Carolyn Mitchell PLA assists clients to restore the natural systems indigenous to their property. This typically involves developing planting plans that rely on native plants. It also involves identifying and developing conservation strategies for indigenous natural systems including the hydrology, soils, plant and animal communities, and preservation of sustainable historic development patterns. Carolyn is an ISA Certified Arborist and a Qualified Professional for Maryland Forestry Service Forest Stand Delineation and Forest Conservation Plan development. She conducts tree surveys and inventories and develops planting and restoration plans at all scales from large restoration plans to pollinator gardens.
Oak Crest Rewilding Plan
Image credit: Carolyn Mitchell PLA
This two-acre site is part of the vernacular farming landscape of St. Mary’s County, Maryland and includes a state-listed historic Queen Anne style house set in an oak grove. With many of the trees in old age and vulnerable to storms and sudden oak death, tree succession planning is a priority. The rewilding plan identifies areas for tree canopy replacement in native associations of herbaceous, shrub, understory, and canopy species. These natural associations are laid out within “succession gardens” that will ensure a cultivated appearance consistent with the historic setting and vernacular patterns of farmstead management. The plan identifies native species appropriate to the site and provides a sourcing strategy for appropriate ecotypes.
Shenandoah National Park Revegetation
Image credit: Louis Berger, Inc.
The National Park Service required demolition and revegetation plans for the removal of obsolete facilities at three sites within Shenandoah National Park. As principal landscape architect for Louis Berger, Inc., Carolyn worked with natural resource managers to ensure an achievable plan. She developed a planting palette for the revegetation that could be certified as native to the specific ecoregion of the site and sourced from the nursery trade . The specifications will enable each restoration site to mature into a plant community that is suited to the soil, hydrology, and existing plant association of the vicinity.