HEARTS Spring ‘25 Community Service Day
Thank you to the volunteers of all ages who joined local Scout Troops 148 and 248 for a Community Service Day at the Hugh Torance House and Store on Sunday, March 9th, 2025!
Scout Troops 148 and 248 took a well deserved break for lunch catered by City BBQ of Huntersville after working hard at the historic Hugh Torance House and Store during Community Service Day - Photo courtesy of HEARTS.
Community volunteers and local Scout Troops 148 and 248 helped make an incredible difference at the Hugh Torance House and Store at our first Community Service Day in 2025!
The woods surrounding the historic site were overrun with invasive autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) and privets (Ligustrums) that compete with native species such as the spicebush and pawpaw trees. Thanks to these dedicated volunteers, an incredible improvement was made to the sites’ visibility from Gilead Road and between the historic Hugh Torance House and its’ sister site next door, Cedar Grove. It was a very successful day working together in nature and improving the site grounds to prepare for Spring.
A successful cleanup effort
The workday resulted in two massive piles of invasive species and other fallen debris removed from the site - Photos courtesy of HEARTS.
This site clearing was the first step in two new outdoor projects at the Hugh Torance House and Store!
Hugh Torance’s Outside Kitchen Foundation and New Kitchen Garden - Thanks to the clearing on Community Service Day, the stone and brick remnants from the original kitchen site at the Hugh Torance House and Store were located, matching the vicinity of an earlier archeological report! Next steps will include additional clearing and sensitive site reconstruction preparation work. In addition, a kitchen garden is also planned adjacent to the kitchen foundation. There is much to do in the months ahead and we look forward to sharing these new features with all our guests in the future.
A Historic Boxwood Garden for the 21st Century - Thanks also to Randolph Lewis and Aaron Kampe who skillfully removed briars and poison ivy from the historic boxwoods at Cedar Grove. Plans for the new Boxwood garden include pollinator perennials and seating for a meditative memorial honoring all those who lived at Cedar Grove. Kampe, a biologist, estimates the boxwoods’ age may align with Cedar Grove due to the slow growth characteristic of English Boxwood. We’ll continue digging into the research of Cedar Grove’s boxwoods as well as at other historical gardens and look forward to sharing a feature on the Boxwoods at historic sites throughout our area in the future.
The workday also resulted in great progress made towards eradicating the invasive plants threatening to take over the historic Boxwoods at Cedar Grove - Photos courtesy of HEARTS.
Thanks also goes out to our generous community partner City BBQ for graciously providing a delicious BBQ lunch to our team of Community Service Day volunteers!
We can’t wait to volunteer alongside the amazing members of our community at our next Community Service Day!
