Volunteers Needed: English Ivy Pull at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

Redwood National and State Parks is seeking volunteers to help remove invasive exotic plants.

Become a steward of your national and state parks on Saturday, April 5th, 2014 by helping remove English ivy from Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. English ivy (Hedera helix) is an aggressive and invasive exotic pest that displaces native plants and is targeted for removal in the parks. It can form a dense ground cover, smothering native plants. It also climbs trees, including coast redwoods, and can choke the tree by severing the layer of tissue below the bark that transports nutrients. Dense infestations add weight to trees and can make them topple in strong winds.

Volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. at the Hiouchi Visitor Center, just east of the entrance to Jedediah Smith State Park, on the opposite side of Highway 199, where we'll share a snack, get organized, and caravan to the site selected for the ivy pull. Low elevation spring wildflowers should be in full bloom near Smith River. After a couple of hours of pulling ivy, we'll have lunch, followed by a little more work.

Bring a bag lunch, drinking water, work clothes (with layers for changeable North Coast weather conditions), and work gloves if you have them. Gloves and other equipment needed will be provided by Redwood National and State Parks.