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CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. Croton Point Park's sustainability coordinator says a volunteer project to remove invasive species from Croton Point Park has made a dent in the infestation. The species are blamed for choking out native animal and plant life, and strangling whole trees.
When all the leaves are off trees and the vines theres less competing species to weed through, said Nature Center Coordinator Lea Cullen-Boyer. Getting rid of the invasive species helps free native plant and bird habitats. Thats what were working in this weekend. This betters places for birds to live and that makes more biodiversity.
On Saturday Dec. 10, at 10 a.m., Boyer will lead a group of volunteers through one side of the Croton Point peninsula to pull up invasive vine species, like porcelain berry and kudzu. This is the second installment of the volunteer vine pullers, a two-hour vine clearing walk through the park.
Cullen-Boyer said she has had volunteers from 10 to 80, from Boy Scouts to professional tree trimmers. The Boy Scouts are especially good because theyre really enthusiastic and fun to work with, she said.
The health of the fauna is dependent on the park's flora, according to Cullen-Boyer. Native plants provide food and shelter for animals which cannot survive in invasive species, one of the best examples being yearly bird migrations.
Croton Point Park is located on the Atlantic Flyway, a bird migration superhighway where colorful neotropical migrants gather for pitstops along their northerly route.
The vine pullers can make a good dent in one side of the peninsula, but making a single judgment of the overall health of the park is difficult, said Cullen-Boyer. The park has a complicated history as a marshland, and more recently as a landfill. The park was planted with native species when it was reclaimed.
Because its a balance, and right, now weve changed that balance a lot, Cullen-Boyer said about the health of the park's ecosystem. On an acre by acre basis its hard to say because theres some places where its clear, and some places where its covered. I have a hard time quantifying that because theres some food issues and some shelter issues.
This has caused a fluctuating bird population, according to some naturalists. The native species originally planted in the park have been driven out to some degree by the invasive species. Plants such as mugwort and porcelain berry vines can quickly take over a land mass when native species are disturbed or moved.
"They dont feed on it the same way, the mice arent getting the benefit, so the birds we would find up on the landfill there's less of," said Charlie Roberto, an avid birder at Croton Point Park.
Extensive invasive species control projects in the past gave park officials some control over the problem. Although, said Cullen-Boyer, invasive species control can be a little like sunshine control.
If you would like to volunteer to pull vines on Saturday, please call the Croton Point Park Nature Center, at (914) 862-5297.
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