Woodland Restoration at Crystal’s Hagemeister Pond Always Needs Volunteer Support
Nestled in the center of Crystal, in a residential neighborhood, is Hagemeister Pond.
“It’s a great place for people to take a walk and experience nature and listen to birds,” said Crystal Recreation Director John Elholm. “When you are here, you don’t necessarily hear the surrounding traffic on the roads.”
The peaceful park is an oasis for wildlife.
Crane at Hagemeister Pond.
“Tons of turtles swimming in the water,” said Crystal resident Dick Snell.
But unfortunately, it’s also become home to something less desirable.
On the most wanted list of invasive species: buckthorn and garlic mustard.
Buckthorn that has been pulled out of ground.
Garlic mustard can be used for cooking.
“It tastes really good actually, people use it even today to make pesto,” said Rachel Braaten. It tastes kind of garlicky.”
But it is also a killer.
“It actually emits a chemical that kills other plants too so it’s not just that it is shading out other plants, which it does do, it also killing other plants too at the same time,” she said.
When native plants are erased, it eliminates food and habitat for wildlife
“Fifty percent of the different types of the bird species in the United States have decreased in number by at least 50 percent in the last 50 years,” said Braaten.
Restoration Project Aims to Remove Invasive Plants
Braaten is leading a group of volunteers to weed out invasive species on Thursdays, May-July from 6:30 until 8:00.
Rachel Braaten leading volunteer resoration effort.
City officials support the project by supplying the tools and securing grants for funding.
“We rely on volunteers like the the group that comes out here,” said Elholm. We don’t have the city staff to do this much work.”
More volunteers are welcome to pull weeds and provide hope for a brighter future.
“Once you see what happens after restoration, it’s just a much better place,” said Elholm.
To learn more about how to volunteer, email the Crystal Recreation Department or call 763-531-0052.
