WASHINGTON GARDENER
Why I Quit the Weed Warriors
I am also not a fan of using chemicals such as Glyphosate herbicide. In some cases, such as with Lesser Celandine, this is the only effective way to combat their spread. While some weed warrior programs and park professionals may use them, it is not something I wanted to be involved in or work alongside/in where herbicide applications were applied. Then there were the deer. They kept coming in closer to the sites we cleared, with no fear of humans, it seems. It was like we were doing them a favor by taking out the brambles and given them access to the tasty morsels underneath. If only they were goats! For those still in the Weed Warriors and related programs, more power to you! I admire your work ethic and dedication. For my own part, I plan to keep spreading the word about noxious weed manage- ment programs, and to keep those in my own tiny corner garden from taking over. Here are some local active Weed Warrior programs you might want to join: ● Fairfax County, VA, Tree Rescuer: https://fairfaxprism.org/ communications/other-documents/helping-fairfax-county- park-authority-save-its-trees ● Montgomery County, MD: https://montgomeryparks.org/ support/volunteer/weed-warriors/ ● National Park Service: www.nps.gov/rocr/getinvolved/ weed-warriors.htm ● Potomac Valley Audubon Society in WV: www.potoma - caudubon.org/conservation/conservation-initiatives/ weed-warriors ● Rock Creek Weed Warriors: https://rocrweedwarriors.org/ … and many more! Check with your local parks’ volunteer programs. Kathy Jentz is editor/publisher of Washington Gardener magazine. She is also the host of the popular GardenDC Podcast. All photos by Kathy. Washington Gardener magazine is the gardening publication published spe - cifically for the local metro area — zones 6-7 — Washington DC and its sub - urbs. The magazine is written entirely by local area gardeners. They have real-world knowledge and practical advice. They share their thoughts on what to plant in deep shade, how to cover bare spots, which annuals work best throughout the humid DC summers, and much more. The magazine is published monthly online and includes timely informa- tion such as a local garden events calendar and gardening to-do list for that month. A year-long digital subscription is $20.00. To subscribe to the mag - azine: Send a check/money order for $20.00 payable to “Washington Gar - dener” magazine to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 OR to pay via Paypal/credit card click on the “subscribe” link at www.WashingtonGardener.com. Washington Gardener magazine subscriptions make great gifts for gardeners and new homeowners.
BY KATHY JENTZ
It may surprise some folks to learn that I was part of a local Weed Warriors for several years. Our mission was to remove non-native invasive plants in public parks. We had a few training sessions and then could sign up for group workdays in specific areas of a designated park. We were also issued a Weed Warrior card that we could show people, if we were working alone and someone confronted us for “at- tacking” the park’s plantings. I was never asked to produce that card, but I still have it, along with my Weed Warrior T-shirt and bucket hat — somewhere. Admittedly, I was not a great Weed Warrior. I moved slowly and me - thodically, lest I accidentally cut off a desirable plant or trampled on a small woodland animal. While others hacked and slashed around me, accumulating big piles and filling several bags of debris, I’d be lucky to have one bag topped off at the end of a session. Mainly, though, I wasn’t diligent about recording my hours in their system or signing up for group events. My participation started to dwindle off after a few years. I started to get really frustrated and disillusioned with the whole effort. I’d go back to areas we cleared, just a couple months later, and they were totally consumed by the same plant we spent our efforts re - moving. Our hard work seemed futile and after a while, when I saw lit- tle effort to replace removed plantings with native ones (mostly due to lack of budgeted funds and staff power to do so), it seemed like an ex - ercise in banging our heads against the wall. In the last few years, I’ve been told more resources are being devoted to replanting areas that are cleared, and more volunteers are stepping in to regularly maintain already cleared land.
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Photo source: National Park Service
68—PATHWAYS—Summer 26
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