Pulling weeds may not seem extraordinary, but in the case of a local volunteer group, it’s nothing short of remarkable.
The Town Planning Commission joined Town Council members and Mayor Marna Hanneman this week in saluting Steve Phillips and his corps of volunteers for their work removing invasive English ivy from Pioneer Park.
They were recipients of special Town Council recognition Tuesday night, then were praised by parks commissioners during the latter panel’s Wednesday morning meeting at the historic La Conner Civic Garden Club.
“Steve knows which plants to pull and which not to pull,” commission chair Ollie Iversen said of Phillips, who works for the Anacortes Parks & Recreation Department and previously served a similar role for four years in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Phillips has organized regular fall and winter Saturday “ivy pulling” parties at the park. The volunteers’ mission is to rid the park of as much ivy as possible since it’s an “opportunist” that can smother native plants.
“They were up at the park last Saturday,” Iversen said. “There was still snow on the ground and they were there pulling ivy.”
Iversen told commissioners that a truckload of ivy is pulled each time and then hauled to the compost pile at the wastewater treatment plant.
“It’s a great effort,” Town Administrator Scott Thomas confirmed.
Phillips said in November that the group concentrates its work on fall and winter months to avoid bird nesting season and not interfere with summer vacation plans. He is hopeful the volunteers can continue in the years ahead.
Iversen and the parks commissioners are also hoping that’s the case. They have every reason to be optimistic, according to Iversen.
“There were 15 people there last Saturday,” he said. “The piles of ivy are getting bigger.”
The Town Parks Commission, an advisory body to the Mayor, Town Council, and Town Administrator, meets at 9:30 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. Meetings are usually held in the Fireside Room of Maple Hall.
