Greenbelt, Greenbelt Homes Inc. Housing Cooperative
Description: With ~100 acres of stewardship forest and wooded parcels in Old Greenbelt, the Woodlands Committee is actively involved with urban forestry management.
Weed Warriors: Invasive Plant Removal Team
Committee: Woodlands
Controlling the spread of invasive plants in our woodlands is a lot of work. We need help from members young and old. Our Weed Warriors are trained to identify and remove invasive plants and to help educate other members. Join our team to keep Greenbelt "green!"
To get involved dial 301.474.4161, ext 137.for Greg Eck.
http://ghi.coop/content/invasive-plants-green-menace
Invasive Plants: The Green Menace
Committee: Woodlands
What is an Invasive Plant?
Non-native or "Alien" plants are those introduced by people either accidentally or on purpose into a region far from their native habitat. For the most part, alien species form an important part of our culture and contribute immensely to farming, gardening, landscaping, and soil stabilization. Many of our staple food crops are actually non-native plants. However, among the many introduced plant species, some have displayed unexpected growth tendencies allowing them to readily invade our natural areas. These so-called invasive alien plants typically exhibit the following characteristics:
- Rapid growth and maturity
- Prolific seed production
- Highly successful seed dispersal, germination, and colonization
- Rampant vegetative spread
- Ability to outcompete native species
- High cost of removal and control
Where do you find them?
Invasive alien plants typically thrive in disturbed sites, like roadsides, farmland, and areas of new development. Native plant communities fragmented by human disturbance are most vulnerable to invasion, but many invasive species can infest even intact ecosystems. Invasive alien plants are free of natural controls such as insects and diseases that keep them in balance in their native habitats.
Why are they a problem?
Invasive plants are widely recognized as the second greatest threat to biodiversity, just behind habitat loss to development. Because of their growth traits and lack of natural controls, invasive plants often overwhelm native vegetation to which birds and other wildlife have become adapted. Dense stands of non-native plants can choke out native species, destroying and altering habitat. While native vegetation encourage a diversity of species, invasive plants typically create a monoculture.
Invasive Plants Strike Close to Home
Here in our wooded community, invasives are a real and growing threat. In 2002, a professional arborist completed a survey of our wooded parcels as part of our Forest Conservation Management Agreement (FCMA) to evaluate the overall forest health. The survey found an alarming spread of invasive plants that will destroy the forested areas we hold so dear. Click here for a list of the worst plants.
The Woodlands Committee, acting on the recommendations of the FCMA plan and with direction from the Board of Directors, is taking the lead in fighting the spread of non-native invasive plants in our community.
What Greenbelt Homes Is Doing
- Tracking the threat. GHI and the Woodlands Committee are monitoring all of our wooded areas for invasive plants. Many areas are heavily infested while others are more natural. Regular monitoring will help us best target our efforts.
- Controlling the spread. GHI is systematically removing the most aggressive invasive plants from our wooded areas. Staff, contractors, members, and volunteers are helping pull, cut, and properly dispose of unwanted invasives. GHI is also working to update plant recommendations to replace invasive species with natives.
- Educating members. Many invasive plants spread by accident. Some grow out from member's garden areas and yards, others sprout by seeds dropped by birds. Stopping invasive plants requires member's help to discourage invasives from spreading outside their yards. GHI has developed fact sheets and is organizing workshops for members on invasive plant identification and removal.
- Replanting natives. Once invasive plants are removed, GHI is committed to helping reestablish native plants. Sometimes nature takes care of itself, other times it needs help. GHI is replanting native plants in targeted restoration efforts where necessary.
What You Can Do
- Scout for invasive species in your yard or near your home. Learn which plants are problems in Maryland, so you can recognize them if you see them. GHI has developed helpful fact sheets on the most common invasive plants in our woodland areas.
- Avoid introducing invasive species. Check with plant sellers before you buy, to make sure that the plant you want, whether native or alien, is not invasive. Ask about non-invasive alternatives for your garden. Click here for a list of the plants prohibited in GHI.
- Minimize disturbance. Many invasive species are adapted to disturbance and rapidly take over newly disturbed areas. Keep open areas on your property to a minimum and monitor disturbed areas for species that spread quickly.
- Remove invasive species before they become a problem. The best way to control invasives is through early detection and rapid response. Pull, cut, spray or deadhead problem plants before they go to seed. Contain spreading vines and other plants to your property so they don't infest our wooded areas.
