Update on Invasive Species Removal on the Greenway

As many environmentally-minded folks like you know, invasive species are a massive threat to the biodiversity of our ecological systems. In 2023, as part of its mission to promote environmental stewardship, Watertown Community Gardens expanded its work to include combating invasive plant species threatening the local ecosystem. To date, our work has mainly focused on removing invasives on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. As community stewards, we invite you to help us to expand our efforts in 2024! 

Invasive species pose a significant threat to the balance in our ecosystems and have far-reaching consequences for biodiversity. These non-native plants and animals outcompete and displace native species, leading to a decline in biodiversity. Climate change has created conditions that favor the spread and establishment of invasive plant species. Likewise, the presence of invasive plants can further exacerbate the impacts of climate change. The pervasive nature of invasive species requires a proactive and concerted effort to prevent further ecological damage. 

In 2023, WCG held eight volunteer work days to work specifically on invasive plant removal and management. We had many wonderful volunteers join us and thank them wholeheartedly for their efforts! We also had the amazing support of the DPW, who picked up all the invasive plants that we removed - thank you! 

Initially, we mainly focused our efforts on addressing the massive, well-established stands of Japanese Knotweed. Knotweed is one of the most aggressive and hard-to-get-rid-of invasive plants. Our volunteers cut the knotweed stands back six times in 2023 - and we look forward to continuing this effort in 2024. During our volunteer work days, we also removed Black Swallow-wort, Bittersweet, Tree of Heaven, and garlic mustard.  You can find information about these plants on our Resources page about Invasive Species . Unfortunately, the Watertown-Greenway has an abundance of invasive species to choose from for our removal efforts! 

While it may take years to manage the well-established invasives on the Greenway, we have also started planting native plants and spreading seeds of native plants. These included milkweed, perennial sunflowers, purple coneflower, penstemon, goldenrod, and Joe Pye weed, just to name a few. Our hope is that we can start replacing the invasive plants with beautiful native plants that support our na tive flora and fauna. 

We are just getting started in our invasive removal efforts and we are working on defining our plans for 2024. To get us ready for our work during the growing season, we will be holding a Greenway trash pick up on March 9, 2024 from 10am to 12pm (rain date March 16). Come help us make our community more beautiful!

Make sure to sign up for the WCG newsletter and indicate you interest in volunteering to make sure you get future event announcements.

And if you have a special interest in invasive plant work and would like to contribute to our planning and leading these efforts, please reach out to us at info@watertowngardens.org. We need all the help we can get!

 - Corey Barr        WCG Board, Watertown Pollinator Pathways