2018 Volunteer Work Day: Invasive Garlic Mustard Pull in the Roan
Date: Saturday, April 21
Work from 9:45 am-1:00 pm.
Lunch and “weigh in” from 1:00 to 2:00.
Food/Drinks: Please bring your own snacks, lunch and bottled water. Lunch is not provided. A cooler of water will be available at lunchtime.
Equipment/Precautions: Work gloves and trash bags will be provided. Feel free to bring personal gloves or a trowel. Pulling garlic mustard is usually easy, but a trowel can be helpful for compacted roadside soil and stubborn roots. You will need a hat and/or sunscreen, long pants, sturdy shoes, lunch, water, a warm layer for high elevation hiking, and rain gear. If you are allergic to poison ivy, consider wearing long sleeves and pants. You may want a bag to keep your items with you throughout the day. It may be difficult to return to your car while we are working. Some work sites are very steep. Please let me know before the workday if you prefer to work on flatter terrain or have medical conditions. First aid kits will be on site.
the Southern Appalachian region. Because it has few natural enemies in North America, it is capable
of out-competing native plants by depriving them of sunlight, moisture and space. Garlic mustard is
a biennial plant, meaning it has a two year life cycle. In its first year, it develops kidney-shaped
leaves that grow close to the ground in what is called a basal rosette; the leaves smell like garlic
when crushed. In their second year, the plants rapidly grow upward and develop small white
flowers. The flowers are soon replaced by slender seed pods, which are capable of spreading
hundreds of seeds once mature. Garlic mustard is a hardy plant. If you pull the plant and leave it on the ground, it may re-root or
piles aren’t maintained in a way that gets hot enough to kill the seed, which means you could end up
spreading garlic mustard with your compost (The Stewardship Network). Removing garlic mustard from thoroughfares such as Roan Mountain State Park and public roadsides is crucial to controlling the establishment and spread of this invasive species in our area. Please RSVP by emailing marquette@appalachian.org if you are interested. Let’s get ’em!
On Tuesday, June 21, we were invited to assist the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Conservation Leadership Corps and Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club (TEHCC) with trail improvements leading to Jane Bald in the Highlands of Roan. Our Roan AmeriCorps member Travis Bordley and CTNC Diversity in Conservation intern Tamia Dame had a lively work day with eager interns from widespread home locations, including New Orleans, Dallas, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Carl Fritz, representing TEHCC, explained how recent rain has eroded gravel from sections of the Appalachian Trail, causing large puddles to form along some stretches. This has led hikers to form a secondary path to the right of the Trail. The mission on this workday was to restore the designated trail and discourage off-trail hiking by barricading the secondary path.
Near the end of their Spring semester, a group of dedicated Mars Hill University (MHU) students spent a Saturday volunteering for “the good of a bird that can fit in the palm of your hand,” according to workday organizer Travis Bordley, SAHC’s Roan AmeriCorps member.
