Aylus Great Neck Branch Volunteer State Park 1/17/2026 (57th)
On January 17, 2026, Aylus volunteers went to Bayard Cutting Botanical Garden to assist volunteer coordinators with the control of Japanese Knotweed. We will start at 9:30 and end at 12:00.
The volunteers arrived at the field at 9:30 a.m. They put on gloves, picked up shears and other tools, and then walked for 2 minutes to reach the area with the densest concentration of Japanese knotweed. Because Japanese knotweed spreads through its rhizomes (roots) and is difficult to uproot, we only trimmed its height, preserving the root portion. The trimmed portion was collected by volunteers, piled up, and then loaded onto carts for transport. The root portion will be treated by the park staffs in the spring with herbicide injections to make sure that other plants are not affected. These Japanese knotweed plants typically grow in small clumps. Perhaps because it is winter, their color is mostly grayish-yellow or dark purplish-black; some are easy to cut, while others are more difficult. Furthermore, since these are mature plants with numerous branches, they are difficult to pile up in large quantities. This caused considerable trouble for the volunteers, but they persevered. The volunteers were busy all morning and everyone was a little tired, but it was worth it because they cleaned up an entire area of Japanese Knotweed! The volunteers took a group photo before leaving.
Members who participated include: Yingxiang Liu (2.5h), Felicia Liu (2.5h), Yuya Liu (2.5h).
Reporter: Yingxiang Liu
