This Sunday Join the War on Weeds at Little River State Park in Support of National Public Lands Day!

Crossett Brook Middle Schoolers
pull out invasive honeysuckle

This Sunday, September 25, we invite everyone to join us in helping wage the "War of the Weeds" as part of National Public Lands Day.   Come to Little River State Park at 10:00am. Park Interpreter Brian Aust will lead volunteers through the park removing invasive honeysuckle plants while teaching participants about invasives in Vermont.

National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy. On September 24, 2011, over 170,000 volunteers will plant trees, remove trash, and build trails at public lands across the nation. Last year, volunteers and community partners contributed an estimated $15 million of improvements to over 2,000 public land sites. You can join in the effort too by doing your own War on Weeds on your property! Read more about Brian's fight below:

Brian's "War on Weeds" program caught the interest of Crossett Brook Middle School. Sixty middle schoolers along with teacher and chaperones helped pull a HUGE amount of invasive honeysuckle out of a section of forest between the Walnut lean-to and the park host volunteer site.

What's an invasive species? According to the New England Wildflower Society, an invasive species is "a non-native species that is capable of moving into a habitat and monopolizing resources such as light, nutrients, water, and space to the detriment of other species." Through Brian's program, he's helping to re-establish a healthier ecosystem by removing as many honeysuckle plants as he can.

A truck load of honeysuckle removed
from a family on their vacation!

Lending a hand at Little River, was a young family of three that were in the park for two weeks. Brian tell us that the family's "five-year-old son earned the new Junior Ranger badge and honeysuckle pulling was the service project. [The family] pulled honeysuckle around their campground and the B-side loop (not the beach area) for the rest of their stay." Talk about working on your vacation! In the photo to the right is the result of all their hard work!

Brian helps to remove invasive species

Brian continues his "War on Weeds" with the help of boy scout troops and AmeriCorps members this week. Good Luck Brian and keep us posted. For more information on removing honeysuckle on your property, visit this USDA document.

To see what else is happening at Little River State Park and other state parks, visit the events page.