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Grenville Baker Boys and Girls Club Help Slow Down Mile-a-Minute Vine
Persicaria perfoliata, commonly known as mile-a-minute vine or Asiatic tearthumb, is an invasive vine from Asia that poses a significant threat to the health of many preserves. This vine features small, triangular leaves and thorny stems. Removing the plant before it goes to seed is optimal and especially before the berries, each of which contains a single seed, mature. The time to act is when the berries turn from green to pink and blue and are easily knocked to the ground. To mitigate next year’s growth, our dedicated team of volunteers worked this fall to remove the berries from the plants and bag them. This effort prevents the berries from entering the seed bank and germinating. Additionally, we place the bags in the sun in an attempt to heat up the contents and kill any remaining seeds before proper disposal, further reducing the risk of spread. In September, a group of 20 students from the Grenville Baker Boys and Girls Club joined us to cut and bag berries in the Humes Preserve meadow. A week later, five AmeriCorps volunteers lent their support as well. Across our multiple meadows and with the help of many of our volunteers, we successfully removed and bagged over 40 contractor bags worth of mile-a-minute vine and its berries. Thanks to their hard work, we anticipate a lighter seed load next year.
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Volunteer Spotlight:Dorothy Schmidt
Dorothy Schmidt is an extremely committed volunteer. She is an integral part of keeping the Land Alliance’s Shore Road Sanctuary clean and healthy for wildlife. Dorothy comes a few times a month to Shore Road to cut the invasive reed Phragmites, to pull out mugwort or locust saplings and to clean up garbage along the shore. Despite the clouds of mosquitos that also call Shore Road their home, Dorothy always gets the work done, sometimes having to wear bug-netting. Without Dorothy we fear the phragmites may take over the beach! We extend our greatest gratitude to her for all the work she has done In her own words, Dorothy says “I have found a perfect place to volunteer at the Shore Road Sanctuary. I have been visiting the grassland once a week during the growing season for a little over a year now and have seen my efforts to improve the habitat slowly progress with a little hard work and consistency. My tasks are simple, I try and cut back as much phragmites as possible and remove mugwort and black locust. The Phragmites is my main focus. It has been rewarding to see the cattail flourishing in the bog area of the meadow, as it should, after my weekly weeding out of invasives. “While I am at the grassland, I feel myself relaxed and enjoy the tranquil sounds of the wildlife around me. I have observed the seasonal course of wildlife including the nearby osprey nest and the fledglings’ first flight. It was magnificent.” “The staff has been excellent in answering any questions I have and teaching me about the ecosystem. It has been a great experience for me, and I recommend volunteering to anyone who enjoys nature. Thank you, Land Alliance.”
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Volunteers Learn How to Identify and Manage Invasive Species
Volunteers are the backbone of the Land Alliance. Without them we simply would not be able to keep up with all the stewardship work that needs to get done. This year our volunteers have worked cumulatively more than 1,200 hours. They are some of the hardest working people we know, never shying away from a challenge. Whether it be hauling bamboo or removing hundreds of pounds of invasives from a pond or helping monitor preserve trails for damage, our volunteers do it all. Earlier this summer our volunteers and O’Neil Stewards were taken on a tour of Hope Goddard Iselin Preserve to investigate invasive species in the woodland and meadow. The tour was led by Abby, Melody and Kassidy from the Long Island Invasive Species Management Area (LIISMA). Throughout the trails, volunteers were introduced to invasive species that they may not have been familiar with. With LIISMA’s help, the group learned ways to identify invasives, where they like to grow and their impacts to their ecosystem. This knowledge is crucial for our volunteers to be able to distinguish between what they should pull and what should remain. With new invasives species appearing all the time, up-to-date information is one of the greatest tools in our toolbelt for protecting our environment. Thank you LIISMA for helping us and our volunteers stay informed! Sign up to Volunteer with North Shore Land Alliance! To learn more, visit www.northshorelandalliance.org/programs/volunteers-for-open-space/ and click the green Sign Up button or email [email protected]. Hope to see you soon!
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