DE. Campus Life Editor

Inclement weather could not hinder the ecological progress occurring in Thompson Woods Saturday as more than 50 Adopt-A-Patch volunteers pulled vines and planted ball-stock oaks.

Adopt-A-Patch is a two-year old program created by Philip Robertson, chairman of the Thompson Woods Management Committee and professor of plant biology. The program represents Robertson’s desires to restore the woods to a natural hardwood ecosystem.

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People who walk through the woods look around and don’t realize that there is a continual effort going on, Robertson said. Unless you walk through and see someone pulling vines or actively working, you don’t realize there is a problem in the woods.

The Thompson Woods Management Committee is addressing a number of natural problems in the woods. Overgrowth of exotic species, aging oak trees and too many sugar maples are some of the problems being analyzed.

The volunteers planted 55 ball-stock oaks in ecologically strategic locations where the oaks will receive maximum sunlight. Ball-stock oaks are between 6- and 12-feet tall and about 2 inches in diameter. Volunteers have planted 130 of these trees in the last two years. Planting season for ball stocks occurs in the winter.

Robertson is confident that most of the ball stocks will survive through the winter. Robertson said planting the trees in the winter, after they had a chance to go dormant for the year, will help them survive.

An application of mulch around the base of the trees enables the soil to remain moist during the spring months, and time-released fertilizer pellets around the trees ensures each tree receives proper nourishment during the winter.

Mark Basinger, a member of the Illinois Native Plant Society and graduate student in plant biology from Rockwell, N.C., volunteers 20 hours a year toward his adopted patch in Thompson Woods. Basinger became interested in the program while taking one of Robertson’s academic courses.

Basinger works in a patch near the walkway that runs through the woods connecting the Agriculture Building and the Student Center.

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The patch I work on is one of the worst [areas to keep clean], Basinger said. A big tree had fallen in the area and there are a lot of dead vines from this summer when the woods was sprayed [with herbicides].

Many of our seedlings have been killed by the herbicides, and a lot have been browsed by rabbits and deer.

Some areas of the woods have been installed with nesting boxes for birds. The boxes allow a place for birds to live. In turn, the birds remove unsightly brush from the ground for their nests.

Robertson said the restoration work, although propelled by nature in many instances, would not be possible without the diligent help of the volunteers.

They really did a job, Robertson said. The woods near the trail by the Student Center looks good. Hopefully, down the road, it will look like something again.

For more information on adopting a patch in Thompson Woods, call Philip Robertson at 453-3236. The next planting of seedlings will be in the spring.