A Day in the Life of Nature Reserve Steward Catherine Hu
At the end of each week, Forest Park Forever Nature Reserve Steward Catherine Hu creates a carefully thought out plan for the next week’s work, especially during the busy summer growing season. But some days, the best thing about the plan is that it prepares her for the unexpected.
“Yesterday, a visitor told us that a tree had fallen on a path, so we had to get the chainsaw and make sure it was clear before the end of the day,” Hu says. “Then it was back doing what we do every day — creating and conserving healthy environments for native plants to support native wildlife.”
Fortunately, most days don’t bring fallen trees, which allows Hu’s work to follow a fairly regular schedule.
Her mornings begin at 6:30 a.m. when she and her other team member, Nature Reserve Technician Theo Smith, gather the tools they will need to carry out the day’s plan in their Zone. Catherine and Theo’s area that they help to maintain and restore is known as Zone 4 — Kennedy Forest and the savanna in Kennedy Forest.
“A lot of our work is invasive species removal, so we usually need cutting tools and sometimes herbicide for spraying,” Hu says. “If we are working with a lot of woody material, we will need bigger cutting equipment or even a dump truck. It all depends on the plan.”
In between those jobs, Hu and Smith spend time every Monday and Friday picking up trash and checking the trail runs. Tuesdays are for volunteers — they help cut and treat invasive species, complete trail maintenance and take care of anything else that needs done.
However, Hu’s days are also full of surprises that delight her, especially as she checks on areas she has worked before and sees the results of her restoration work — there are many more grasses such as woodland brome, rye grasses and beak grain. Some flowers that are doing well because of the collaborative efforts include red trillium, white trout lily, woodland phlox, wild geranium, Michigan lily and more.
Several years ago, a coworker spotted a rare lettuce plant, nodding rattlesnake root, that is very picky about its habitat. Her team watched it for some time, but it never flowered. After Hu’s crew thinned the area of unwanted material, the plant flowered and produced seed for the first time the next summer. It is now thriving and spreading in Kennedy Forest’s boardwalk area, near the Zoo.
“That’s my favorite part of working in the Park — seeing the progress my sites have made,” she says. “Restoring really stable habitats takes decades, but even in the three years I have been working in Forest Park, I’ve seen areas where we have put in a lot of effort become a lot healthier.”
Two or three times a summer, Hu’s crew will perform a “high mow” in areas where they put down seed the previous winter. Using brush bars and tractors, they mow at a height of six-eight inches higher.
However, for regular lawn mowing, Hu relies on Forest Park Forever’s partnership with the City of St. Louis’ Department of Parks and Recreation.
“We will meet them in the field and use spray paint and pin flags to mark areas that we don’t want mowed,” she says. “The Park ecosystem is very delicate, so we want to make sure there is enough turf for for visitors, but not too much turf, especially near forested areas.”
The City’s Forestry Department also helps with large tree removal in the Kennedy Forest.
“We are so grateful for our partnership with the city,” Hu says.
Another important part of her days is talking with visitors.
“People enjoying the Park often have positive comments, but a lot of times they have questions when we’re weeding, pruning a trail, thinning the forest or using herbicide,” she says. “We view those interactions as education opportunities. We will talk to them about the need to control invasive species, for example. And we love answering questions like, ‘What kind of flower is this?’ or ‘What kind of butterfly is that?’”
Hu has additional interests in expanding the monitoring of insects and wildlife, which comes from her educational background and previous work experience. She earned a master’s degree in environmental conservation from the University of Wisconsin and completed an internship at Shaw Nature Reserve before joining Forest Park Forever.
“When I came to work at Shaw, I didn’t know Forest Park was being maintained nearby as a natural area in an urban environment,” she says. “It’s so cool.”
At the end of the day, Hu sits back, looks at the plan for tomorrow, and feels grateful for working in Forest Park.
“I love spending time with my coworkers,” she says. “We have a lot of fun together while doing work that’s important to our community and environment. I love it!”
Join us in celebrating parks and recreation professionals like Catherine during Parks and Recreation Month in July by sending them a note of thanks.