E&H-Holston Cemetery Begins A New Project
UPDATE: August 2023
Since our May update, Virginia Master Naturalist volunteers have put in almost 100 hours of service removing invasive plants. They are also thinning out some of the pokeweed that came up in the planted area in order to give new plants a little extra sunshine. Pokeweed is native, and birds love it, but it can be overwhelming. And that’s what was happening on the east end of the meadow! Here’s a little video to give you a glimpse of how things are looking – the transformation is already remarkable! CLICK FOR 2-MIN VIDEO.
UPDATE: May 2023
Having been approved as a service site for the Holston Rivers Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalist, volunteers will be training this month to learn how to properly identify and eradicate non-native invasives that could threaten the success of the project.
UPDATE: April 2023
The next stage for this project will be cleaning off the dead vegetation in preparation for planting. A prescribed burn conducted by the Virginia Department of Forestry is in the works for sometime this month. Burning will not only be a more efficient way to deal with the dead grass, but it will also provide better success opportunities for the new plants.
UPDATE: March 2023
The US Fish and Wildlife Partners are getting the area prepared for a planting that will happen in the spring of 2023. Because some of the native plants will take a while to be “established” there will be a rim of flowers around the perimeter that should offer color and aesthetics this season.
UPDATE: October 2022
The area to be used for native plants has been initially “bush hogged” and prepared for a spring planting. USFW Partners, E&H staff, faculty, and students are in discussions about plant choices. The E&H-Holston Conference cemetery board will also be involved in final plant decisions.
UPDATE: September 2022
Meetings continue with US Fish and Wildlife Partners as calendar dates are chosen for next steps. The area designated for a natural area hasn’t been mowed this summer to indicate the exact spot that will soon be friendlier habitat. Soon, the Partners program will come to campus to mow that area as step one of preparing it for a spring planting. Now the challenge is to choose appropriate plants, design the area for planting for maximum esthetic appeal and natural benefit, and get ready to educate the community. Signs will be added to the project to explain what is happening and how the area will benefit the environment.
UPDATE: August 2022
The cemetery project now has an E&H student intern! This industrious senior is taking soil samples and surveying the property and getting a feel for what native plants would thrive well in this cemetery location. He is being supervised by Dr. Ed Davis in the Geography and Environmental Studies division, and by the chair of the Cemetery Board.
UPDATE: July 2022
Plans for the natural section in the area fondly known as “cemetery hill” is headed in the right direction; an agreement has been signed with the US Fish and Wildlife Partners Program to create native habitat! The program’s goal is to use private lands to create beneficial habitat. They will be partnered with Emory & Henry and the Holston Conference-Emory & Henry Cemetery Board to take on this project.
This is an answer to the question that loomed: how to tackle such a big area of space without taking years to complete the project. The area is nearly 3 acres in size. US Fish and Wildlife Partners has the know-how and the equipment to do the full project at once.
Learn more about the USFW Partners program in this online program done for E&H during their summer alumni college, More Than A Vacation.
PROJECT SUMMARY: Seeing a real opportunity, the E&H-Holston Conference Cemetery Board elected to try something new that could have a beneficial impact on the environment while also improving the “bottom line.”
There is worldwide movement to reclaim some of the land that once native habitatn, but has more recently been mowed. Adding flowers and pollinators to some of these areas formerly cut short not only looks pretty, but it also adds much-need habitat and food sources for bees and wasps other insects.
Meanwhile, these same insects serve as a great source of food for birds and other wildlife.
So, the Cemetery Board elected to try to repurpose some of the land in the cemetery that is not being used for graves. Parts of the cemetery was initially planned to be unmowed to allow for a more natural setting, but they were soon able to partner with the US Fish and Wildlife Partners program to replant native plants, trees, and wildflowers.
From the aspect of fiduciary responsibility, a new mowing routine (every two weeks instead of every week) will also allow the cemetery board to function within its current range of income and expenses.