*Editor's note: This article was altered from its print edition to correctly identify the invasive trees as Bradford Pear Trees and the group that donated the replacement trees as Davey Tree Expert Company.
ALLEGHENY CITY CENTRAL — A small, but beloved Northside park is getting a facelift thanks to a group of volunteering organizations headed by the Mexican War Streets Society.
Joined by Tree Pittsburgh, Landforce and Davey Tree Expert Company, the Society began work to replace invasive plants at Mechanics’ Retreat for native species on April 21. The volunteers were further assisted by Commonplace Coffee, which provided water for the workers as they brought out their shovels and rakes for some heavy-duty gardening.
Michael Koester, a member of the Society’s board, explained that the park had several invasive plants that had begun to die. These invasives were removed, but that created a new problem.
“That took a lot of shade out of here,” he said. The Society got in contact with Tree Pittsburgh, who offered to help with planting new trees for free. Landforce also offered their services, while Davey Tree Expert Company donated trees to the project.
Susan Benn, the society’s garden consultant, explained that when the park was first established in the 1980s, several non-native species had been planted there. Most notable was a Bradford Pear Tree, which rapidly colonized both the park and some surrounding areas with its seeds, sprouting “thousands” of young Bradford Pears.
The issue with the Bradford Pear was that native caterpillar species couldn’t eat it, damaging the ecosystem by depriving those bugs of a food source, especially as the Bradford Pears’ seeds sprouted and overtook the park.
Replacing the Pear and other invasives will be more native plants, including Hawthorns, Inkberries and Redbuds. In addition to those trees donated by Davey Tree Expert Company, Benn was able to source trees for the replanting from some interesting places, including getting some from movie sets.
The park will also be receiving a new shed as part of the renovations.
Koester said the Society will likely have more work days on the park in the future, and that anyone interested in volunteering for such projects should follow the Society’s social media or newsletter for a chance to get involved. To sign up for the Society’s newsletter or find links to their social media, visit mexicanwarstreets.org Mechanics’ Retreat Park is located at the corner of Jacksonia and Buena Vista streets. The park is named after the old-fashioned name for laborers, which was simply “mechanic” regardless of the laborers’ actual job, Benn explained.
