Declare War on Invading Weeds!

Urban Weed Warriors training will teach volunteers to identify and remove invasive plants in Baltimore, and authorize them to do so on Park property.

Description:
Invasive species are a major threat to ecosystems all over the world. When removed from their native habitat, plants, animals and microbes have the potential to take advantage of a lack of natural checks and balances.

While most non-native plants are benign in the environment, a small percentage of these plants, called invasive species, spread quickly, aggressively and relentlessly. They strangle the life out of native trees, starve native plants, deprive wildlife of food, cause soil and water pollution and threaten thousands of endangered species.

Invasive species often take hold in disturbed areas and the edges of forested land, meaning the urban environment is plagued with invaders taking advantage of an already struggling natural environment. We need volunteers to help pull up and cut away these harmful plants and thus save our beautiful urban forest and parks.

History:
The Weed Warriors program was established in 2004 through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Since then, we have trained hundreds of volunteers concerned about saving our fragile city ecosystem. These volunteers have cleared thousands of square feet of parkland of invasive plants and saved many beautiful native trees, but the vines are growing every day and the battle still rages in our city's parks, backyards and anywhere weeds can take hold.

Contact person: Elizabeth Concra, Urban Weed Warriors Coordinator, (email)

Address:

2600 Madison Avenue Baltimore, MD 21217 (See a map)