herbaceous plants to replace the invasive plants that were removed.
Shrub species:
Lindera benzoin - Spicebush
Viburnum dentatum - Arrowwood Viburnum
Hamamelis virginiana - Witch Hazel
Kalmia latifolia - Mountain Laurel
Rhododendron periclymenoides - Pink Azalea
Recent Restoration Efforts
Invasive Plant Removal - The Ingleside Terrace community has been completing sporadic invasive plant removal efforts for the last several years. Volunteers have made significant progress removing vines and other ground cover plants yet long-term eradication has been difficult to achieve.
2018 DOEE Community Stormwater Solutions Grant - In 2018, the community approached Rock Creek Conservancy to support a restoration program via a District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) Community Stormwater Solutions grant. In partnership with the Bancroft Elementary Parent Teacher Organization and Casey Trees, this successful grant has supported numerous restoration activities. Volunteer outings to remove invasive vines were incredibly successful and much of the upper area of the restoration zone was cleared and treated with herbicide by the National Park Service and Rock Creek Conservancy staff. Volunteers recently completed two plantings of native shrubs and forbs.
