Cold Spring School Indianapolis Public School System

Bush Honeysuckle dominating the understory of the forest.

Marion County, 14 acres
Cold Spring School has about 14 acres of natural area next to the EcoLab of Marian College.  This academy focuses on environmental curriculum for grades K-8.  The school uses the surrounding acres for hands on learning in an outdoor classroom within the heart of Indianapolis.

The Cold Spring School project is a highly disturbed urban forest preserve which is directly adjacent to the Marian College Eco Lab. The flood plain forest communities on site were dominated by very dense stands of extremely large and well established Bush Honeysuckle, Buckthorn, Purple Winter Creeper, Oriental Bittersweet.  All target species were mowed with a FECON forestry mower in the dormant season.  Re-sprouts were treated with foliar herbicide appropriate to the species.  A 250 foot section of highly eroded stream bank along Crooked Creek was also restored as part of the overall site restoration.  This project was funded by the White River Advisory Council.

FECON forestry mower on a CAT Skid Steer