Before: Part of approximately 5,000 square feet of invasive plants on the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail.

This picture looks like simple greenery. You may not even notice these plants as you walk your dog or jog along the trail. But untouched, these simple plants quickly become invaders. They spread rapidly and cause ecological or economic harm by degrading our natural ecosystem. They choke out the native plants in their path.

The Fairfax County Park Authority’s Invasive Management Area (IMA) Program fights these invasive plants in an effort to prevent them from taking over our parkland. The Park Authority can’t do it alone! Many hands are needed to clear a project site. IMA often partners with organizations like businesses, school groups, Scouts BSA and Girl Scouts to battle these invasive plants.

Here’s one example. Every Saturday and Sunday in October 2019, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Fairfax County Public School students, college students and neighborhood homeowners gathered to pull invasive plants, primarily pachysandra, from a section of the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail off Miller Heights Road in Oakton. I am a Scout in BSA Troop 987, and I led the project with support from Hornaday Badge Advisor Sara Holtz and with sponsorship from the Invasive Management Area program.

During 210 volunteer hours, 99 volunteers removed 85 bags of invasive plants from the parkland. The goal was to replace the pachysandra with native plants and trees. Volunteers planted white wood aster, hairy bush clover, American alumroot, trailing bush clover, dwarf cinquefoil, pussytoes, arrowleaf violet, common wood rush, Pennsylvania sedge, bluestem, goldenrod, arrowwood viburnum, witch hazel, hazelnut trees, ironwood trees, and redbud trees.

After: Invasive plants replaced with 110 native plants and trees.

I created the plan for this project in order to earn the BSA Hornaday Badge, an award created by conservationist Dr. William T. Hornaday. It is a prestigious award that requires a scout to lead a conservation project, complete several merit badges, and meet rank requirements. By successfully completing this project, I am one step closer to earning the Boy Scout Hornaday Badge, and the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail is a step closer to being free of invasive plants.

Author Eli Edwards is a Scouts BSA Hornaday Badge candidate in BSA Troop 987.

If you’d like to volunteer on future projects, visit https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/invasive-management-area.