Great Garlic Mustard Hunt 2012

Spring has come early this year, and with it the white flowers of the scourge of our native woodlands –garlic mustard.  Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is an exotic, invasive plant introduced from Europe for culinary purposes. It has spread throughout North American woodlands, and, because of its incredible adaptability, can increasingly be found in urban and suburban parks and gardens.  These plants have no natural enemies in this part of the world, but do have an aggressive growth rate, produce thousands of seeds, and chemically alter the soil – all factors that allow them to out-compete native plants for the light, moisture, and nutrients they need.

This is your formal invitation to join in the 2nd Annual Great Garlic Mustard Hunt where we unite to ensure that this disruptive plant does not overcome our natural areas.  In the inaugural year, over 20 organizations participated at 12 different sites to pull approximately 2,750 pounds of plant material.  Let’s go for two tons this year!!

Weeding in the woods events will be held at several East-Central Illinois locations throughout April and into May. This is a great opportunity to rack up volunteer hours amid some friendly competition.

Here you will find:

• Sandy Mason’s Homeowner’s Column, Waging War on Weedy Garlic Mustard
• A slide show on Garlic Mustard so you’ll know what it looks like and what harm it does
• A link to a great Garlic Mustard video
• Links to recipes using garlic mustard – or create your own!
  • Eat Garlic Mustard for Earth Day
  • Friends of Sligo Creek recipes

Here’s the schedule of planned dates and locations:
-OR-
Pull on your own at any site and report results to Mike Daab. 

For more information, contact Mike Davis at medavis@UrbanaParks.org or Mike Daab at mdaab@ccfpd.org or 217-586-4630.

Date	Time	Location	Meeting Place
*Saturday April 14	9:00 – 12:00	Busey Woods (Boneyard Creek Community Day)	Anita Purves Nature Center
	1:00 – 3:00	Weaver Grove	Pull off south of intersection of Main St. and Smith Rd – space is limited, please carpool when possible
Tuesday April 17	4:30-6:30	Homer Lake Forest Preserve	Parking lot south of Walnut Hill
Thursday April 19	1:30-4:00	Middle Fork Forest Preserve	Campground/beach parking area
Wednesday April 25	8:30-11:00	Lake of the Woods	Elks Lake Pavilion
*Saturday April 28	9:00 – 11:00	Meadowbrook Prairie	Race St. parking lot
	1:00 – 3:00	Perkins Road	Dog Park parking lot on Perkins Road, 1⁄2 mile east of Cunning- ham Ave.
*Saturday May 5	8:30-12:00	Allerton Allies	Visitors Center
*Saturday May 12	9:00 – 12:00	Busey Woods (Boneyard Creek Community Day)	Anita Purves Nature Center
	1:00 – 3:00	Weaver Grove	Pull off south of intersection of Main St. and Smith Rd – space is limited, please carpool when possible

  * Regularly scheduled workdays