By: John OrtizTae-Han Yeo
Purpose
Increase biodiversity of campus To give information to future
campus restoration groups involved in blackberry removal so projects progress from a good starting point
What are Invasive Species? Invasive species
Non-native plant, animal, microorganisms that take over the habitat of native species
Introduced either accidentally or intentionally Invasive always considered pests or harmful to ecosystem
Tend to be Highly competitive Highly adaptive High successful at breeding
Lack of natural predators causes them to thrive
Result in biodiversity loss (HIPPO) ‘I’ stands for invasive species
Recommendations
Use weed whacker Cut 6-12 inches above ground
and remove stalks Next day, remove root crowns
with shovels Drier days are easier to remove
root crowns
Steps on Removing Blackberries
1. Cut back the surrounding vines to access base of the stalks using weed whacker, leaving 6-8 inches of the base.
2. Use spades to shovel around base of the revealed stalk.3. Reveal roots by using the shovel as a lever and lifting.4. Pull root crowns out of the dirt using gardening gloves,
careful not to shake small parts of the roots back into the soil.
5. Put the roots crowns into garbage bags to be put in municipal yard waste.
6. We disposed of stalks in the compost pile.7. Observe disposed stalks for possible growth.
Problems
Oregon Weather Communication Need to plant local replacement
plants, achieves: Increase biodiversityDecrease soil erosion
Time consuming to remove large area Funding
Natural Step – Step 1
1. Take Can the earth replace what I
consume? Are the materials renewable? This would be met if we replaced with
native plants Part of future plans
Soil still retains its fertility
Natural Step – Step 2
2. Make Am I poisoning the earth, water or
air? Didn’t use herbicide or other poisons
No synthetics or toxics Used all natural removal methods
Natural Step – Step 3
3. Respect Do I honor the biodiversity of life?
Removed invasive species Future plans involve replacing with
local plants
Natural Step – Step 4
4. Choose Are the decisions I make fair and
equitable (human rights)? We worked ourselves and with class
volunteers We only beat Luke when absolutely
necessary
2nd Semester Goals Achieved Revised interactive CV campus
map Surveyed land and
identified/targeted invasive Cleared a 100 sq. foot patch of
blackberries Identified natural ground cover
plants
Native Replacement Plants
Fool’s huckleberry
Salmonberry
Red huckleberry
Clearing Blackberries
Conclusion
Blackberries time-consuming to remove Leaving stalks in school compost does
not grow more blackberries Root crowns must be disposed elsewhere
domestic yard waste Important to replace with native plants
Future Plans
Share information with future classes Meet with administrators Determine what ground cover plants
to use Work more on the field Create organization or club that
maintains campus Target other invasives
Questions?