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2018 Volunteer Work Day: Invasive Garlic Mustard Pull in the Roan

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This year, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy is partnering with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, US Forest Service, and Roan Mountain State Park to remove invasive garlic mustard from the park and heavily trafficked highways around Carver’s Gap and SAHC conservation properties in the Highlands of Roan. Plucking out the pesky invaders when they’re young and tender isn’t hard work, but it does take a lot of hands!
Location: Roan Mountain State Park in Roan Mountain, TN 

Date: Saturday, April 21

Start time: 9:30 am
9:30 to 9:45 – Introduction, safety talk, etc. Volunteers will be briefed, divided into groups, and dispersed across the Park and along public roadsides to pull garlic mustard. There will need to be some shuttling and driving of personal vehicles to make this happen.

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.

Contact info: For more info or questions, contact Roan Stewardship Director Marquette Crockett at marquette@appalachian.org or 828.253.0095 ext 210.
 
What is Garlic Mustard?
Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is an invasive, non-native plant, which has infested many parts of
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
have enough energy stored in its taproot to produce viable seed after being pulled. Most compost
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!

Volunteer Work Day: Invasive Garlic Mustard Pull in the Roan

/in /by
This year, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy is partnering with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, US Forest Service, and Roan Mountain State Park to remove invasive garlic mustard from the park and heavily trafficked highways around Carver’s Gap and SAHC conservation properties in the Highlands of Roan. Plucking out the pesky invaders when they’re young and tender isn’t hard work, but it does take a lot of hands!
Location: Roan Mountain State Park in Roan Mountain, TN 

Date: Saturday, April 22

Start time: 9:30 am
9:30 to 9:45 – Introduction, safety talk, etc. Volunteers will be briefed, divided into groups, and dispersed across the Park and along public roadsides to pull garlic mustard. There will need to be some shuttling and driving of personal vehicles to make this happen.

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.

Contact info: For more info or questions, contact Roan Stewardship Director Marquette Crockett at marquette@appalachian.org or 828.253.0095 ext 210.
 
What is Garlic Mustard?
 
Garlic mustard is an onerous, non-native species that can quickly outcompete native species, reducing biodiversity and adversely affecting the integrity of our ecosystems. 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 if you are interested. Let’s get ’em!

Register now for this volunteer work day:

  • First NameLast NameEmailOver 18 (Y/N) 
  • By providing your phone number, you ensure we have a way to contact you for any last-minute changes to the volunteer work day. In the event of inclement weather, we will use the contact info above to let you know by 3 pm on Friday if the workday is canceled. There is no rain date scheduled.
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Reflecting on Spring and Stewardship at SAHC

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035.jpgby Margot Wallston, SAHC AmeriCorps Stewardship Associate — July 2013

One of my favorite things about working in land conservation during the spring is being able to take note of the persistent emergence of botanical life after winter’s long repose. Hiking off-trail to monitor remote pieces of land affords the opportunity to witness the first signs of spring: new stems pushing up through the ground, swelling leaf buds, the first hints of color as flower petals begin to open.  It’s fun to guess what identity each new plant will take on: Will a red, clenched hand atop a fuzzy stem become false goats beard? Will a blue-purple fan of soft baby leaves become blue cohosh?

I’m not alone in relishing in this annual event.  Many people look forward to spring’s arrival as the best time to watch the forest reawaken after winter as wildflowers gradually begin to bloom.  But spring also stirs to life a host of invasive, non-native plants which compete with our native wildflowers and trees for essential resources.  One of the first invasive plants to pop up amidst our native spring ephemerals is garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata). Read more

Invasive Species Awareness Week

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Many of us look forward to spring’s arrival as the best time to watch the forest reawaken after winter as wildflowers gradually begin to bloom.  But Spring also stirs to life a host of invasive, non-native plants which compete with our native wildflowers and trees for essential resources.  Invasive, non-native plants reduce biodiversity, disrupt native plant-animal associations, and alter natural regimes and cycles (such as fire and hydrology).  Invasive species are said to impact nearly half of the species currently listed as threatened or endangered under the U.S. Federal Endangered Species Act.

Most of us are unaware of which plants are invasive and which are not, or the ways in which invasive plants like oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose and garlic mustard threaten our region’s biodiversity and natural heritage.  That is why Governor Beverly Perdue declared the first week of April as North Carolina’s Invasive Plant Awareness Week. Read more

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