On Saturday, May 10, from 9:30am to 12pm, the AYLUS Dix Hills branch volunteered at the Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center to remove invasive plants. Volunteers mainly targeted mug wort, cutting it at the bottom of the stem and making sure not to pull it out as the roots could fragment, growing even more mug wort. Volunteers also assisted in removing dead stalks of plants to provide space for the new plants to grow in, with the noninvasive species mostly growing in late summer instead of spring like the invasive plants today. This helps the pollinator gardens, as it clears out the weeds taking advantage of the noninvasive plants growing in later seasons to choke them out and steal the sunlight, so removing them allows beneficial plants to grow and expand the natural ecosystem.
Volunteers: Jonathan Fan (3 hours), Sunya Kong (2.5 hours)
