A lot of effort has been devoted to restoring areas that were overrun with invasive plant species in the Mundy Wildflower Garden and other Cornell Botanic Garden natural areas.
Visit the following areas to witness success stories of how areas heavily infested with aggressive invasive species were restored with a diverse palette of beneficial native species:
Bank of Fall Creek in the northwest corner of the garden:
As part of a streambank stabilization effort, soil containing invasive plant seed was removed from the site and replaced with weed-free sand and gravel typical of streamside habitats. Staff gardener Krissy Boys, with the help of many volunteers planted a new community of cool- and warm-season grasses and flowers that thrive in the hot, dry and rocky conditions there. Read more about this attractive and diverse landscape in an article on the Ecological Landscape Alliance webpage.
In the southwest corner of the garden:
Large sections of woods were heavily infested by invasive buckthorn, honeysuckle, multiflora rose and Japanese hedge parsley. With the help of Botanic Gardens volunteers, Cornell student groups and classes, Krissy Boys and dozens of volunteers removed invasive plants, section by section, and systematically planted layers of grasses, flowering plants, trees and shrubs.