- Join the GHI Weed Warriors. Controlling the spread of invasive plants in our woodlands is a lot of work. We need help from members young and old. Our Weed Warriors are trained to identify and remove invasive plants and to help educate other members. Join our team to keep Greenbelt "green!"
Our woods are one of our greatest assets - let's preserve them!
Greenbelt, Buddy Attick Park
Volunteer to protect remnant woods in Greenbelt, MD!
Website: https://www.greenbeltmd.gov/government/departments-con-t/public-works/green-volunteer-opportunities
Location: 555 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Description: The City of Greenbelt Department of Public Works in partnership with Chesapeake Education, Arts, and Research Society (CHEARS) needs volunteers to work in teams to place protective wire caging around the base of slow-growth trees to limit beaver activity at Buddy Attick Park in Greenbelt, MD. Volunteers will also be supplied with shears and disposable bags to remove invasive English ivy from native trees at Buddy Attick Park.
Orientation will take place at the City of Greenbelt Department of Public Works Building, which is located at the far end of the Buddy Attick Park parking lot at 555 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770. Volunteer Event Signs will lead you to the direction of the event once you enter Buddy Attick Park.
Please remember to dress weather appropriate, wear closed toe shoes, and bring your own reusable water bottle / coffee mug. Free water and coffee are provided by the City of Greenbelt Department of Public Works. All equipment and tools are provided by the City of Greenbelt Department of Public Works and CHEARS.
Contact: jmartin@greenbeltmd.gov
Greenbelt National Park
Dates: The first Saturday of every month, 11 am-3 pm.
Description: Greenbelt Park, just 12 miles from Washington DC, is a beloved retreat from the city and an important refuge for native plants and animals. Come join us to defend Greenbelt Park from alien invasive weeds. Volunteers hand pull harmful non-native plants such as Japanese honeysuckle, beefsteak mint, mile-a-minute weed and garlic mustard. People of all ages, backgrounds and interests are invited to spend a fun day outdoors learning about native and non-native plants and helping preserve the health of native wildlife. Bring a lunch, a drink, and work gloves, and dress for the weather.
Directions: From I-495 to Kenilworth Ave. south, after 1/4 mile exit on right for Greenbelt Rd (MD Rt 193). Turn left onto Greenbelt Rd and park entrance will be on the right at 6565 Greenbelt Rd. From US Rt 1, take Greenbelt Rd east past Beltway Plaza shopping center and Kenilworth Ave, and the park will be on the right.
Contact: Tom Crone, crone[@]cardinalmail.cua.edu, 202-746-2228, or 301-864-1959. Greenbelt National Park, www.nps.gov/gree or 301-344-3944.
https://www.nps.gov/gree/getinvolved/supportyourpark/invasive-plant-removal.htm
Invasive Plant Removal
Update-Participants meet at Park Headquarters at 11:00 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month.
1-Please call us at 301-344-3948 to sign up.
2a- Fill out a individual volunteer agreement form and bring it with you.
2b- Fill out a GROUP volunteer agreement form and bring it with your group.
4- Have fun and know you are helping preserve Greenbelt Park for this and future generations.
4- Bring gloves, sturdy shoes and tick spray (we will have gloves and spray at the park).
5- Meet us at Park Headquarters and bring some friends.
Come and help preserve Greenbelt Park.
Join us each first Saturday of the month to help remove invasive plants from the park. This partnership with the University of Maryland involves identifying and removing different invasive plants in the park. This hands-on volunteer project is going strong thanks to Volunteer Leader Tom Crone.
Thanks to the efforts of volunteers and the University of Maryland students, Greenbelt Park is preserving the park for future generations.
It is not a difficult or dangerous task. Please bring insect and/or tick repellant in the Spring and Summer.
Our volunteer leader will teach and show the invasive plants to be removed. This is time consuming and numerous hands are needed.
Participants meet at the Sweetgum Picnic Area at 11:00 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month. Meeting location may change due to road improvements.
Large groups, please call ahead at 301-344-3944.
Thanks to this project and the many volunteers, Greenbelt Park is a prime example of removing invasives before they can take over and destroy the native plants.
https://www.nps.gov/gree/getinvolved/supportyourpark/invasive-plant-removal.htm
Belt Woods in Bowie
Dates: Ongoing: Saturdays, Sundays, and occasionally mid-week.
Description: Invasive species workgroup teams remove creeping euonymus, Japanese honeysuckle, winged burning bush, multiflora rose, oriental bittersweet, Japanese stiltgrass, and garlic mustard from a mature forest with giant trees. Tools and gloves are provided, but bring your own favorite tool or pair of gloves. Groups are welcome! Please note that sometimes the woods are closed due to nesting songbirds, so be sure to check before assuming there will be a workday.
