Do you like the idea of exercising outdoors, even in winter? Are you passionate about nature and the environment and want to do something to help improve wildlife habitat? Do you enjoy a good HOT campfire to warm up to? Then the all-volunteer crew of Honeysuckle Warriors is right for you! We are a hard-working group of men and women that battle the highly invasive shrub honeysuckle, and we are always looking for more help!
Background: Shrub or bush honeysuckle was imported to the United States in the 50’s and touted as a great shrub for wildlife and erosion….evidently with very little research. It has become one of the most aggressive and destructive plants to invade our woodlands…and just about any open space it can find. It has changed the character and ecology of forests across the country, out-competing everything else, with drastic impacts on the food chain. Its shallow roots do not control erosion, and the plant does not provide the right food or shelter for out native wildlife. By the mid-1990s, the shrub had taken over almost the entire 40 acres of Hidden Valley Camp, closing up trails and drastically shrinking every campsite and open space. We have been working on taking out the mature shrubs ever since.
Volunteer Details: There is no time commitment to join the crew…you come when you can and stay for as long as you desire. We meet on weekdays from January through April or May, weather and schedules permitting, usually from 1-4 pm. At the beginning of each week, after reviewing the forecast, an email is sent out to the group detailing the day, time frame, and location on the camp that we will be working. A typical day begins with hauling water and tools and starting a fire in a fire ring, then cutting, hauling and burning of the wood down to biochar, which you can learn all about! We use loppers and hand saws (provided by the camp), and some volunteers bring their own chainsaws or reciprocal saws. Other tasks available to volunteers are cleaning fire rings and spreading of the biochar in trails, renovating and stocking woodpiles, picking up trash, checking saplings, spreading camp-collected native wildflower and grass seed, and more. When the weather is too wet or hot for fires (they do get REALLY HOT!), we work along trails or perimeter fence line. We will only work when it is above freezing and there is not too much snow or ice on the ground.
New volunteers will be placed on a group contact list and be sent more details on how to prepare, what to expect, the scheduling process, and a map of the camp.
Requirements: Volunteers need to be able to maneuver over uneven and sometimes rough terrain, and provide their own work gloves, water bottle, durable shoes/boots, warm, layered clothing, and will be required to sign a Hold Harmless/Assumption of Risk waiver at each event. All other tools will be provided, although you may bring your own tools.
Age Requirements: this is primarily an adult activity, as it occurs during the weekday. However, teens 15 and over can join in with proper permission, or with an adult volunteer. Contact the Coordinator for more information.
Time Frame: weekly, January through May, weather permitting. Always on weekday afternoons (day picked each week as per the forecast), generally 1-4pm.
Contact/more information: for more information or to be placed on the group email list, please contact Honeysuckle Warrior Coordinator Durand Reiber by email at durandi@sunflower.com
