It was a foggy morning at Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline when San Lorenzo High School’s Earth Team returned to Oyster Bay for the first time this school year to remove invasive weeds from newly planted areas. They got to see substantial growth on the plants that previous interns had planted in the past two years.
Not even a heated high school rivalry could slow these interns down as they teamed up with Arroyo High interns. Their desire to protect native species strongly outweighed any lingering resentment from last year’s heated basketball season.
Interns focused on removing stinkwort, bristly oxtongue, and pampas grass from the planted area. The lack of rain this year has been bad for the state, but it has helped limit weed growth at Oyster Bay. Interns had to keep their eyes out for weeds as they traversed the large planted area as even the weeds seemed to be struggling in dry conditions. Thankfully, East Bay Parks staff irrigated the planted trees, so they are doing very well.
As the workday wound down, interns were thankful for the foggy conditions which kept temperatures low. Removing weeds can be a lot of work, but it is always worth it to protect the native flora. Thanks to East Bay parks for their continued work on this project!