Team Naturespace – Flock Party

Nature heals, even when you're out volunteering with the sheep and goats! We'll clear invasive undergrowth and enjoy a bonfire afterwards. Farmer Dan Krull is bringing his sheep and goats to our urban food forest trail to help tackle the invasive bush honeysuckle that's clogging it up. While the flock chomps down vegetation, we’ll remove honeysuckle bushes and carry the leafy, berry-laden branches over to them. Together, we’ll open up the overgrown woodland so it can feel airy and accessible again. Those of us who like being outdoors, working with our hands, watching a place change while we work, or spending time around animals should find plenty to enjoy about this one. When the work winds down at 4:00, anyone who helped during the afternoon is welcome to stick around. We’ll light a bonfire with some of the honeysuckle we’ve cleared, pull up a comfortable log, share some good harvest munchies and hot apple cider, and enjoy the forest and one another’s company until we feel it's time to leave, no later than 6:30. PLEASE DONATE IF YOU CAN'T COME ON OUT THIS TIME If you feel like supporting this project is right for you, we welcome your monetary involvement too. WEAR / BRING / GET Late October afternoons in Kansas City are often pleasantly cool, but Missouri autumn weather can swing warmer, colder, windier, or wetter on a dime. Dress in layers you can remove with more activity and put back on as the afternoon cools. Wear tough-material pants and closed-toe shoes or boots with good tread. Bring work gloves if you have a favorite pair, a reusable water bottle, and an extra warm layer if you might want to linger around the fire afterward. We’ll provide shovels and loppers, extra gloves, filtered water, and instructions. Farmer Dan’s sheep and goats are working farm animals. He’ll show us how to approach, feed, and interact with them safely. PROJECT DETAILS Our main job will be removing invasive bush honeysuckle from areas the flock will continue helping us open up after this volunteer event. Late fall makes honeysuckle easier to identify because it tends to hold onto its green leaves after much of the surrounding native vegetation has gone dormant. That helps us make sure we’re removing the right plants. People regularly gather food in this forest, so we use a non-toxic, herbicide-free method. We’ll cut through the roots and lift larger bushes out of the ground, while smaller sprouts can often be pulled by hand. We call this process “root docking,” and we’ll demonstrate it before we begin. Then we’ll work in pairs or small groups to extract the plants and carry the leafy material to the paddock. We’ll handle the roots and hauling. The sheep and goats will take care of much of the leafy vegetation. Removing the invasive growth gives native woodland plants more room to thrive. You don’t need previous land-restoration experience. We’ll have useful jobs for different levels of strength and stamina. Fallen leaves can hide rocks, roots, holes, and uneven ground this time of year, so we’ll work with other people nearby and watch our footing as we go. PERKS Yes, there will be sheep and goats in the forest. We’ll also spend three hours doing physical work outside with other people and watching the results emerge around us. By the end of the afternoon, crowded areas should be noticeably more open, and a good deal of invasive vegetation will have become food for the flock. Research has linked time spent in natural environments with lower stress and improvements in mood, attention, and wellbeing. We also simply enjoy noticing how we feel after a workday spent under trees, beside moving water, with leaves rustling around us and animals browsing nearby. At 4:00, we’ll put down the tools. Anyone who feels like hanging around can stay while we enjoy the fruits of our labor. We’ll get a honeysuckle bonfire going in one of the areas we’ve opened up, bring out the munchies and cider, and spend some time around the fire while the flock settles into the forest. The bonfire will depend on safe weather and fire conditions that day. BACKGROUND Clement Waters Retreat at Gregory Ridge is a four-acre edible urban forest restoration site in Kansas City. Years of dumping and invasive growth once made the woodland creek in the Gregory Ridge Neighborhood difficult to reach and enjoy. Over the years, hundreds of us have become Team Naturespace by showing up and working on the land together. We’ve removed waste and invasive plants, opened and maintained walking trails, planted useful and native species, and kept coming back so this little forest can remain available for neighborhood walking, nature-based wellness experiences, environmental learning, food gathering, and simple time outdoors. Farmer Dan’s flock adds something new to that work. The sheep and goats can turn a substantial amount of leafy brush into manure while we concentrate on removing roots and opening the trail. BOTTOM LINE Each honeysuckle bush we remove gives native woodland plants a little more room, while its leafy growth becomes useful browse for Farmer Dan’s flock. At 4:00, we’ll put down the tools. Anyone who wants to stay can find a spot around the bonfire, grab something good to eat, and enjoy the part of the forest we just opened up together. We’d love to have you there for the Flock Party. HOW TO FIND US Parking is easiest along Myrtle Avenue just south of East Gregory Boulevard. From there, walk to the driveway at the southeast corner of Myrtle and Gregory and enter through the red cattle gate, where we’ll meet at the opening of the trail.