There is a surprising amount of undeveloped land on Edgehill Mountain. The natural conditions are severely impacted by native weeds but still there are a significant number of native plants, birds & geological formations surviving which set the stage for tremendous potential for native habitat restoration. It is the enthusiasm for this potential which provides the driving force for improving the mountain. If not for the promise of restoring native habitat, there would not be much happening up there. While the existing forests & green ivy are beautiful in passing, closer examination reveals a rather limited natural system that would be much more lively & diverse with a rich tapestry of native species.

1. Erharta Grass (Erharta erecta)
    -This handsome, slender perennial grass produces seeds year round solid mat of vegetation unlike the native bunch grasses that grow with gaps between them for wildflowers to grow. The vast majority of work done by volunteers at Edgehill, is weeding Erharta. It is possible to remove but requires persistence. Large solid stands of the grass are being treated with herbicides & minor or patchy growth is hand pulled. New seedlings grow very densely & are best eliminated with a hoop type hoe, scraped off the surface & left to dry out. Mature plants with seeds on them are gathered up & placed in debris piles with branches & logs & ivy & excess tree litter.

2. Eucalyptus trees
    -The eucalyptus groves on Edgehill Mountain are a severe fire hazard as well as being extremely demanding of the limited resources available to native plants. Given free reign, they would eventually consume the entire mountain. Gradual removal of the Eucs will open up views, restore groundwater for native plants, prevent the smothering of plants in litter & remove a huge maintenance burden.
more reading about Eucalyptus from Audubon Magazine

3. Cape Ivy (Delairea odorata)
    -A slender but succulent bright green perennial vine that covers everything in it's path & propagates by rooting from little broken bits during the winter rains. These also must be removed to debris piles or they will re-sprout. It is easy to pull & only requires some persistence to come back & remove any remaining sprouts over a couple of seasons. Cape Ivy does not appear to reproduce by seed.

4. English Ivy, Algerian Ivy (Hedera canariensis)
    -The familiar leathery dark evergreen green leaves sprout from rooting branches smothering out everything else. We can often roll up the Ivy like a carpet & haul it away. Compared to Erharta, the ivy is fairly simple to remove. Re-emerging growth in a cleared area is easy to spot, the only trick is to be sure & pull the roots out. Mature plants nearby that grow up trees into the light will produce abundant fruit that birds eat, forever spreading the seed & making new seedlings. The new seedlings are easy to pull though.
 

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