It’s been years, if not decades, since the lower Jones Falls stream, north of the Howard St. undergrounding, has had a planting plan for new trees and shrubs, much less Maryland natives.
For FTJF Stewardship’s 0.6 mi. focus area running from the Jones Falls Trail crossover at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum north to the Round Falls Dam, 30 over- and 50 under-story trees plus 125 shrubs were purchased for volunteer installation with assistance from a hired landscape contractor. The plan was afforded by the FTJF’s “Jones Falls Trail Invasive Tree Management and Native Replanting in a Riparian Zone” grant award by the Chesapeake Bay Trust. (We first reported this win in our Summer 2025 Newsletter.)
Our “Party” volunteers spent months preparing the planting area by removing NNI (Non-native invasive species) vines and other plants. The contractor removed a number of larger Tree-of-heaven NNIs.
On Saturday, May 30th, we hosted Party #60 in both morning and afternoon planting sessions. Nearly 150 of 205 plants were put in the ground by some 30 volunteers. Since then we’ve been planting what remained while beginning annual maintenance work.
-The FTJF Stewardship Committee
Friends of The Jones Falls 