SHOCK AND AWE

Garlic Mustard At Newaygo Riverside Park a Big Success!

Attacking the invaders: the Newaygo Invasive Plants Project Early Response

team  (NIPPER) spreads out and overwhelms the noxious interlopers.
(Click on image to enlarge.)

Thank you, each and everyone, who was able to come to the pull at the Riverside Park. We had a terrific turn out and completely cleared the site of second year plants. Everyone worked hard and altogether we pulled out twenty-four bags of garlic mustard. 

This was no small feat. Our main target area was only about 1/4 to 1/2 acre in size, but this was due in part to some successful, early springtime spraying the cut the job at least in half for this season. Still, this area required a lot of bending, twisting, climbing & scrambling around in a woodlot with uneven ground, plenty of dead & down brush and of course other invasives, like autumn olive and invasive honeysuckle to fight through, not to mention the some small patches of stinging nettles. 

This was an important, early victory in the battle against garlic mustard's encroachment into our area. The pull event went on for three hours and volunteers were supported and rewarded with just a beautiful morning to work along the riverside. Nesting ospreys provided an aerial show, trafficking back and forth across the park and the river's edge. 

Just the day before, our project had some really helpful publicity by way of a short feature report on WOODTV. Steve Kelso from Channel 8 came out and did an interview with us at the Riverside Park on Friday, April 20, the day before our pull. It broadcast on the 5:30 p.m. segment of WOODTV News. See "Garlic Mustard Kills Native Plants" for the video report. Thank you, Steve Kelso.

A friend of ours called to say the report aired while she was away from the television working in another room, and she heard a familiar voice. Upon seeing us on the screen, she said she was 'shocked and awed' to see on the news. All I could say to that was, "Well, that's the effect we were going for: shock and awe." And it happened because of all of you. The garlic mustard in Newaygo County got some 'shock and awe."

Again, THANK YOU EVERYONE for coming and leading the charge!

Next Garlic Mustard Pull Dates:

4/24/2012  (Tuesday) Camp Trotter at 4:30 p.m., meet at the entrance gate to Camp Trotter out at Bill's Lake.

4/28/2012 (Saturday) Anderson Flats at 9:00 a.m., meet at the public access parking lot at Anderson Flats.