“The time is always right to do what is right.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Theo Weeks, 10, drops off a load of invasive European beach grass he helped remove from Fort Worden’s beaches alongside his fellow Cub Scouts of Pack 4479
Leader photo by Derek Firenze
Will Barrett, who volunteers with the Friends of Fort Worden, hauls off a load of invasive beach grass.
Leader photo by Derek Firenze
A large crowd of volunteers worked in two groups to remove various section of the invasive plant from the beaches surrounding Fort Worden.
Leader photo by Derek Firenze
Volunteers brought their own shovels and pitchforks to the event or were provided them by organizers.
Leader photo by Derek Firenze
The invasive European beach grass grows so dense that its tight root systems create taller dunes which interfere with native flora and fauna.
Volunteers came together on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to help with the removal of invasive European beach grass organized by Washington Service Corps. The invasive plant outcompetes native plants like wildflowers like sand verbana which are integral to multiple stages of the rare sand verbana moth's life cycle. The vast clumps of grass also prevent Western snowy plovers from building nests as the native birds require more space than the density allows.