It’s not often Arlingtonians get to save a tall, handsome neighbor from a slow and agonizing death. But that is what about 20 parishioners of the Trinity Presbyterian Church on North 16th Street, along with Tree Stewards and Master Gardeners, did on Saturday. Their neighbors were the trees in the church’s grounds – many of them choking to death from an English Ivy infestation.

The effort at the church was spearheaded by Diane Allard and Romana Campos. Trinity recently signed on to become an "Earth Care Congregation."

“It's basically a commitment to use the resources we have wisely and take good care of what we have,” said Allard. “We have a number of members who are committed to the environment in professional and other ways.”

The ivy clean-up and mulching took two shifts of workers – with food and coffee in between – on what turned out to be one of the coldest days of the winter. “I like it cold like this,” said a relatively new tree steward, Jenny Johns. “It’s better than working in the heat of the summer.” Johns said she became a tree steward because she doesn’t have a yard, but loves nature, and this gives her a chance to work in a garden and give something back to the environment.

“This project is typical of our church,” said St. Pierre. “We do positive things through projects like this and get involved in the community; it’s what I like about Trinity.”

For more information about tree stewards or Trinity Church, see: www.treestewards.org and http://www.trinityarlington.org