Glastonbury Partners in Planting is commited to Battling Bittersweet

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Invasives

Our 2^nd Annual Work Day!

More than 40 bittersweet battlers turned out on October 25, 2014 to enjoy great fall weather and to clear an area next to the 2013 parcel at Riverfront Park that was threatened by invasive plants. Within a few hours, the several-acre site along the walking path to Main Street was cleared of hundreds of tangled and matted bittersweet vines leaving the Town crew to treat the cut vines to prevent resprouting. Afterwards, a number of resolute volunteers continued down to the riverfront trail near a secluded picnic table to cut new bittersweet vine growth that has reappeared since last years Save-a-Tree day.

Everyone felt good about their contribution to bringing back the natural beauty of the park. The trees and natural habitat will now flourish providing us with their beauty. It was a very satisfying morning well spent.

Contributing to the success of the event was Greg Foran and the Glastonbury Parks and Recreation Department team. From planning, to site preparation, to debris cleanup, Glastonbury Partners in Planting couldn’t ask for better partners.

GPIP will be restoring the cleared parcels with native plants in the near future.

More Work Days

Save A Tree at Ferry Landing!

Ferry Landing Park saw more than its usual early morning joggers in early June.
Fifteen devoted battling invasives volunteers, armed with loppers and pruning shears, cut massive amounts of bittersweet vines growing at the park. Looking at the many debris piles left on the side of the ½ mile path, it was estimated that nearly 100 tall, stately trees were saved from the terrorist bittersweet vines!

Oriental Bittersweet

At a recent board meeting it was decided that GPIP would like to take a leading role in an initiative to battle the invasive and prolific oriental bittersweet that threatens all of Glastonbury's parks and forests as well as many backyards. We have put together a mission and purpose that includes community-wide partnerships, educational outreach, hands-on remediation projects and continuous learning and research.

Our Battling Bittersweet Work Day at Riverfront Park on September 28th was a huge success thanks to the nearly 75 intrepid volunteers who worked throughout the day cutting away the strangling bittersweet vines and removing the multi-flora rose. What was once a dense jungle is now open space for trees and native understory to flourish.

Before After


The cut vines will help prevent the spread of the berry seeds in the future.

GPIP is commited to Battling Bittersweet, a long process with many baby steps. We encourage your support and interest to help us fight this battle. Please use the Volunteer feature at the top of this page if you'd like to help us in some manner; either with hands-on projects or helping to distribute and publicize information.

Thanks so much for your attention to this growing problem!

Please watch this short slide presentation of examples from here in Glastonbury, showing how the bittersweet vines have strangled tree trunks and climbed to the tops of the trees taking over the canopy.

Invasive Plant Walking Tour Videos

On June 5th, GPIP hosted a walking tour at Riverfront Park featuring guest speaker Donna Ellis, Sr. Educator with the UConn Department of Plant Sciences and co-founder the Connecticut Invasive Plants Working Group. The tour focused on identifying problem plants that could be growing in your yard, the damage they cause, why the problem is so serious and effective ways to manage and eradicate infestations.

These 7 videos, broken down by invasive species, were taken during the walk.