Weed Out for Earth Day (4/21/2012)

What better way to celebrate the eve of Earth Day than with a three-hour weed out event?  Over 50 volunteers gathered at the UEC Riverside Park location to remove garlic mustard.  We proceeded to the riverbank north of the Locust Street Bridge.  This area has recently been cleared of undergrowth and a trail re-established.  The areas under the bridge have historically been hotspots for drugs and other illicit activity.  Cleaning up the area brings other regular pedestrians, and those who wish to do their deeds in secret have gone elsewhere.

This garlic mustard would soon be history

Unfortunately, the disturbance of this area has allowed for r-strategist invasive species to move in.  Garlic mustard is one of the most difficult invasive species to eliminate.  It moves into disturbed areas and spreads quickly, out-competing native plants.  Garlic mustard is allelopathic, which means that it produces chemicals that inhibit the growth and development of other species.  In the case of garlic mustard, chemicals are produced by its roots that suppress mycorrhizal fungi.  Most other plants and trees require these mutualists in order to obtain sufficient nitrogen and phosphorous.

We dug out the plants, removing as much of their long taproot as possible.  Next, seed heads were broken off and placed in black trash bags that will later be removed from the site.  One garlic mustard seed head can produce up to one hundred seeds.  The remaining stems and leaves were left to die and dry along the trail where the ground is too hard-packed for the plant to re-establish itself.  These will later be removed and burned. 

Other than the Weed Out event, there were other festivities at the UEC in honor of Earth Day.  The center held special events for toddlers to teens, including crafts, nature walks, and use of the climbing wall.  There were many other Earth Day clean up events around the city, but this was nothing unusual at the UEC.  It is their mission every day to encourage the community to become aware of their impact on the environment and their responsibility to preserve natural resources.