Oakland Gardens Branch Removing Invasive Species in Kissena Park (06/15/2025)

On Sunday June 15th 2025, Aylus Oakland Gardens hosted its 164th event at the north-east corner of Kissena Park. During the event we worked with Roxanna, the park supervisor, and Gardeners Ada and Peter.

At the beginning of the event Roxanna explained to the whole volunteer group what we were doing today. She instructed us that we were removing invasive species from areas around the north-eastern shore of Kissena lake. She showed us the four invasive species we were removing : Mugwort, Rosa Multiflora, English Ivy, and Oriental Bittersweet. By removing these plants, we allow native species to thrive and keep the shores of Kissena park healthy and beautiful. After initial instruction, Roxanna split us up by groups (High, Middle, Elementary). After filtering into age groups. Roxanna further formed smaller groups by picking a few members from each age group. Then Roxanna distributed shovels, trowels, Loppers, and two saws. Then Roxanna Instructed us on which tools to use on which invasive species. She showed us we should use the shovels and trowels to remove English Ivy and Oriental Bittersweet. Then she showed us we should use the shovels and loppers to remove the Rosa Multiflora. Lastly she demonstrated how we can pull out Mugwort with our hands. During the event we mainly worked on two areas, one supervised by Ada and the other area by Peter. Throughout the event we threw the removed species onto a waiting park service truck. At the end of the event we managed to fill most of the truck with removed species. Lastly we gathered to take a group picture at the north-eastern shore of Kissena Lake.

We would like to thank everyone for coming to today’s event. We would like to thank everyone who volunteered despite the weather. We would like to thank Roxanna, Ada, and Peter for their guidance. We would like to thank every Aylus member who participated in the event. Lasty we hope to work with Roxanna and her group on more projects together to better the community.