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A new volunteer group is mobilizing across Fairfax County to protect trees threatened by widespread invasive vines.

Fairfax Tree Rescuers PRISM, short for Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, launched with a Week of Action featuring events in Alexandria, Annandale, Burke, Clifton, Falls Church, Lorton, Reston and Springfield between Nov. 8 and 16.

Volunteers worked in parks, HOA common areas and along the boundaries of schools and libraries. Attendance ranged from small groups to dozens of participants, who learned how invasive plants can damage trees and suppress the native vegetation that supports local wildlife.

Organizers taught participants to recognize non-native vines and safely cut them from trees. Some vines can deprive trees of nutrients and sunlight, spread into their branches and add enough weight to contribute to their collapse. Volunteers also received instruction on the effective use of herbicides.

Organizers Warn of Long-Term Tree Loss

At a Nov. 8 event at Pohick Regional Library, organizer Margaret Fisher warned that many trees in parks, along roadsides and in other natural areas could disappear by the end of the century without intervention.

Some trees will fall because of age, she said, but dense invasive growth can prevent replacements from taking root. Fisher said estimates suggest roughly 1 million trees across the county could be affected or lost.

PRISM plans to educate residents and encourage neighborhoods and property owners to take action. One strategy calls for a volunteer in every HOA and neighborhood to serve as a local representative who receives information about invasive species and shares it with the community.

At the Pohick library event, about a dozen volunteers received a safety briefing before learning how to distinguish harmful vines from native plants. Experienced and first-time participants then cleared overgrowth threatening oaks, maples, hollies and other trees near the property’s athletic fields.

Fisher said the session resulted in 42 trees and 20 vine balls being rescued.

Public officials who visited Week of Action events included Rep. James Walkinshaw, Del. Dan Helmer, Fairfax County Supervisors Walter Alcorn, Dalia Palchik and Dan Storck, and School Board member Karl Frisch.

PRISM is continuing to recruit neighborhood representatives and volunteers for future work sessions. The Fairfax County Park Authority also offers tree-rescue training for people interested in working in parks and on other government-owned land.