The public is invited to Fox Island County Park next week, November 4th-8th, 2013, from 10:00am-4:00pm for Honeysuckle Daze.

Become a volunteer weed warrior with the Allen County Parks Staff and help them fight off the honeysuckle shrub. Honeysuckle is a non-native, invasive, shrub species that can reach a height of 3-6m and stem of 10cm+. It is native to China. Bush honeysuckles invade forests, fens, bogs, lakeshores, roadsides, pastures, and old fields. They rapidly form a dense shrub layer that excludes native understory plants, decreases species richness, and reduces canopy tree growth. They alter habitats by decreasing light availability, depleting soil moisture and nutrients, and will release allelopathic chemicals that inhibit growth of other plants, such as lady-slipper wildflowers and our hardwood oaks and maples. They also create a visual barrier to the human eye that is scrubby and un-natural to our Indiana hardwood, deciduous forests.

If you volunteer for one full day of work, you will receive a free individual annual pass to Allen County Parks, good for one full year. This event is free to all weed warrior volunteers.

Call the parks at 260-449-3180 prior to your arrival (even on that same day) so we are prepared to show you this invasive plant.

Bring leather work gloves and protective eye-wear. We wear long sleeves, Carhart coats and overalls as many of the plants are wet when we begin our workday. Volunteers are permitted to bring their own chain-saws, spin-trimmers, loppers, and other equipment at their own risk. So be very careful and watch over each other while working with us at Allen County Parks.

Fox Island County Park is located at 7324 Yohne Rd., Fort Wayne, IN. 46809