[APWG] Fw: In search of: Good article to convince volunteers that their work is worth it?

Thu Oct 9 20:58:18 CDT 2008

 Lynette Scaffiidi passed the question along:

Mr. Cornell mentioned that some of the students have felt that this kind of 
work is pointless or futile given the size of the problem. I have been on the lookout 
for some material to hand out listing the reasons invasive plant removal is 
important.   

Does anyone have any great articles or words of wisdom that are eloquently 
written that I can forward to this volunteer?         

I've thought many times about the possible futility of invasive plant management work, usually while I'm out there doing it, often with questioning feelings of "What am I doing out here and why am I doing this?!?"? I make no claims as to the eloquence, but these are some of my reflections on why invasive plant removal is worthwhile.

For over 10 years I have been working on invasive plant control at Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington, Virginia. Arlington likes to call itself an "urban village," and indeed it is fairly densely developed, so that its two nature centers are small islands of "nature" in the midst of a lot of urban/suburban development. I started my work when I noticed that English ivy seemed to be taking over most of the area around the Long Branch nature center building. It just didn't seem right. I had been grumbling that "somebody ought to do something about that" and thinking that it was the County's job to work on the problem, but while I grumbled, the ivy just kept on growing. One day it occurred to me that maybe I was a somebody who should be doing something about it. Fairly randomly, and without a clue about what I was doing, I pulled up an ivy vine. It felt kind of satisfying. I pulled more. I cleared it off a park bench. I could see "progress." Without a plan, without knowing what I was doing, I continued to work. I did some dumb things. I made some mistakes. I started to learn. I discovered other people and organizations that were working on invasive plants. I signed up as an official volunteer. I began to form a sort of plan. I decided that it just seemed right that the area near the building should be as free of English ivy as possible, and that there should be no ivy growing up trees and harming them. I cleared hundreds of square feet of ground.

Over time, I learned the other invasives and began to kill them as I killed the English ivy. I satisfied myself, based on direct observation, that it was indeed possible to clear all the English ivy out of an area, even when it was extremely dense at the start, and to KEEP that area clear. I found that the native plants could regenerate in the cleared areas on their own, and observed them doing it. I began to feel like I was "liberating" ground so it could be what it should be. I liked it that visitors to the nature center now could see native plants, and mostly nothing but native plants, all around the building. Now I have a rough plan, and I keep pushing the bad stuff further back from the building and the main paths and access road. I found ways to try to do no harm to the native plants that were present among the invasives.

Working on invasives gives me a good excuse to be working outdoors. I can look at acres of land now and see real progress. I have learned a lot. I have seen, heard, and even smelled a lot of cool things while working out there. I have met a lot of nice people. I have had some adventures. Sometimes, I have been in environments that are darn close to "jungle" because of invasive growth. I have faced challenges and even a little danger. Yes, I have been poked in the eye by a stick and stung by yellowjackets. I've had mosquito bites and poison ivy rashes. I am very aware that even while I am working in one area and making progress, the invasive plants are growing and spreading somewhere else. Yes, I accept that I alone can't do it all.

The old environmental saying is "Think globally, act locally." And Tip O'Neill said "All politics is local." I may not be able to change things globally. I may not even be able to change things all over Arlington County. But I know I can change things at my local nature center, and I have, and I am determined to keep at it. And I am counting on it that I have a lot of company at other places working locally at their spots.

Finally, sometimes when I am out there, I try to think about how I would feel if I were part of the local native wildlife, like a songbird, an eastern box turtle, or even an insect. If a spot is infested with non-native invasive plants, I wouldn't be too happy. I would have trouble finding food. The place wouldn't feel right. As a turtle trying to get along, I would be running into strange obstacles that shouldn't be there. I think about how, if that area is cleaned up, I would be happier. It would feel right. So I keep at it and try to count on it that I am doing the right thing. I look for signs that the wildlife is responding, and I think I see some. So I keep going.

So, the bottom line is, you can make a difference in a spot and you can see that difference. Lots of other things won't give you that satisfaction. Go for it.

Cheers,

???? Steve Young
???? Volunteer, Arlington County "Remove Invasive Plants" (RIP)
???? Treasurer, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plants Council (MA-EPPC)

-----Original Message-----
From: Jil_Swearingen at nps.gov
To: apwg at lists.plantconservation.org
Cc: lynette.scaffidi at mncppc-mc.org
Sent: Wed, 8 Oct 2008 2:41 pm
Subject: [APWG] Fw: In search of: Good article to convince volunteers that their work is worth it?

Anyone got anything that addresses this? Please be sure to cc Lynette in
your response.

Thanks!

Jil

Jil M Swearingen
Invasive Species Management Specialist
National Capital Region IPM Program
Center for Urban Ecology
4598 Macarthur Blvd NW
Washington DC 20007
202-342-1443, ex 218
202-282-1031 fax
www.nps.gov/plants/alien
www.ma-eppc.org
www.nps.gov/cue

Please don't print this e-mail unless really needed.
----- Forwarded by Jil Swearingen/NCR/NPS on 10/08/2008 02:39 PM -----

                      "Scaffidi, Lynette"                                                                                                 

                      <lynette.scaffidi at mnc        To:       
<Betsy_Lyman at nps.gov>, <ma-eppc at yahoogroups.com>, <DRIPP at yahoogroups.com>    
                      ppc-mc.org>                  cc:       (bcc: Jil 
Swearingen/NCR/NPS)                                                
                      Sent by:                     Subject:  [ma-eppc] Good 
article to convince volunteers that their work is worth it?   
                      ma-eppc at yahoogroups.c                                                                                               

                      om                                                                                                                  

                      10/08/2008 12:53 PM                                                                                                 

                      AST                                                                                                                 

 One of our Weed Warrior Supervisor volunteers is leading an NNI removal project 
for  
 a school group.  She got a note from one of the teachers that said:                  

 Mr. Cornell mentioned that some of the students have felt that this kind of 
work is  
 pointless or futile given the size of the problem. I have been on the lookout 
for    
 some material to hand out listing the reasons invasive plant removal is 
important.   

 Does anyone have any great articles or words of wisdom that are eloquently 
written   
 that I can forward to this volunteer?                                                

 Thanks, Lynette Scaffidi                                                             

 Montgomery County Parks, Maryland                                                    

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