Austin Peay State University students and staff rolled up their sleeves take part in the “Peayple in the Community” event, a day of service that dispatches volunteers into the Clarksville community to get various tasks done. Among the many locations where APSU’s dedicated Governors lent a hand, a team assisted the Wade Bourne Nature Center in preserving the Wildflower Meadow during their morning at Rotary Park.

Volunteers removed invasive plant species and young tree saplings from a vast hillside meadow under a Tennessee Valley Authority power line with shovels, rakes, garden knives and an uprooting instrument. The goal was to prevent vegetation from advancing on the power lines and, more importantly, to avoid the need for TVA to apply herbicides.

TVA also uses herbicide spraying if vegetation is becoming too tall along power lines, which can pose a risk to infrastructure and public safety. If left unchecked, vegetation can interfere with the lines and lead to potential outages or damage. Repairing a damaged power line costs significantly more than performing preventive maintenance. Through manually removing such vegetation, APSU volunteers helped reduce chemical control in favor of environmental protection and operational safety.

Volunteers volunteered hours carefully pulling non-native plants out by hand, with wildflower seeds being planted in their stead, giving the wildlife of the meadow a cleaner, beautiful and more sustainable home. Center staff was thankful, giving volunteers organically grown cucumbers cultivated in the community garden.

Once again, the APSU community proved that service is at the heart of being a Gov, and great things can happen when Peayple come together for a cause.