In an attempt to remove invasive plant species from local parks, East Lansing officials are asking community members to roll up their sleeves and help root out the problem.
A series of volunteer workdays are planned for April in some of the city’s larger parks, the first of which will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at White Memorial Park, north of Saginaw Highway.
Future workdays also are scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at Henry Fine Park, 759 Touraine Ave., 1 p.m. April 22 at Harrison Meadows Park, 1700 Roxburgh Avenue, and 9 a.m. April 29 at White Memorial Park.
Dan McClintic, an MSU alumnus and AmeriCorps service worker serving for the city of East Lansing, said the scheduled workdays mainly would focus on eradication of garlic mustard plants, herbs native to Europe which affect the growth of plants native to the East Lansing area.
He said removing the plants would be a long and difficult process because of the persistent nature of the plants’ growth cycles but said with enough proper care and maintenance, their growth and spread could be controlled.
“Invasive species are so terrible, and they are here,” McClintic said. “We’ve got to keep being persistent (and) keep going after it every single year.”
The workdays are part of the city’s Environmental Stewardship Program, a relatively new program that focuses on removing invasive species from area parks and getting community members involved in sustaining park ecosystems, Parks, Recreation and Arts Assistant Director Wendy Wilmers Longpre said.
McClintic said the typical turnout for cleanup events such as this is about 15-20 volunteers, often utilizing help of community groups including representatives of MSU, Lansing Catholic Central High School, Youth Service America and others. He said work to remove invasive plants is pertinent to all members of the community, and said any and all help can benefit the cause.
“I feel like (the problem of invasive species) relates to anyone,” he said. “With just a few people, you can get a whole lot of work done.”
Shawn Adams, a computer science senior, said he often utilizes parks in the city and especially appreciates them in the warm weather. He said it was important to help clear invasive species from parks if they were posing a problem, and said he might consider volunteering in the future to help keep area parks maintained.
“The better we can keep up our parks, the happier people will be,” Adams said.
Wilmers Longpre said the community response the program has received has been positive and said she looked forward to seeing the program and volunteer workdays grow in subsequent years.
“It’s wonderful to see how people are interested in coming together for the environment and community and how they’re willing to give up their time and energy to help make the world a better place,” she said.
Students and community members interested in more information can email McClintic at dmcclin@cityofeastlansing.com.
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