Contact: Pam Cooper, Belt Woods Site Manager, pamelakcooper@verizon.net or 301-249-3006.
Whitemarsh Park Weed Warrior Work Days (Bowie)
Website: www.cityofbowie.org/weedwarriors
Dates & Locations:
- March 23 & May 4, 2019, 9am-12pm at Whitemarsh Park (near the Bowie Playhouse), 100 White Marsh Park Dr., Bowie, MD 20715
- June 8, 2019, 9am-12pm at Belair Meadows Park
Description: The City of Bowie’s Green Team is in need of volunteers to help remove English ivy from Whitemarsh Park. As an invasive, non-native plant, English ivy spreads quickly and easily and is very destructive to native ecosystems. This is an outdoor activity that requires cutting the ivy vines at eye-level and foot-level, then pulling them back about two feet from the base of the tree to bag them. To participate, please register by contacting Kristin Larson (see below). This is also a great Student Service Learning opportunity. Children age 14 and younger must be under the direct supervision of a parent/guardian or Troop Leader at all times, and no volunteers under age 16 can use tools but may participate by pulling and bagging vines. Visit www.cityofbowie.org/weedwarriors for more information.
Contact: Ashleigh Armentrout (aarmentrout@cityofbowie.org, 301-809-3044).
Woodworth Park, Lower Beaverdam Creek, Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek in Cheverly
Dates: The last Saturday of every month from March - June, 9 am-12 noon. RSVP is necessary for notification of occasional change in location to Euclid Park and Magruder Springs. Meet at the Woodworth Park Playground at corner of Wayne Place and Cheverly Park Drive unless otherwise noted.
Description: This 15-acre wooded buffer wedged between a residential neighborhood and Rt 50 is slowly returning to its natural state thanks to the Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek. The group landscaped steps into a small hill that leads to an inviting trail volunteers blazed along a shallow winding creek. The creek divides the park in two and eventually feeds a tributary of the Anacostia River. The reclaimed land has a peaceful resonance. Trees stand out. Space, depth, and light are abundant. Smaller trees such as sassafras, hickory, hornbeam and a dogwood (discovered on a hillside after the thickets were cleared) are labeled. The forest returned to its rightful winter hues - black, brown, and gray. Help remove invasives and plant natives to save the most polluted stream in the Anacostia Watershed. Tools provided. Wear work gloves and sturdy shoes. Community service credit given for school students and others.
Directions: Meet at Woodworth Park on Wayne Place in Cheverly (occasional change in location to Euclid Park and Magruder Springs). Take 202 East under the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Go one block, turn right on Cheverly. Go one mile, turn left on Forest Rd. Go two blocks and pass the church on the left. Turn right on Parkway. Go two blocks. Turn left on Wayne for one block. Meet by small playground.
Contact: Joani Horchler, Volunteer Coordinator, 301-386-4394
Dan or Cathy Smith, 301-386-4394
Elaine Friebele, 301-341-5722
Gabe Horchler, ghor@loc.gov
Euclid Woods Park, Lower Beaverdam Creek, Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek in Cheverly
Dates: Please call 301-341-1261 to arrange a work session whenever you are free to help out.
Description: Euclid Woods consists of a 50-acre contiguous wooded area wedged between a residential neighborhood, the hospital hill, and the Cheverly Industrial Park, bounded on the west side by a tributary feeding into the Lower Beaverdam Creek. After restoration work began aound 2000, the area is slowly returning to its natural state, primarily due to removal of invasive plants and the rescue of young trees and shrubs from windfalls. The restoration has allowed the return of a rich understory of native shrubs, saplings and herbaceous plants, which form the basis of the local food chain and which in turn encourage insects that, according to entomologist Doug Tallamy, form over 96% of the summer diet of our birds. Smaller trees and shrubs, such as dogwood, hawthorn, sassafrass, serviceberry, spicebush and several viburnums, such as the hobblebush and witherod, are now thriving. Birds such as the pileated woodpecker, woodcock, and a number of raptors that had gone missing are now returning. The forest is beginning to function as it should to keep our air and waters pure and support the web of life that in turn supports us. Bring friends and help us remove invasive plants to maintain and further improve this largest and most productive natural area in Cheverly. Tools provided, but bring work gloves and sturdy shoes.
Directions: Call ahead to arrange the time and meet at 5607 Greenleaf Rd in Cheverly. Enter Forest Rd from Cheverly Ave heading west; go three blocks and keep right when the road splits; continue straight ahead and park anywhere at the end of Greenleaf Rd.
