Removing Invasives

Highland Park Before: burning bushes are easiest to find in the early winter. Pretty, but invasive.

Work began in the fall of 2023 focusing on Highland Park, Poet’s Seat, and Just Roots, all in Greenfield

Help remove invasive plants to make space for native plants.

“I find cutting back invasives very satisfying, and a great way to spend time with folks outdoors.” says Nancy Hazard, organizer of the Greening Greenfield clipping parties. “My motivation is to keep nature as healthy as possible, save trilliums and other wildflowers, and help restore our climate and increase biodiversity.”

It continues in the Fall of 2025

Sign up to get invites to sporadic GG clipping parties in winter, spring and fall, to control invasives at Highland Park, Poet’s Seat Tower Road, and Just Roots. We have fun, it is satisfying, and we learn a lot!

Check out our Upcoming and Past Events. See also Occasional Planting (and More!) Parties initiative that includes invasives removal at John Zon Community Center. And go to Invasives to learn more about the topic.

Clipping parties diary

Written by Nancy Hazard

November 2025: Last Sunday, 11/02, was amazing! Many thanks to the 11 people who came out. It was great to meet new people and reconnect with folks who have been working with us for several years. Thanks to Adam, Denise, Ella, Lyle, Elias, Lexi, Louise, Meg, Tom, Peter, and Richard.

We worked on the Bear’s den “exit road” from the parking lot to Crescent Street, and back through the woods to the swamp, and finished our work at 3:30! There is a lot of invasive honeysuckle in the area, but focused on the burning bush, and some barberry.

Maple leaf viburnum is everywhere in our woods. blueberries and fothergilla, that the like sun, are found in our yards.

March 2025: Claire, Denise, Emily, John and I returned to the fence at Just Roots. With major multi-flora rose cut down Jan 19, we focused on bittersweet and grape vines on the fence that had grown last summer. Our goal was to keep them from growing more and setting fruit next fall.

May 2025: Hurray! I have found that now is a great time to clip or break off new growth of the invasive plants. This keeps them from replenishing energy in their roots, and if they grow again that will deplete their resources even more!
We will continue to work along the Just Roots fence. Last month our resident botanist, Claire, pointed out two oriental honeysuckle shrubs that we will remove, and then we will continue along the fence and remove new bittersweet growth with the goal of keeping it from blooming and setting fruit next fall. No more multiflora rose spines!

As for successes in Highland Park, the trillium and toothwort have bloomed where we removed burning bush and barberry, and the bloodroot on the other side of the path bloomed as it has in the past, miraculously coming up through the non-native invasive vinca!