In celebration of Earth Day 2005, some 60 volunteers and park staff removed 25 cubic yards of non-native, invasive plants from Bridle Trails State Park.

That’s a lot of stems, roots, and leaves!

Adults, families, teenagers, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, and parks staff worked in small groups. We removed English ivy, domestic laurels, English holly, and Himalayan blackberry from an area of the park’s forest most overrun with these invasive plants.

The Bridle Trails Park Foundation and Bridle Trails State Park jointly sponsored the event, but the involvement of the cities of Kirkland and Bellevue was critical. Professional staff from the Kirkland and Bellevue parks departments and Washington State Parks brought tools, vehicles, expertise, and a great deal of energy to supervise and join in the battle with these nasty plants. Waste Management Washington provided a huge dumpster and will dispose of the material. We didn't think we would even begin to fill it but we did!

Non-native invasive plants are a huge problem in Washington’s parks, especially natural areas. We are relatively lucky with Bridle Trails State Park. In this 480-acre natural area, invasive plants have not yet done significant ecological damage, and only a few areas are badly infested. We have a chance to minimize the ecological effects on the forests and wetlands of the park if we start now and keep at it. And we started Saturday.

Bridle Trails Park Foundation and Washington State Parks provided lunch and snacks for the entire group. State Parks also provided terrific T-shirts for everyone as well.