| | Published March 12th, 2014
| Campo Basketball Team Takes on Invasive Competitor
| | Submitted by Scott Hill |  | | From left: Quinn Cuddihy, Hayden Hunt, Jack Eisner VB, Tom Caprio, Patrick Duryea JV, Dylan Richardson, Michael Navruzyan, Coach Graden Travis, Jordan Li, Madison Young JV, Scott Hill, EBMUD, and Aaron Hill. Photo Odessa Cuddihy |
At the end of 2014 basketball season last week, the DFAL Champion Campolindo Boys Frosh Team had one more goal they wanted to accomplish, a community service project.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, the team along with their coach and a representative from the East Bay Municipal Utility District's Natural Resources Department joined forces to remove invasive weeds growing on the watershed near the Upper San Leandro Reservoir. Using weed wrenches the boys pulled French broom (Genistamonspessulana) a highly invasive weed that commonly grows to 10 feet tall. Native to countries around the Mediterranean French broom is thought to have been introduced to the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1800s as an ornamental. It spread throughout the region via prodigious seed production. A medium-sized shrub can produce over 8,000 seeds a year. The seed pods explode open dispersing seeds up to 12 feet which furthers the colonization of an area. French broom displaces native plant and forage species degrading the habitat value for wildlife. Like the Campo frosh basketball team, French broom is a strong competitor. Left unchecked it will dominate a plant community forming dense monospecific stands.
Pulling broom with weed wrenches is effective for removal of small populations. The wrench removes the entire plant, eliminating resprouting. Weed wrench removal is environmentally safe and minimizes potential impacts to desirable native plant species. However, pulling broom with weed wrenches is labor intensive, the perfect way for a boys' basketball team to spend a Saturday afternoon.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA