Eradication and the Neighbors

Eradication and the Neighbors

My invasive plant eradication effort in the neighborhood ebbs and flows. When I am in a flow state, I sometimes preach the gospel to the neighbors.

I talk about miracle sight lines.  “Now you can see all the way to the creek.”  I talk about how the change of light changes the variety of bugs.  Which changes the birds.  Getting rid of the invasives changes the ecology of the place. Which changes us. 

Along with the notion that you can’t see the coyote if you can’t see the ridge.

My friend Diane writes of how the removal of Elaeagnus and Privet provides birds of prey with better hunting grounds.  Good hunting  brings them nearby to nest. That makes sense.  Around here the raptors fly the trails.

Most of my evangelical zeal is lost on most of the neighbors.

Here’s a partial list of reasons my neighbors won’t remove invasive plants:

“It is the first green of spring.”  I think in the case of Privet that’s true.  So what?

“It’s a vegetative screen.”  This one I understand.  I completely understand how everyone wants to hide the road from their viewshed. In our neighborhood people have planted bamboo to build a wall between them and the neighbors.

“I like the smell of Privet.”

Yes.  Privet smells good.  Kill it all.  And its babies.

“It reminds me of my grandmother.” 

I get it.  She promulgated invasives—just like she read about in Better Homes and Gardens.

I do have some converts.  I take comfort knowing there are three weed wrench owners at my bend in the Moncure Rd.

Funny sidebar:  I wrote this piece.  Then I discovered the “How to Talk To Your Neighbors” piece over at Homegrown National Park.  Great read.  And whew—Moncure is a different neighborhood than the ones they are tackling!

On the left is a section of woods that has been "widened."

Invasives removed.

On the right is a section of woods on the other side of the road that has not been touched.