On June 6, Laura McCanless, member of the Oxford Sustainability Committee, and Beryl Budd, Oxford City Arborist, led a group of high school students attending Oxford College Summer Experience Camp on a project along the Oxford trail system near Turkey Creek.

The student group attended the camp to help prepare them for the future. On the final day of camp, student groups went out with volunteers on various work experience projects around Oxford and the surrounding area.

Ten students ventured to the Oxford trail, with McCanless and Budd, where they gained hands-on experience by tending to landscape along the trail. They added fresh mulch to each tree after learning proper mulching techniques and pulled weeds from the base of trees that were planted in February. 

The students were provided with an information booklet and given instruction on invasive plants. To apply what they learned, they pulled invasive species such as Japanese Stilt Grass and Chinese Privet from a section of the trail.

A Facebook post by the City of Oxford said, “Community outreach efforts like this help the City to meet requirements for the Trees Across Georgia (TAG) grants that Oxford has received.” 

The city has received over $150,000 in funding provided by the US Forest Service through the Georgia Forestry Commission and Georgia Tree Council for invasive plant removal projects last year on Turkey Creek and this year on Dried Indian Creek.