Woman on a mission

<p>The trees of Santa Rosa are under siege.</p><p>They are being silently strangled by an unlikely assailant, hedera helix.</p><p>But as damaging to trees as English ivy can be, the insidious invader may have met its match in Pamela Williams.</p><p>A volunteer with the city's Parks Department, Williams is waging a one-woman counterinsurgency to free the city's trees from the smothering embrace of the vigorous vine.</p><p>Armed only with a pair of trusty loppers and work gloves, Williams has taken it upon herself to attack and remove ivy from city trees wherever she finds it.</p><p>"I'm on a mission," she said.</p><p>Williams, 60, is just one of hundreds who volunteer their time and energy to help the cash-strapped city maintain its public places, whether by planting flowers, trimming weeds or painting park structures.</p><p>But unlike other volunteers, she works largely alone, on her own schedule and has a unique agreement and approval from city officials. When it comes to ivy, Williams has a license to kill.</p><p>Ivy harms trees by constricting the growth of the trunk, called "girdling," and when it reaches the canopy, competing with the tree for light, explained Lisa Grant, parks superintendent and city arborist.</p><p>"It can ultimately kill the tree," Grant said.</p><p>Maintaining street trees is the legal responsibility of the private property owner.</p><p>In the past, however, the city parks crews have pitched in to help. Deep budget cuts mean the department can no longer afford to maintain street trees, including removing ivy, Grant explained.</p><p>So the city has effectively deputized Williams to do it.</p><p>Williams keeps an eye open for ivy-covered trees, makes mental notes of them and usually circles back later to remove it. She gives homeowners a letter from Grant explaining what she's up to.</p><p>"Some people think it's pretty," Williams said. "They're really surprised to know how damaging it can be."</p><p>Williams worked as an administrative assistant for the city for several years and now works at Blood Bank of the Redwoods. During her days at the city she developed a relationship with crews maintaining street trees, she said.</p><p>She honed her ivy eradication skills as a volunteer at the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery, which is near her home in the McDonald District.</p><p>So, when the city started telling her several years ago they couldn't respond to her ivy abatement requests, she took matters into her own hands.</p><p>It's tough, messy work, but Williams takes satisfaction in knowing that she's helping her city's trees thrive.</p><p>"Nature needs all the help it can get these days," she said.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com.</p>