Volunteers form ivy-pull group to tackle invasive plantSubscriber Exclusive

During one of the Camas Ivy League’s 2024 work sessions, the organization’s Washougal residents brought up the possibility of forming a similar organization to focus on Washougal parks and open spaces.

“It was thought that rather than expanding the Camas Ivy League, it’d be easier just to make up one of our own,” one of the volunteers, Washougal resident Tim Goss, said.

The nonprofit Washougal Ivy League will hold its first work session from 9 a.m. to noon March 22, at Washougal’s Hathaway Park.

“I think it’s great,” said David Fritz, a member of the Washougal City Council and Camas Ivy League. “I’m very excited about the positive impact it will have on our Washougal community.”

The group developed out of the Camas Ivy League, which has helped more than 10,000 trees in Camas parks and open spaces since 2018.

“So there is already a core of interest and support right here in Washougal,” Fritz said. “Moreover, Cassi and Rick Marshall with the Camas Ivy League have lent their experience and expertise in getting the group started, and the Washougal Ivy League is nested under the East County Citizens Alliance, so while it is a new organization, it stands with strong partners.” Goss, a Washougal Ivy League board member, said that the group currently has between 20 to 30 volunteers.

“Most of them are Washougal residents that have worked for Camas Ivy League,” he said, “so when they saw that we were building (a group in Washougal), they expressed interest in getting involved with the Washougal one as well.”

The organization will primarily work at Hathaway Park, which it adopted through the city of Washougal’s Adopt-A-Park program, until June, when it can adopt a new park.

Goss said Hathaway Park “is pretty infested” with ivy, an invasive plant that grows on tree branches, weighing them down, damaging the tree’s bark and blocking the amount of sunlight absorbed by the tree’s leaves.

“Mable Kerr Park is pretty infested. Sandy Swimming Hole is pretty infested,” Goss said. “A lot of green space in (certain) neighborhoods are infested. You’ll start to notice it as you drive around town — whole sections are covered in ivy, and the trees are overloaded with it.”

The Washougal Ivy League has been awarded an $800 grant from the Camas-Washougal Community Chest and plans to use the funds to purchase tools and facilitate work sessions in 2025 and beyond.

“I’m so excited for this new group. We need as much invasive plant removal effort as we can get,” said Cassi Marshall, a Port of Camas-Washougal commissioner and former member of the Camas Parks and Recreation Commission. “The Washougal Ivy League already has some passionate volunteers, and they’re sure to grow. The ivy doesn’t care one bit about city boundaries, so having a larger East Clark County team is phenomenal.”

The group is primarily focusing on English ivy, but will also keep an eye out for other invasive plant species such as English holly, Himalayan blackberry and other noxious weeds that pervade Washougal’s open spaces.

“While they’re not native here, they are well-adapted, so they aggressively take over our green spaces and choke out the plants that should be here,” Cassi Marshall said. “They hog up the sunlight, water and nutrients that our native trees and shrubs need, and they don’t provide the same level of erosion control and wildlife food and habitat.”

Fritz and Marshall said that the work sessions provide other benefits as well.

“People getting involved and helping out builds pride in the community,” Fritz said. “Community participation helps build stronger communities. As neighbors work side by side, they build friendships and relationships. On most of the ivy-pull projects I participated in, there were numerous local high school students helping. I find that to be inspiring — to know that local youth care enough about their community that they gave up their Saturday morning to give back.”

Doug Flanagan: 360-735-4669; doug.flanagan@columbian.com