Contact: Matt Salo, 301-341-1261
Patuxent River Park, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Dates: Ongoing.
Description: Invasive plants present one of the greatest threats to the health and biodiversity of public lands. Join a park naturalist to help remove these invasive plants. Please dress in old clothes and closed-toe shoes or work boots. Gloves and tools will be provided.
Register at www.pgparks.com. Ages 13 to adult.
Directions: Meet at the park Visitors Center at 16000 Croom Airport Rd, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.
Patuxent Riverkeeper Center
Date: Saturday, May 14, 2016, 10am-1pm
Description: We'd love to have 10 committed folks come out and help us with invasive species removal. We'll provide supplies and water. You can bring a lunch, picnic, and use one of our boats for free afterwards as a thank you for your time and effort.
Directions: 17412 Nottingham Road; Upper Marlboro, MD 20772. Nottingham Road can be reached from Croom Road South below the turn off for Patuxent River Park (Prince George’s County). The Merkle State Wildlife Sanctuary is located just north of Nottingham.
Contact: RSVP to Sonia@paxriverkeeper.org
Little Paint Branch Park in Beltsville
Dates: The last Saturday of every month, 11 am-3 pm.
Description: The Maryland Native Plant Society, the Sierra Club, and the Anacostia Watershed Society co-sponsor monthly projects at Little Paint Branch Park (150 acres), Cherry Hill Road Community Park (15 acres) in Beltsville, and Magruder Park (15 acres) in Hyattsville with the M-NCPPC and City of Hyattsville.
Native plants to enjoy and protect at Little Paint Branch park identified by Joe Metzger on April 10, 2006 include...
Jack in the pulpit, white wood aster, spring beauty, trout lily, strawberry bush, American holly, spotted touch-me-not (jewel weed), eastern grasswort, woodrush, flat tree club moss, partridge-berry, cinnamon fern, dwarf ginseng, Virginia knotweed, cinque-foil, cursed crowfoot, buttercup, dewberry, black raspberry, elderberry, Solomon's seal, goldenrorod, skunk cabbage, meadow-rue, New York fern, cranefly orchid, low blueberry, possum-haw, common blue violet, and netted chain fern.
Our objective is to remove the invasives to allow for these native to grow and flourish. We will continue the wonderful progress accomplished in the last three years by the Americorps workers, General Electric volunteers, Robert Goddard French Immersion and Montesori Elementary School, Washington Quaker Work Camps, and World Bank volunteers at Little Paint Branch Community Park. Learn natural history and special features of the park, methods and reasons for the project to control the spread of invasives. Native flowers and plants will be identified as we work to rescue them. There are full indoor toilet facilities and a large seating area for lunch. There will be a sign-in and safety orientation with handouts. Gloves and tools are provided. We can continue even with a little rain or heat! It is best to wear long sleeve shirts and long pants.
Directions: I-495, take exit for US Rt 1 North. About a mile past the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, turn left at the light onto Montgomery Rd. Drive for about 3 blocks and then turn left on Sellman Rd. The park entrance is at the bottom of the hill on the right. Meet in the Beltsville Community Center parking lot.
Contact: Marc Imlay, ialm[@]erols.com, 301-283-0808 (h) or 301-442-5657 (c). Michael Ellis, michael.ellis[@]pgparks.com, 240-429-5042.
Magruder Park in Hyattsville, Friends of Magruder Woods
Dates: Third Saturday of every month, 9 am-1 pm
Description: Save native plants in a popular urban park including aster, blackberry, pokeberry, tulip poplar, sweetgum, sycamore, poison ivy, skunk cabbage, American grape, American beech, and silver maple in the woodlands and forested swamp.
Directions: Meet at the Magruder Park parking lot. Take East West Highway (Rt 410) east almost to Rt 1 in College Park. Turn right on Queens Chapel Rd, about a mile before Rt 1. Go south about a mile and turn left on Hamilton. Pass the Beltway on the right, pass 38th St, go about one block and turn right into the park. Meet at the furthest end of the parking lot. Magruder Park is easily accessible from the West Hyattsville Metro stop on the Green Line. Approximately a ten-block walk to Magruder Park.
Contact:
Colleen Aistis, 301-985-5057, caistis[@]hyattsville.org
Marc Imlay, 301-442-5657, ialm[@]erols.com
Michael Ellis, 240-429-5042, michael.ellis[@]pgparks.com
Registration is desired, but not required.