The Branford Land Trust and the Town Conservation and Environment Commission are launching a new initiative called the Native Plant Protection Corps. Working both on BLT and Town-owned conservation lands, the group’s goal will be to try to reduce the spread of non-native invasive species by focusing on small infestations, with the hope of nipping them in the bud before they become impossible to control.
Invasive plants are those that spread widely on their own, displacing native species and disrupting natural habitats. In Connecticut, these include Norway maple, tree of heaven, garlic mustard, porcelainberry, Japanese barberry, oriental bittersweet, autumn olive, winged euonymus, yellow flag iris, European privet, Japanese honeysuckle, Morrow’s honeysuckle, purple loosestrife, Japanese stilt grass, common reed, Japanese knotweed, mile-a-minute weed, black locust, multiflora rose, and wineberry.
The Native Plant Protection Corps is being spearheaded by Lauren Brown, botanical author and BLT board member, and Patrick Sweeney, botanist at the Peabody Museum and member of the Community Forest and Conservation & Environment Commissions.
Please watch for more information about the Native Plant Protection Corps. or email info@branfordlandtrust.org.
