About 5 years ago Chris created a program called Habitat Heroes. It was designed to educate about invasive species, exoctic species and how to go native. He tried a few times to get interest in this project, but other projects trumped Habitat Heroes. Now, Habitat Heroes is revitalized with a new Cub Scout group: Pack 137.
Here are our Habitat Heroes after 2 hours of pulling Japanese Stilt Grass:
This group has committed to caring for a piece of land at West Point for 3 years. They hope to bring it back to its natural state:
Here is some general information about invasive and exoctic plants and how to go native.
What is a native plant? Plants that were here in North America before European settlement.
What is an exotic plant? Also called non-native plants are those not orginally located in North America or in a specific region like North Carolina. In NC we have exotic plants from Asia or western Europe because these regions have similar climates and environmental conditions to those found in the states.
How did the exotic plants get here?While some have ended up here accidentally, we brought many of them here ourselves. For example, Japanese Stilt grass was used as packing material around Porcelain when it was brought here by boat in the early 1900s. Did you know that Japanese Honeysuckle is not a native plant? You may enjoy the sweet drops of honey from the blooms, but just remember that planting that vine instead of a native vine like Jessamine, can be detrimental to native plants and wildlife.
Non-native plant:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Native plant and an alternative:
Carolina Jessamine
Invasive plants can be attractive to wildlife, but not good for them. Why?Invasive plants can be attractive to wildlife, but they may not provide the best nutrition for them. Areas that are covered in one (like the picture above with our Habitat Heroes) or a few exotic plants can be harmful because habitats with low plant diversity are poor for wildlife.
GO NATIVE! What does that mean?By planting native plant species into your landscape you will help take care of the wildlife by providing the best nourishment. Through careful planning you can plant a landscape that is beautiful, low maintenance and will be in harmony with the environment. \
As for Japanese Stilt Grass ... Here is a picture of it:
And here is an alternative native specie you can try:
Little Bluestem
AGAIN, Thank you PACK 137 for being HABITAT HEROES!
On the hike we also talked about how bears are using the northern counties such as Granville, Person, and Caswell as a corridor to travel west to east and east to west, with some of the bears traveling a slightly more southerly route through Durham County. From the bears on Guess Rd several years ago, to the bear in Northgate Park neighborhood, to the bear sightings right here at West Point a couple of summers ago. Bears are coming through the area and the majority of the time they are using stream and river basins as their travel path. 
