Day 4 of NISAW - Weed Wrangles

For Day 4 of NISAW, we'll discuss action/what you can do to get involved. One program we are pushing local CISMAs to host is a Weed Wrangle®.

Weed what? It is about time to work in our gardens and get outside and enjoy our parks; therefore, it’s time to wrangle a few invasive plants (aka weeds). And what better way to do that, than with a group so we can make a bigger impact. That is the essence of a weed wrangle. A gathering of folks (experts and nonexperts) to learn about and remove invasive plants and plant native ones.

Weed Wrangles® started a couple of years ago in Nashville, Tennessee. They began as one-day events to help “rescue public parks and green spaces from invasive species through hands-on removal”. They were a hit and quickly spread to other cities in Tennessee and then other states. We asked for permission to hold Weed Wrangle Indiana® instead of having cities apply for the trademark name individually. We wanted to use the national program as a platform to collectively strengthen invasive species awareness and action across the state especially through CISMAs (Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas). Cayce, the Weed Wrangle guru and founder, provided the rules and granted us permission. So off we went.

We’re off to a great start. Eight events are already scheduled in various counties. See list below.

The time frame for spring Weed Wrangle Indiana® events will be 15 March through 31 May. Each event must be led by an expert in invasive species management and must provide education and hands-on management experience about invasive plants. Would you like to join us as we kick off the spring with a Weed Wrangle®? Contact one of the Indiana Invasive Initiative’s Regional Specialist (RS) or Dawn Slack so they can email the trademark rules and gather information about your event. They will share your event information with the Weed Wrangle® headquarters, who will post the events on the official Weed Wrangle® website. We will also post your information on the Indiana Invasive Species Council website and SICIM’s website. The RS or Dawn will share the logo with you (and a few rules), so you can advertise your event and let everyone know your event is part of a national effort.

Weed Wrangle® Event held at Dunn Woods in Bloomington.

After your is event is over, you are required to provide a few details and photos. This information is captured in an Indiana database and a national Weed Wrangle® database.

Together we can make a larger impact on the health of our lands, waters and wildlife. I hope your group will consider hosting a Weed Wrangle Indiana® with us.

SICIM assistance contacts: 
Liz Yetter, liz@sicim.info
Amber Slaughterbeck, amber@sicim.info
Erica Luchik, Erica@sisicm.info
Dawn Slack, Dawn.slack@tnc.org

Also, see attached image of local CISMA contacts for reference.