Join Dane County Parks Natural Areas staff at these summer workdays. We will hand pull or use hand tools to remove herbaceous invasive plants in prairies and oak savannas. These workdays are staff-led and occur during the week, typically on Tuesday and Friday mornings. View our Invasive Weed Removal webpage here for more information. A top priority will be identifying and removing herbaceous invasive species using a “Parsnip Predator“, by hand, or with other tools as needed. Weed species of particular focus will depend on the season but will comprise of Garlic Mustard, Dame’s Rocket, Wild Parsnip, Japanese Hedge Parsley, Common Burdock, White and Yellow Sweet Clover, Spotted Knapweed, and others as they come up. We do get to see and admire native plants as well!

Please arrive on time to get situated, we start these workdays promptly. Locations listed are meeting places, late comers may not find us. Call Lars, Shane, or Leah if needed.

What to Know:

• All tools and training are provided.
• Bring drinking water, a snack, and sunscreen or bug spray if desired.
• We take a snack break mid-way through the workday (but breaks can be taken as you need).
• In case of cancelation due to weather, a notification will be made via email and/or phone to participants who have signed up.

What to Wear: 

• We will be walking off trail in tall vegetation potentially encountering poison ivy, wild parsnip, mosquitoes or ticks. Volunteers should wear close-toed shoes and consider long pants and long sleeves.

Accessibility:

• Volunteers should be comfortable with walking on uneven terrain.
• View our Open Restrooms web page for bathroom availability. If there is no bathroom at a workday site, either use one before the workday or ask staff to suggest a nearby public location.