The Fall "Sprucing Up Barclay Downs" Event was held on Saturday, September 12th with over 45 homeowners and students participating and many more helping out at Selwyn Elementary for their simultaneous cleanup effort.
Neighborhood volunteers picked up a car bumper, several abandoned signs and about 20 full lawn/leaf bags full of litter, overgrowth and debris from the sidewalks along Runnymede, Barclay Downs Drive and Colony Roads, as well as significant pruning in several spots along the sidewalk on Barclay Downs Drive, making these areas safer for our children to walk or bicycle to school.
Both MPHS and Selwyn beautification committees completed their Fall clean-up efforts at the same time, thus expanding our combined impact in our community. A significant number of high school students and scouts earned up to 3 hours of community service for helping with this event.
Volunteers were treated to coffee, donuts, water and good fellowship with concerned neighbors. Thanks to all who participated in this annual event!! Your efforts have made our neighborhood a cleaner, safer place to live!
If you have questions or ideas on how we can improve this event – or would like to volunteer to chair this committee, please let any Board member know.
Barclay Downs Homeowner Association recently participated in a major clean-up effort around our neighborhood schools. The South Park Campus committee (chaired by Deering Oaks resident Priscilla Walters) organized the event, with help from Hands On Charlotte and Parks and Recreation. Over 75 volunteers turned out Saturday, April 17th to spread 17 truckloads of mulch and bark around the greenway trails and entrances to MPHS, AG Middle and Selwyn. Thank you to the many Barclay Downs neighbors that participated this collaborative effort to enhance the appearance around our school campuses. 
The Barclay Downs Homeowner Association (BDHOA) in conjunction with Myers Park High School recently held a neighborhood clean-up event. Over 40 students and neighborhood volunteers came out to distribute pine needles, pick up litter and remove fallen storm debris from sidewalks and playing fields at Alexander Graham Middle and Selwyn Elementary schools. MPHS students also picked up litter along Runnymede Lane and Colony Road adjacent to the school campus.
BDHOA is strongly encouraging homeowners to band their trees once the majority of the leaves have fallen. While cankerworms can feed on all types of trees, we are most concerned with our larger hardwood trees. Installing tree bands will help decrease the number of female insects that travel to the tops of the trees to lay their eggs in early December. As the trees leaf out in the spring, the eggs hatch leaving small green caterpillars to feed on the leaves. Once they hatch in the spring, the cankerworms can balloon to other nearby trees. They are very light and can be blown from one tree to another. This is why it is important for neighbors to organize or "band together" when applying tree bands. 
