Brookhaven residents invited to learn about native, invasive species

Residents have the opportunity to earn an environmental stewardship certification from EcoAddendum in a 12-month program with the city of Brookhaven.

An information session on the parks and greenspace stewardship program is being held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1, at Lynwood Recreation Center .

The eco-steward class will meet once a month to study the city’s natural spaces and learn to identify native, invasive, and edible plants by following EcoAddendum’s online study guide.

This is the program’s second year. Graduates from the 2023-24 class are now eligible to lead clean-up days at Brookhaven parks.

Steve Peters, President of Parks and Recreation Coalition of Brookhaven, said clean-up days require one steward for every eight volunteers.

“It’s important to educate residents about invasive plant removal, and we are expanding the program to have more knowledge around plants in general,” Peters said.

Peters said a future program could be implemented to help residents identify native and invasive plants in their own yards. National groups like the Georgia Native Plant Society , Audubon Society, and the National Wildlife Federation promote the conservation of natural and native plants of Georgia.

Native plants are the best foundation for diversity and ecological functions in all layers of a plant community, according to the University of Georgia’s native plant initiative. Using native plants also helps prevent the spread of non-native, invasive plants.

“Invasives like English ivy, kudzu, and privet have been here for 100 years,” said Peters. “They all had an upside at some point, like erosion control.”

If people don’t pay attention to what they have in their yards or parks, invasive plants can take over, Peters said.

He recalled when a decade ago Fernbank Forest was clearing out land to reopen to the public. The institution encouraged nearby residents to remove invasive plants in coordination with their efforts. Neighborhoods and park groups have copied Fernbank’s efforts to remove invasive plants and encourage the growth of native plants.

“Over time, you can make huge progress in the land as we have here in Brookhaven and at Murphey Candler,” Peters said.

For more information, contact Steve Peters at SteveBP@Bellsouth.net or Kathryn Kolb at Info@EcoAddendum.org.

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