Volunteer of the Month for January 2016-CHiRP

In 2015, two volunteers approached City staff with an idea. They wanted to develop a program that would allow volunteers, including University of Missouri faculty and staff, to remove invasive plants from the MKT Trail corridor. From that idea CHiRP—Columbia Habitat Improvement and Restoration Project was born. Jan Weaver and Brenda Peculis founded CHiRP and were joined by other community volunteers. Cheryl Hardy and Gary Fennewald are two key volunteers in the program. Volunteers shared more than 285 hours of hard work in the City’s 2015 fiscal year removing honeysuckle and other invasive plants along the trail between Providence Road and Stadium Boulevard. By improving the plant community, CHiRP volunteers hope to improve the habitat for birds and other animals. MU Director of Landscape Services Pete Millier appreciates the work of CHiRP. “We hope that this is the first of many collaborations to get a handle on the bush honeysuckle and other invaders along the trails,” he said. The City of Columbia thanks and recognizes Jan, Brenda, Cheryl, Gary and the many other volunteers who have worked to improve the trail corridor through their work with CHiRP.