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See a weed - whack it!

Contributed by: Cathy Shelton on 4/11/2007

The Community Weed Awareness Campaign (CWAC) started in a coffeeshop in Evergreen.

Two members of the Evergreen Naturalists Audubon Society decided that they wanted to get down and dirty to help the environment, so in 1998 the first Community Weed Day was created.

This one-day event quickly expanded into a summer-long series of weeding and education events. In addition to the annual weed pull, CWAC also sponsors Adopt-a-Plot and Weed & Wine at Evergreen Lake. Noxious weed education events are held monthly at various community locations.

The first Community Weed Day brought out 35 volunteers, since then we have averaged 50 dedicated volunteers for the tedious and hot work of weeding; we can boast of volunteers from down the street to as far away as Bailey and Arvada.

Volunteers split into teams to either pull the weeds or cut off seed heads. Adopt-a-Plot gives organizations and individuals the opportunity to "adopt" a small, manageable section around the lake to weed at their convenience throughout the summer and fall. 20 of the 25 plots at the Lake have been adopted. One of the main educational tools we have is the physical presence of volunteers at the Lake, weeding and responding to inquiries from the public.

Why worry about weeds? To start with, we're not talking about dandelions here. We're targeting the aggressive invading species that are bad enough to warrant inclusion on the Colorado Noxious Weed List. These plants outcompete our native vegetation and can be toxic or harmful to wildlife, livestock and occasionally even humans.

Some are pretty, but all are non-native to Colorado. These plants degrade wildlife habitat and endanger native ecosystems. This year our target species include newer invaders like Orange Hawkweed, Myrtle spurge and perennial pepperweed along with the well-known nemeses knapweed and thistle.

On June 23, 2007, The Community Weed Awareness Campaign will host our 10th annual Community Weed Day at Evergreen Lake. CWAC is a coalition of The Evergreen Naturalists Audubon Society (TENAS), The Mt. Evans Group of the Sierra Club and the Evergreen Garden Club. Our organizational team grew from the two ladies at the coffeeshop, Sylvia Robertson and Cathy Shelton, to include Betsy Kelson, Marilyn Kaussner, Bud Weare, Else vanErp, Renee Cormier and Sylvia Brockner.

CWAC has benefited from the strong support of Eric Lane, former Colorado State Weed Coordinator, Alicia Doran, the Jefferson County Weed Specialist and Dick Wulf, director of the Evergreen Park and Recreation District.

CWAC's mission is to inspire every resident of Colorado to control the noxious weeds on their property. We're on our way...

Cathy Shelton is a member of TENAS who lives in Evergreen.


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Cathy Shelton

Evergreen , CO

Cathy Shelton has posted 4 stories and 0 comments since joining on 3/29/2006. Cathy Shelton's average story rating is 5.
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