Backwoods
Roland Park Country School students of all ages study and explore the ecology, geology and aesthetic beauty of the five-acre urban woodland on our campus known as the Backwoods. The Backwoods are bounded by Deepdene Road to the south, St. Mary’s Seminary to the west, the recently constructed RPCS tennis courts to the north, and the RPCS academic building to the east. This unique remnant of an old growth forest contains a high oak canopy, a mixed middlestory, both invasive and native plants, considerable wildlife, a wetland, a spring-fed stream, a springhouse, a dam and structures that channel the stream. The structures appear to be from a farm homestead that dates to the 19th century. The School put the area under Forest Conservation Easement
ten years ago in order to preserve our urban treasure. Thus, these acres are protected from further development.
RPCS academic classes frequently use the Backwoods for science field studies, spring “music walks” poetry writing and journaling. Photography classes and foreign language classes have found this environment enhances learning, as have classes in life skills and physical education. In addition students are found in the Backwoods on morning bird walks, planting trees and shrubs on community service projects, and removing invasive plants. In the summer the Backwoods is a study site for the Environmental Science Summer Research Experience for Young Women – a program that has been running at RPCS for 10 years.
In 2002-2003, the School developed a Master Plan, with the help of several consultants, to enhance, conserve and restore the Backwoods. The Master Plan was designed to enhance the ecological functioning of the woodland while also developing the area as an outdoor learning environment for students of all ages. An inventory of the plant community was conducted in 2005 with the assistance of Jeff Wolinski, consulting ecologist, and Charlie Davis, consulting ecologist and botanist. At the same time the large trees were tagged and numbered so that students could practice identification, measure growth, and also look at the distribution of different species in the woodland Common invasive species were identified and some were listed for eradication efforts in order to encourage native species. Burning Bush and English Ivy are two of the species on the eradication list. Early efforts included removing ivy vines from the large trees and cutting back the Burning Bush. In the spring of 2009, we had the help of an AmeriCorps crew with this effort. Each year students pull garlic mustard in an effort to reduce its spreading. To enhance the environment for learning, a gazebo was erected in the Backwoods so that students can sit down while observing, writing or sketching, and also have a place to gather for instruction and the sharing of discoveries. In 2009 a bridge was constructed to reduce impact on the stream, and gravel footpaths were built to improve drainage and reduce impact on the tree roots and soil from the many feet that pass through the woods.
The School continues to struggle with water runoff issues in the Backwoods and has hired Biohabitats, an ecological restoration firm located in Baltimore, to assist us in deciding what action to take. Several bio-retention swales are already in place but runoff continues and future conservation planning is being carried out.