Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

In 2013 I founded a club at my college called FORCES (Friends Of Recreation, Conservation and Environmental Stewardship). This club is part of a larger program which was created within the New York State Parks system. Our mission is to get students involved in helping to protect the surrounding natural communities through stewardship projects in New York State Parks. This program is a way for students to get off campus and involved in volunteer projects at local NY State Parks. Our college has a beautiful natural community and our members are select individuals who want to protect that community. Our main focus is to rid our campus and our local State Parks of invasive species, although we do help in the parks occasionally when they have a big maintenance project.
The main species we deal with is Pale Swallow-wort (Cynanchum rossicum). Populations of this plant out-compete native plants, have higher reproduction rates in dense stands and reduce plant and animal biodiversity. The species also has the potential to change the soil ecology which will displace other plants, reducing insect diversity. Swallow-wort is part of the milkweed family, so naturally the Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on the plants. This is a problem because the larvae will not survive and because the native Monarch hosts are crowded out.
When removing this plant we are sure to be careful not to let the seed pods fall off. This plant reproduces quickly and easily, so we need to make sure to remove the whole plant (including the root). So far we have removed about 30 full garbage bags full (around 3,000 plants) of this species. This summer we are doing an ongoing project at Green Lakes State Park. We only have 2 total members working on this project because most people are from out of state. Our goals are to remove all of the Swallow-wort from around the lake trails by the end of the summer and educate the public about this species and what they can do to help. Getting more people involved in the removal of invasive species will benefit our natural community greatly.
When we return to school in the fall I plan to expand our club by adding more members and increase the education to not just our members, but to everyone at our college and the surrounding areas.