Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards

08/27/2026

Last Saturday we welcomed our newest class of Charlottesville Area Tree Steward students at Ivy Creek Natural Area and Historic Riverview Farm. They met with their teachers, CATS Board members and all the support volunteers that keep the class running smoothly, took a tree ID walk and enjoyed some refreshments. Photos by Kimberly, JoAnn and Bill.

08/07/2026

Whenever I check the songbird nesting box trail at VDOF I stop by our CATS nursery to see what's happening. In early spring I saw our members potting up bare root seedlings, in mid-summer I've seen one of our watering crew giving our plants a drink and today it was a "leaf inspection" team looking for for aphids, caterpillars and other munchers. Taking care of our plants is quite a job with many CATS volunteers pitching in to help.

07/31/2026

Join Tree Steward Kathy Nepote for a talk on the "Best Trees & Shrubs for Wildlife and You" at Ivy Creek Natural Area.

How trees provide valuable habitat for wildlife and can improve the allover environment on your property.

07/13/2026

The CATS Member Potluck and Social was held on Sunday, July 12, 2026. We enjoyed a fun get-together with new and old friends at our annual member potluck. The food was terrific and meeting several of the class of 2026 enrollees was a welcome addition. Our current President, Indra Paul gave welcome comments, Kathy organized the food and Kimberly had a table set up with "tree cookies."

07/02/2026

A team of six CATS members have worked diligently to develop a 5-year plan for CATS over six months. The Board approved the plan and this past week two CATS 5-year Plan Discussions were held to share the Plan and answer questions.

06/18/2026

Several Tree Steward members went out to Greenleaf Park do do some w**ding and pruning of dead branches in the grant funded fern garden. Despite the severe drought, the shady area of ferns is surprizingly lush and the mulched trail is beautiful. The American Beautyberry and the oakleaf Hydranga is blooming. There is an Eastern Bluebird family in one of the nesting boxes in the park and the water feature and playground up the hill draws neighboring families.

06/18/2026

Our June member meeting was held in the Education Building at Ivy Creek Natural Area and Riverview Farm. The speaker was Shawn Halifax, the new executive director of ICNA. This was a great oppopartunity to hear about his plans for ICNA's future and how CATS members can contribute to their efforts. He answered questions and engaged us in a lively discussion.

06/18/2026

A few of our members came out to the Tree Steward Woodland in Mcintire Park to w**d and mulch our plants against the drought and heat. photo by Robin

06/15/2026

Tree Basics Talk: History of the American Chestnut
Have you ever wondered what happened to the American Chestnut?
Join Kaitlyn Harless, The American Chestnut Foundation’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Science Coordinator, for this informative talk about the fascinating history of this species and how it went from covering the Appalachian Mountain Range to almost going extinct.
Wednesday, July 22 from 3:00 to 4:00 a.m. Limited to 40 participants
Please register for the walk here:

Learn about the fascinating history of the American Chestnut!

05/31/2026

Kay has organized many workdays in Northeast Park and recently noticed "mile-a-minute" vines and a significant amount of additional invasive plants near the Rivanna Trail on Meadow Creek. She and Kathy organized a workday to pull them up before they crossed St. Charles Creek, a feeder stream, or escaped to the opposite streambank.