Special thanks go to Monique Auge-Bodin and family, Jake Carleen, Josh Davis, Dot Drake, Patsy Huberty and grandkids, Mary MacDonald, Cordelia Pierson and family, Steve Poncin, Sally Smith, Warren Stortroen.

On sunny spring weekend mornings and early summer evenings, a handful of dedicated volunteers headed to the River Flats and Pine Bend Bluffs. Once there, they did more than stroll and bird-watch. These retirees, young families and dedicated individuals worked up a sweat in the name of the special places they love, removing bag-full upon bag-full of pernicious invader garlic mustard for over 100 hours altogether.

This spring, FMR hosted two garlic mustard removal events and trainings, one in the Mississippi River Gorge in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis and one in the Pine Bend Scientific and Natural Area roughly 20 miles south of Saint Paul.

Participants not only learned about how to identify and correctly remove garlic mustard — an aggressive non-native eager to crowd out all other plants in natural areas — but many also pledged to an additional 5-8 hours of garlic mustard pulling.

Although it was a significant commitment, volunteers went out on their own time and often made it a family or social occasion. Three volunteers came back with their children or grandkids. Mom and home-schooler Monique Auge-Bodin not only met the eight-hour goal for her and her child at both River Flats and Pine Bend (for a total of 16 hours each, or 32 contributed hours), but brought her home-schooling hiking group to the flats, where she discussed Gorge Stewards restoration activities and identified garlic mustard for the families as well. Others reported catching “garlic mustard removal fever” — pulling it from the Chain of Lakes in the Twin Cities to their favorite Up North locales.

Again, thank you very much to the 12 FMR volunteers who removed dozens of bags of garlic mustard from all of these important areas. Without their help, garlic mustard would rage unchecked, and visitors would have far fewer healthy habitats — and the birds and animals that thrive in them — to enjoy on their evening or weekend outings.