Volunteers aim to root out area's invasive plants

CHESAPEAKE

The local chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society will join the Chesapeake Arboretum and interested volunteers on May 2 to uproot nonnative growth in the area during the first statewide Invasive Plant Removal Day.

They will target English ivy and ligustrum, also known as privet, at the arboretum's urban forest in Chesapeake, said Barbara Gelzer, the arboretum's coordinator. Statewide, various other groups will take on similar tasks in their own communities.

Steve Stasulis, president of the South Hampton Roads chapter of the Native Plant Society, said the group hopes to bring in other volunteers in the effort to remove invasive plants at the arboretum's 43-acre urban forest, which includes 2.5 miles of trails and a mile of a natural stream.

"It's a really nice community effort," said Stasulis, a Virginia Beach resident. "A place like the Chesapeake Arboretum, everything they have relies on volunteers."

Invasive species are recognized nationally and locally as a major threat to healthy ecosystems. In Virginia alone, the cost of invasive species is estimated at $1 billion annually.

The Virginia Native Plant Society and the Virginia Master Naturalists are sponsoring the statewide event. Activities are being coordinated now and interested people can learn more by going to www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/invasives/index.html.

People interested in volunteering for the local effort can contact the Chesapeake Arboretum at (757) 382-7060 or chesapeake.arboretum6@verizon.net.

Gelzer said the group will pick a spot on the trail, across from the arboretum's headquarters on Oak Grove Road, to attack. They expect to pry English ivy from around trees so that it can be cut, she said. Younger plants can simply be yanked from the ground.

"This is not a job for mechanized equipment," Gelzer said. "Arms, legs and hand tools are going to make this happen."

There are other invasive plants in the area, but the group selected English ivy and privet for this particular project. It is an ongoing effort to prevent the invasive species from overwhelming native plants.

Privet was introduced from Europe as far back as the 1700s. It's a major problem in the Southeast, invading a variety of terrains from floodplains to forests.

English ivy, native to Europe as a popular landscaping plant, most likely made its way here from immigrants, said Jean-Marie Eagler, president of the arboretum.

The ivy is one of a few exotics that can thrive in deep shade, and if left unchecked it could blanket forest floors, Eagler said. It's found anywhere people have been.

A second phase of the effort will be to introduce native plants back into the urban forest.

"English ivy, privet and many turf grasses provide little food or protection for our native birds and beasts," Stasulis said. "Our group encourages the use of natives in our gardens to foster beneficial insect and animal life."

John Hopkins, (757) 222-5221, john.hopkins@pilotonline.com