In This Edition:

• Volunteer Opportunities & Upcoming Events
• Garlic Mustard Workbee Recap
• Japanese Barberry Dumpster Day Recap
• Papermaking Recap
• American Wetlands Month
• Go Beyond Beauty
• Invasive Species in the News 

American Wetlands Month

May is American Wetlands Month! Wetlands are an important part of the natural ecosystem and habitat for many native species.

Wetlands remove excess nutrients, toxins, and sediment from the water that flows through them. This is an important function that is key in keeping our local waters and environment in a healthy condition. Wetlands also reduce flooding by absorbing excess rain or river water. 

To keep a well functioning wetland, it is also important to eradicate any invasive species from the area. Invasive species such as phragmites can quickly take over an area, reducing the function of the wetland and reducing the number of wildlife and plant life the wetland would otherwise support. 

Photo by: Amanda Brushaber  Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Japanese Barberry Dumpster Day Recap

The morning of our first Japanese Barberry Dumpster Day began with rain and an empty dumpster. However, at the closing of this event, the sun was shining and the 30-yard roll-off was teeming with barberry plants. 

Japanese barberry is a highly invasive ornamental plant species that is still sold in nurseries and used by landscapers. Extremely

	Participants in the Japanese Barberry Dumpster Day dropping off their plants

hardy and lacking any predators, it quickly spreads into nearby natural areas -outcompeting native plants such as spring ephemerals and tree seedlings. Additionally, it is found to
harbor black-legged ticks which may carry Lyme Disease, making this plant both an ecological and public health threat.

Encouraging the removal of barberry from landscapes seemed to make perfect sense and thus, Dumpster Day was created. Landowners were encouraged to remove barberry plants, bring them to ISN, and in exchange, they received a $5.00 coupon for a non-invasive alternative - up to $50.00. Select participants from the Go Beyond Beauty program are accepting these coupons.

Community members from Benzie, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Manistee counties brought barberry plants of all sizes. Some happily threw a single, young seedling over the side of the dumpster while others arrived hauling monstrous plants on trailers. By the end of the day, we had collected more than 100 plants - that's thousands of potential seeds that have been prevented from spreading into our critical natural areas!

The 30-yard dumpster filling up

Invasive Species Papermaking Recap

The NW Michigan Invasive Species Papermaking event was a success! 

We had over 40 attendees that joined us in a brief presentation that explained who ISN is, our mission, as well as alternative uses of invasive species. Following the presentation, a demonstration showing how to make paper was given, and then it was time to get our hands dirty! Everyone had the chance to make their own paper to take home. 

Invasive garlic mustard is one of the only plants that maintains the green color when used in papermaking. This quality makes it a great option for local papermakers like Paperworks Studio. Paperworks Studio has received bags upon bags of garlic mustard from ISN for making their gorgeous paper. 

An attendee making invasive garlic mustard paper