Invasive species removal along the Pumpkinvine

Pictured at an Aug. 9, 2022, work party are Sarah 

Baxter, Trenton Snyder, Randy Snyder, Al Spice,

John J. Smith, Christine Guth.

 A small group (2-6) volunteers have been removing invasive plants at selected sections of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail since 2020.  All the volunteers learned a lot about botany by working together; we have a good time working together, no matter how much botany we knew when we started.  So far, we have focused on removing invasive plants in the best-preserved wooded areas along the trail, especially just west of the parking lot at County Road 33 and just east of the County Road 43 parking lot. We remove multiflora rose, bush honeysuckle, oriental bittersweet, garlic mustard and other non-native plants that can overtake native plants. We work from the edge of the surfaced trail to the fence lines that separate the trail from neighboring land.  After three years of working two hours per week from April through October, we can notice a big difference at the fence lines: on the trail side of the fence, there are many fewer invasive plants than in the adjoining woods on the opposite side, and growing populations of a wide diversity of native trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous ground cover.