You never know what you might discover when you show up for a day of work as an Individual Placement intern.

During a recent Earth Day service project, two Appalachian Conservation Corps Individual Placement interns happened to uncover a piece of Richmond history. Dion Jenkins (who is serving at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park) and Kalen Anderson (serving with Colonial National Historical Park) teamed up with a group of other volunteers for an invasive species removal event in honor of Earth Day.

Kalen and Dion removing invasives during the volunteer event.

 

Hosted by local organization Richmond Tree Stewards, the volunteer event took place on Belle Isle—an island on the James River. Richmond Tree Stewards is a part of the James River Park System Invasive Plant Task Force, a coalition that formed in early 2015 to mount a strategic, coordinated response to a crisis of invasive plant species in the park system. Invasive species can dramatically alter natural ecosystems by decreasing biodiversity (the variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem). They are aggressive and can crowd out native plants, increase tree mortality, alter soil composition, and reduce habitat—including food sources—for native birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and insects. Each week, Richmond Tree Stewards coordinates volunteers to work on Belle Isle. Their goal? Restore the island’s native plants and animal populations—but also, to help maintain the history of the area.

Clearing ivy on Bell Isle.

Volunteers cleared invasive species including English ivy, privet, Japanese honeysuckle, and tree of heaven, pulling the plants out by the root while sawyers use chainsaws to cut down those that were too big for hand tools. Meanwhile, the Richmond Tree Stewards planted native trees, shrubs, and perennials in the cleared areas.

As they worked together to clear fallen trees and invasive ivy, the group slowly began to uncover the remains of a large platform. Volunteers from Richmond Tree Stewards—who have been working on the island for years and know the history well—recognized it as the original foundation of Richmond’s first Black-owned radio station: WANT-AM (990).

WANT-AM’s radio station once operated from Belle Isle before the island was struck by hurricane Camille in 1969. The devastation from the storm destroyed the one-lane access bridge to the island and forced the radio station to abandon their site and relocate. The old radio tower was left to sit, slowly decay, and be overtaken by ivy—until the volunteer event. The group was also able to begin clearing a pathway from the trail up to the former site of the radio tower and station remnants.

The original site of WANT-AM’s radio station on Bell Isle.

One of the goals of Richmond Tree Stewards is to develop informational signs for this area so the public can learn about this incredible piece of Richmond history that rests at the top of Bell Isle. In a time where many modern-day radio stations are part of huge media conglomerates that have little connection with the communities they broadcast to, WANT-AM was a scrappy, fiercely local, community-focused station that refused to quit. And here at Conservation Legacy, that’s something we aspire to.

You can read more about the history of WANT-AM on the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s website here.