Join BEAT in this regular volunteer opportunity of removing invasive vines in Pittsfield’s Burbank Park!

Each week, we head into the woods with a group of dedicated volunteers to cut and pull invasive hardy kiwi vines that are overtaking the trees and dominating parts of the landscape in Burbank Park. Join us in these efforts and get your exercise while helping eradicate this destructive invasive and connecting with like-minded community members at the same time!

Anyone and everyone is welcome, regardless of age or experience. However, you must be able to walk on a path over rough ground and uneven terrain for 5-10 minutes to get to the area where we cut and pull the vines.

***Extreme or wet weather cancels this event.***

COME PREPARED

• We recommend dressing in layers and wearing long pants and socks, in addition to close-toed shoes.
• Please bring a full bottle of water. Pulling vines for an hour isn’t easy work. We want everyone to stay safe and hydrated.
• If you have your own work gloves, loppers, or pruning shears, please feel free to bring those along. Otherwise, you can borrow some from BEAT.

DATE: Thursday, April 17

TIME: 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM (If you’re unable to stay the entire time, that’s perfectly okay! We’re happy to have your help in any capacity.)

LOCATION: Burbank Park, 309 Lakeway Drive, Pittsfield, MA — Meet at the Onota Lake Boat Launch parking lot 

• DIRECTIONS
  If you’re traveling west on West St (i.e., toward Berkshire Community College), you’ll take a right onto Valentine Rd. Continue down Valentine for about half a mile, and Taconic High School will be on your right. Drive past Taconic High. You’ll get to the intersection of Valentine and Lakeway Dr. Take a left onto Lakeway, where you should see a large “Burbank Park” sign, and continue straight (don’t take the slight right!) until you’ve reached the main parking lot and are directly in front of Onota Lake.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: This volunteer opportunity will no longer take place on Friday mornings. We have not yet settled on a new regular weekday and time, but for now, we will offer this volunteer opportunity on Thursdays.

RSVP!
Please email team@thebeatnews.org if you plan on coming to help. That way, if you’re running late, we will know to wait up for you, and it will also ensure we bring enough materials for all the volunteers.

You can also subscribe to receive our email updates about these volunteer opportunities.

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WHAT IS HARDY KIWI?
Hardy Kiwi is an exotic invasive vine that threatens forests in western Massachusetts through complete domination of mature trees. Once it germinates, it will climb surrounding vegetation and eventually kill its support. Hardy kiwi can grow over 30 feet in a year. It has become a major problem in places such as Kennedy Park and Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, and now Burbank Park.

Contact team@thebeatnews.org with any questions.