Weed Warriors…
These are people who can spot invasive weeds in our parks and open spaces and do their part removing them. Why? Invasive weeds don’t belong here. They usually aren’t a food source for wildlife and outcompete native plants.
Here’s what “Weed Warrior” Christine Thomas of Friends of Ute Valley Park suggests:
Ute Valley Park, like everyone else in Colorado Springs has a weed problem. Not cannabis but Mullen and Thistle!
Years ago, we were overrun with Thistle. We gathered some concerned citizens, contacted CSU extension for guidance as to how to tackle this task and off we went in multiple directions.
CSU informed us that with the thistle we should pull the little thistle in the spring while the ground is moist and get as much of the root as possible.
Volunteers worked constantly on their hikes through the park but those darn thistle continued to grow and produce stunning purple flowers that people shared on social media.
After the purple flowers bloomed, we were instructed to wear multiple gloves (prickly suckers!), cut the flower off and remove it from the park and dispose of it. This process allowed the open follicle to kill the entire weed down to the root.
Volunteers continued this process for years and have made a significant dent in the Thistle invasion, it really does take a village to raise a park!
Our Mullen plan was previously centered around one great man, Bob Reiman. Bob was our official Mullenator and man was he good. Bob spent hours every week hunting Mullen in Ute Valley Park and pulling it out from the root. Sadly, we lost Bob and the Mullen are back. We can’t help but look at Mullen in the park without applauding Bob’s efforts.
As part of our park improvement effort our volunteers have been pulling Mullen from the root and bagging them out of the park.
At a recent 3 days, 3 parks event we pulled out 7 bags of weeds! We will continue to monitor these areas along the Regional Access Trail where they have migrated. We found a very useful tool called the Fiskars 4 claw weed puller that allows volunteers to pull weeds; root and all without even bending down. This tool has been awesome.
Some may say that weeds are just part of nature but indeed, we have learned that these invasive weeds choke out native plants that our wildlife need to live. Our flora and fauna are in constant battle to get what they need and what they need is each other.
None of this weed irradiation would be possible without dedicated volunteers and we are extremely grateful for their efforts.