Investigating Invasives: Early Spring

8210 Murphy Road,Fulton MD 20759

18 April, 2021

Description

Explore various invasive plant species, including where to find them, how to eat or medicine them, and practice harvesting/ removing them. This monthly workshop series is intended to be a study group of plant species considered invasive in our area, with the goal of empowering and educating ourselves about these specific species in terms of: what's their native habitat/ ecological niche?when and how did they arrive in Maryland?what is their morphology?how can we use them for food, medicine, or other applications?how do other species use them for food, shelter, or habitat, etc?what ecological functions do they perform (eg fixing nitrogen; rapidly colonizing bare earth; breaking up compacted soil; mining for nutrients, etc)? what is their ecological impact (eg strangling trees; shading out other plants; providing nesting material for bird or mammal species; etc) -- and what time scale is needed to adequately inform answers to this question?Each month I'll provide a different resource to inform the group's consideration of this exploration space. We'll start by introducing a species or few over tea and addressing some of the questions above. Then we'll venture out to meet the plant, compare-and-contrasting observations to our source material, and continue discussion while working to remove a stand and process the harvest for use. In April's session, we'll work with some of the following species: Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata): entire plant edibleJapanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum): medicinal root, edible shootYellow Archangel (Lamium galeobdolon): edible aerial partsLesser Celandine (Ficaria verna): edible and medicinal usesMasks covering mouth and nose, and physical distancing, are required while onsite. One person at a time may use the indoor restroom facilities. Please bring your own digging tool (hori hori, shovel, etc) and harvest basket or bucket, to minimize the need for tool sharing. Two reduced-price scholarship tickets are available for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color), until maximum attendance is reached. Email [email protected] to claim one! **Remember: This class takes place outside. Be sure to dress for the weather and possibility of insects. ** Potted seedlings and divisions are available for donation at all our public events, as well as seeds and printed or recorded publications from Jim and Peggy Duke and others. We are also accepting donations of plant pots, especially small (3" - 4") and large (3 gallon or more) sizes. Thank you & we look forward to seeing you in the garden!