Arbor Day 2025

Volunteers with the Betton Hills Neighborhood Association celebrated Arbor Day this year on Saturday, February 1. We had an excellent turnout of thirty-five enthusiastic volunteers.

We started the morning with hot chocolate and coffee, bagels, homemade banana bread by Mary Kay Falconer and homemade muffins by Bill Behenna. Nancy Leiva-Krause and daughter Ines Leiva organized the hospitality table, providing a gathering place throughout the morning and directing latecomers. This year Pastor Perry Dissmore from nearby Freedom Church contributed several dozen donuts. He and a few parishioners joined us in removing invasive plants.

David Krause led a crew to clean the five bluebird nest boxes; all but one had been used by bluebirds the previous season. Donna Legare cleaned the two wood duck houses before our event.

The Jody Walthall, Richard Crisler, Wilson Baker and Todd Sperry team attacked invasive vines (mostly cats claw vine), ligustrum, privet, camphor, Chinese elm and loquat trees growing along the north shore of the pond from the paved trail to the park bench in the woods. They left twenty large piles of invasive plants for the city workers to pick up next week!

Kris, Ross and Scott Ellington led a group of volunteers in the woodland between the paved trail and Thomasville Road where we had previously removed copious amounts of ardisia along with ligustrum, privet, mimosa, Taiwan cherry, loquat, and other invasive plants. This time the focus was on ardisia plants that had sprouted up from berries that were in the “seed bank” on the forest floor, though many ligustrum, privet and camphor trees were removed as well.

Mike Brezin led a group to tend the plantings along Trescott. We did our original Arbor Day in this area and the trees are now quite mature. They removed weeds from the bases of trees and spread pine straw. Thank you to Bob Walker (aka Turtle Bob) who weeded the blueberry patch prior to Arbor Day – this was a big job! Mike’s crew mulched the entire bed. Tim Lynch planted two parsley hawthorn trees and one Walter’s viburnum at the edge of the pond, as well as a Simpson’s stopper near the Trescott entrance sign.

The Mary Kay Falconer, MJ Lewis-Wilkinson, Bill Behenna, Amber Ward team worked in a new area this year, beneath the old magnolia by the picnic table near Armistead Road. Cats claw vine had taken hold there along with ligustrum trees. They also tended the previously planted trees and shrubs in the woodland closest to the bat house, pulling vines, weeding, and spreading pine straw.

Vanessa Crisler kayaked out to the island and gathered all the litter there, dragging a large container lined with a trash bag. She gathered three full bags of trash on the pond. Meanwhile Michael Bannister collected litter at the edges of both McCord and Trescott Ponds.

It is amazing to see all that was accomplished in a little more than two hours.

The City of Tallahassee provided twenty-five bales of pine straw that we spread around previous plantings throughout the park. In addition, the park staff graciously picks up our piles of vegetative debris and bags of ardisia berries and trash each year. We are working closely with our park manager Michael Davidson and fellow employee Wiley Clifford.

If you contributed to the Carol Bellamy Fund when you paid your dues, you helped fund these activities. Thank you.

I would also like to thank Michael Bannister and Barb Shoplock for putting up the Arbor Day signs around the neighborhood. Casey McLaughlin posted Arbor Day information to the website, Eliza Hawkins sent out email blasts and Mary Kay Falconer made the Facebook announcements.

Thank you to the following participants (forgive any spelling errors or omissions):

• Donna Legare and Jody Walthall
• Mike Brezin
• Wilson Baker
• David Krause and Nancy Leiva-Krause
• Ines Leiva
• Kimberly Dissmore
• Perry Dissmore
• Lynn and Michael Bannister
• Jim and Amber Ward
• Mary Kay Falconer
• MJ Lewis-Wilkinson
• Bill Behenna
• Tom Waits
• Nicholas Waits
• Holly Thomas
• Vanessa and Richard Crisler
• Kris and Ross Ellington
• Scott Ellington
• Elece Harrison
• Sandy Warren
• Todd Sperry
• Brayton Link
• David DiSalvo
• Susan Clemons
• Kathy Mears
• Regine Maligne and Tim Lynch
• Lauren Christensen and Galena

Original announcement:

Join us to enjoy fresh air, good exercise, and good company while helping to make our park a better place for both wildlife and people. Our focus this year will be to continue with the removal of invasive plants – cat’s claw vine, coral ardisia, privet, ligustrum and camphor. The park is large but our efforts over the years have made a significant difference. If not for our work, the park would be overrun by these plants. Bring your shovels, pruners, loppers, and work gloves. We will also have extra tools and gloves available.

Other work includes litter cleanup around the pond edges, spreading pine straw at the bases of trees planted during previous Arbor Days, and cleaning out the bluebird nest boxes and wood duck house. We will also plant two trees, adding to the biodiversity of the park.

Meet at the welcome table near the Armistead side of the park. Board member Nancy Leiva-Krause and her husband David will be serving hot coffee, hot chocolate, and pastries or doughnuts.

Please spread the word and invite your friends and family to volunteer. All ages are welcome! We will meet no matter how cold but will cancel if raining.

See you there!