Garlic Mustard pulling Party – PART 2!

WHEN: Wednesday June 1, 2011 – 4:00 pm until around 6 or so (please come for any or all of that time!)

WHERE: UVLT offices at 19 Buck Road, Hanover NH (whenever you can make it, you should easily find us out back behind the building or down the bank to the west of the parking area)

WHY: Garlic mustard is tenacious invasive plant found in relatively isolated spots in our area, but it’s ability to spread rapidly and disrupt native forest plant communities has raised increasing concern, and the infestation at Buck Road is one of the most established in Hanover, located right near the edge of the Mink Brook Natural Area. Garlic mustard efficiently displaces other native species, kills beneficial fungi in the soil that trees rely on for effective growth, and is distasteful to native herbivores, so it has significant potential to quickly alter the natural communities in our area – active management now can make a big difference!

PART 2:
Volunteers who came out to help pull garlic mustard this past Monday made dramatic headway and removed a huge number of plants from the invaded area between Buck Road and Mink Brook – thank you to those who came to help out! The effort was really valuable, and the area looks so much better – Plus it was quite fun working together, so much so, that we are inviting you to join us again as we take a crack at the remaining large patch just west of where we worked earlier this week. Come help with this effort and you will quickly learn how to ID the plant which can help you find it in other places (this is one of the best ways to help prevent small start-up colonies from ever getting established)!

WHO: YOU! And as many recruits as you can find to join UVLT staff for this Pulling Party Part 2! Let’s make the rest of the area look as good as the spots that were cleaned up a few days ago!

A few other details: This plant is pretty straightforward to hand-pull, so you can bring gloves if you’d like, but it isn’t really necessary if you don’t mind getting a bit dirty (who minds getting dirty?). Wear clothes appropriate for working outside – and probably wise to consider bug spray and/or long sleeves/pants. There is easy access to water and bathroom facilities inside UVLT’s office, and again we will have refreshments for all our volunteers!

We look forward to seeing you Wednesday!