Invasive Plant Management Workshop on May 3, 2013
The buds on many plants are about ready to burst, but do you know which ones will leaf out first? Unfortunately, they will include non-native honeysuckle (such as the one pictured below), buckthorn, and other challenging invasive species that we often find on lands here in the Upper Valley.
Invasive bush honeysuckle species all have hollow stems with brown-colored pith. The few native honeysuckles in our region have solid stems and white pith.
Can you identify common and glossy buckthorn, honeysuckle, Japanese barberry, autumn olive, bittersweet, Japanese knotweed, burning bush, and multiflora rose? Do you know the various ways to manage these plants if you find them on your property? If you’re not sure, or if you feel dismayed about the problem that invasive plants can pose to native ecosystems and the productivity of the land, join UVLT to learn what you can do to help!
UVLT will host an invasive plant management workshop on Friday May 3, from 2:00-6:00pm at Brookside Farm in Hartford, VT with landowner Dana Hazen. We will discuss management techniques, and Dana will describe how and when to use a variety of options for mechanical and chemical control depending on the species, location, and landowner objectives. Dana has a commercial pesticide applicator’s license and will bring many “tools of the trade†for participants to learn about. Following identification and management demonstrations, some hands-on work to practice mechanical control will show everyone just how each of us can help make a positive difference!  Please bring work gloves!
This pile of buckthorn was pulled last year which has helped give the understory and surrounding woods a chance to shift closer to a native state! (Photo courtesy of Dana Hazen.)
This is a FREE workshop open to the public and while registration is not required, it is much appreciated to help us best plan logistics (which includes important aspects like quantity of refreshments…!).
See UVLT’s calendar for more info, and please contact Jason Berard at UVLT’s office 603-643-6626 or jason.berard@uvlt.org to sign up.
Directions to workshop location at Brookside Farm in Wilder, VT: We will meet at the south trailhead of the Hazen Trail to walk to the demonstration and work sites together. Click the above link to see a map of the location and enter directions from your starting point. The Hazen Trail parking area is on the north side of Route 5 at the Town of Hartford’s Manawaka Conservation Area.
Additional information about managing invasive species in your forest: UVLT and our partners created two useful reference guides which are featured on the Vermont Invasives website – Click here to find out more, and get one for yourself!
