Tucked away in a small corner off of Pulaski Highway, NeighborSpace’s Volz Park is an oasis of biodiversity.  The 14 acres are home to mature trees, fields of ferns, stands of spicebush and pepperbush, rushes, cattails, and a variety of spring wildflowers.

At NeighborSpace, we monitor the health of all our parks, considering factors like diversity of flora and fauna and stream health.  We look for areas of concern that can be remedied through restoration efforts, such as invasive species pressure and streambank erosion.  

Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum and Sweet pepperbush, Clethra alnifolia

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identifies four components of a healthy forest:

1. Rich plant and animal life – A diversity of species from all five kingdoms of life, including microorganisms and fungi is a sign of a functioning food web that can cycle water and nutrients.  Healthy forests have a variety of trees, as well as understory shrubs and groundcover.
2. A diversity of habitats – Wildlife have different habitat needs.  Some birds prefer the tree canopy and some the understory.  Some plants need wet conditions, others dry.  A forest with a range of habitats can support a larger range of species.
3. Trees of different sizes and ages – Presence of trees of different sizes and ages indicates that the succession of the forest is functioning.  When older trees die, the midstory and sapling trees can take their place.  Old trees decay, providing food for decomposers and returning nutrients to the soil.  Even standing dead trees, called snags, provide habitat.
4. Clean water – A healthy forest has uncontaminated water that can support aquatic species.  Grasses and shrubs are present to filter rainwater and stabilize stream banks to prevent erosion.

Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum and spring beauties, Claytonia virginica ; America jumpseed, Persicaria virginiana

Volz Park is a healthy, functioning urban forest ecosystem with a range of species, trees of various ages, and a robust understory and active forest floor.  Additionally, the park has a low presence of invasive species and deer browse.  Eager to share this space with the wider community, NeighborSpace has recently partnered with the Baltimore Bird Club and the Natural History Society of Maryland’s Herpetology Club to host walks in Volz Park.

Soft rush, Juncus effusus, growing in moist ravine and Fern fiddleheads

A morning bird walk with the Baltimore Bird Club revealed that Volz is home to at least 13 species of migratory and year-round warblers.  The Herpetology Club was excited to find many wood frogs and spring peeper froglets (young frogs that have recently transitioned from tadpoles) in the park’s vernal pools and moist trenches.  The club is planning another visit this fall and next spring to do another survey of amphibians and reptiles.

Native violet growing on forest floor and Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum