Knotweed up close.

Knotweed is a pernicious invasive. It grows up to two inches overnight. It quickly crowds out other vegetation and leaches nutrients from the soil, potentially killing trees that have been in the park for generations. Fortunately, the youth crew knows how to deal with knotweed: build a maze, of course!

Clearing Knotweed

In a clearing in the wilderness lays a massive field of knotweed covering about two acres. While most of the teens hacked at it with weed whips and rakes, a few decided to tunnel through it. Several joined in and, before long, created a complicated series of branching paths that were quite fun to walk through. Too bad we had to tear it all down at the end of the day.

Knotweed is very difficult to get rid of. Park members have left in the roots, spraying vinegar on it and special organic pesticides with no success. If you see orange flags planted near specimens be sure to leave them alone, as this indicates an ongoing experiment to get rid of the plant.

A trail that we remulched

When I first got this job I thought I would just help clean the paths people use in the Park, but we do a lot more than that. We clean up the environment by picking up trash, cutting down dead trees, and clearing invasive plants like Glossy Buckthorn and Japanese Knotweed. We also improve trails by spreading woodchips along a path so people won’t get lost. At first, I imagined that we were going to use simple tools like small saws and scissors, but we use tools I never even knew existed! For example, we use a weed wrench, which is a big orange, heavy wrench, to pull invasive trees out of the ground.

It’s a lot of hard work, but I get a lot of satisfaction by being able to say I helped clean and save the 220 acres of woods in the 527 acre Franklin Park. Personally, this job has helped me realize how big and important Franklin Park is to our community and the City of Boston.

Rondy

This is my first year with FPC, and it’s good to know I’m not the only one who was not sure what to expect. Like Rondy, I did not know the difference between a weed whip and Cool Wip before this summer. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one! 

On days when it’s really hot, the bugs are out and the weeds grow back as quickly as they are cut, I really need to be reminded of our purpose.  here. Luckily, I have Rabiah on my crew.

Natasha pulls weeds from a century old gutter.

Working with the Franklin Park Coalition has significance beyond helping maintain the aesthetics of a 527 acre park. Franklin Park is ineffably important to the community in which it’s placed. It provides people of various ages an opportunity to engage in a broad spectrum of activities such as biking, golf, exercising, festivals, concerts, meetings, and weddings. Community members can spend a day at Franklin Park Zoo or even just find a place to relax and socialize.

I am proud to contribute to the prosperity of the park, however slightly. I am acknowledging the lives of my community members while ensuring that they can retain their daily activities in cleanliness, serenity and beauty. Treading through the woods with large tools and wheel barrows to uproot invasive trees and cut down weeds and dead branches can leave you with bee stings, nettle burns, ivy itches and bites up the gazoo. Nevertheless, our crew will gladly come back year after year, dedicating our time and strength to Franklin Park. This job is only the beginning of a multitude of ways in which I will be able to give back to my surroundings.

 Rabiah

I am very proud of my crew, particularly since many of them see this as more than just a job. Look for more perspectives by crew members in the future.

Folks were encouraged to ride in from around the neighborhood. If anyone lacked a bike, they could rent one for free. Kids participates in a bike safety obstacle course complete with cardboard “cars” driven by volunteers.

Several members of FPC staff, including myself, were there to help. I was very grateful for the free tune-up, which my hand-me-down purple, girl bike desperately needed. Thanks Bikes not Bombs for straightening my front wheel! Now if I could only do something about the paint job…

Volunteers led rides into the Wilderness trails or around White Stadium. The rides were an opportunity to introduce the community to FPC and the work of the Youth Crew. Nothing gets people to support our work quite like a field of knotweed choking a bike path.

On one ride I saw a boy, no more than 10 years old, lag behind. I rode up to discover him kicking helplessly at the ground, unable to drift more than a couple of yards without tipping over. Jordan, as it turned out, had only ridden once before. I gave him a few lessons at the basketball court. After 10 minutes, he was able to ride by himself for about 10 seconds at a time. When Jordan enters fifth grade this fall, I expect him to be riding circles around me.

 If you missed out on Rock Roll and Ride don’t worry, it will be held again on Saturday, July 24th on Meridian Street Bridge in East Boston from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Happy riding!

Hundreds of nonprofits apply for Citizen’s in Action each year. FPC was accepted based on its fiscal leadership and unique stewardship of Franklin Park, the largest green space in Boston.

Both Youth Crews, FPC staff and board members gathered at the Golf Clubhouse last Wednesday to receive the award, which was presented by Citizen’s Bank CEO Steve Woods and NECN Station manager Stacey Marks Bronner. State Representative Liz Manilla, whose district includes the park, gave a speech which praised our teens for their hard work.

Myles saws through a dead tree.

This is my first time working with teens and doing outdoor work, and I am pretty impressed with our crew. We have about eight veterans returning this year, who currently do the job better than I can. Vanessa F.  leads Crew A with me, while Demetrius and Vanessa B., or VB for short, lead another 10 teens known as Crew Z. Our first week was spent pulling invasive species such as Glossy Buckthorn and Japanese Knotweed in record-breaking heat.

FPC and the White Stadium counselors playing basketball

In the coming weeks you will be hearing from other members of our organization. This is a place for our crew to express themselves and inform the public of our service. If you value Franklin Park and the work we do, then stick around. This is the place for you.