6/24/2023 Great Neck Branch Volunteered at Nissequogue River State Park for outed out the invasive plants.
On June 24th, the Great Neck Branch volunteered to pull out invasive plants at Nissequogue River State Park. Today, we focused on two types of invasive plants: mugwort, which is widely known and has been a major focus of our previous efforts, and Japanese knotweed, a plant that was originally imported as an ornamental species. Japanese knotweed can reach heights of 3 to 15 feet and, like many invasives, forms monocultures that outcompete desirable native plants.
Our goal for the day was to follow the “power of three” approach. According to this theory, if we cut back a plant three times in a single growing season for three consecutive years, it will weaken the plant sufficiently to allow native plants to reclaim the area. We opted for cutting instead of pulling out the plants, as experiments have shown that pulling them out can disturb the soil and potentially lead to the spread of more invasive plants. Moreover, cutting the plants will not negatively affect non-invasive species. If our citizen science experiment proves successful, mechanical cuttings will likely become the preferred method for controlling this weed in the future.
This cutting session marked the beginning of our third year. The volunteers collaborated exceptionally well today, resulting in a total of 11+ bags filled with invasive plants. This activity not only highlights the value of our dedicated volunteers but also contributes to the continuous improvement of the environment around us.
members who participated (2.5hrs): Fanxi Xia, Zixi Xia, Amy sun, Junbo Hu, Hongwei Xu.
