Honeysuckle Sweep for Healthy Habitat

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Sustainability > Sustainability > BiodiverseCity St. Louis > Honeysuckle Sweep for Healthy Habitat

Honeysuckle Sweep for Healthy Habitat

NO Bush Honeysuckle BiodiverseCity St. Louis Network partners join together to spotlight the harmful impact of bush honeysuckle on our region. Bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) degrades our beautiful woodlands, neighborhoods, backyards, trails, and stream banks into impenetrable thickets lacking ecological, economic, or recreational value. Beginning in 2016, organizations have hosted biannual public events and volunteer workdays throughout the months of March and November. Volunteers remove bush honeysuckle and replant with native species to improve public spaces for wildlife habitat, recreation, and enjoyment.

In an effort to energize the greater St. Louis region around improving habitat for our native plants and animals, area conservation organizations join together to spotlight invasive bush honeysuckle and the need to remove it so that large swaths of land can become productive areas for native habitat, recreation and enjoyment. To that end, organizations will host public events and volunteer removal days during Honeysuckle Sweep Month(s).

FALL 2020 Honeysuckle Sweep will be the entire month of November. You can find a list of volunteer opportunities and resources below.

Project Goals:

Remove bush honeysuckle to promote the establishment of native plant species
Raise public awareness about the need for bush honeysuckle removal and the benefits of replacing invasive plant species with native plant species
Connect corridors and greenspaces throughout the St. Louis region to improve habitat for wildlife

How can bush honeysuckle threaten our local landscapes?

Bush honeysuckle can rapidly develop into dense infestations that:

Displace native and other desirable plants from our gardens and natural areas
Reduce habitat for wildlife such as butterflies, which depend upon native plants
Threaten the future of our woodlands, as mature trees die without replacement
Offer poor nutritional value for birds relative to fruits of native shrubs
Increase tick abundance and exposure to tick borne illness dues to higher deer concentration
Increase survival of mosquito larvae due to changes in water chemistry

What should our forests, streams and roadways look like without bush honeysuckle choking them?

Rock Bridge State Park. Photo by Erick Bohle.

Eric Bohle of Columbia, Missouri has photographed infested and restored sites around Missouri and in St. Louis. His photo to the left shows an area in Rock Bridge State Park that does not yet have a bush honeysuckle infestation.

Visit parks and natural areas where acreage cleared of bush honeysuckle is being restored with native plants after recent removal events! You’ll find ideas to replace the honeysuckle “privacy hedge” on your property with native bushes, trees and flowers. Two such areas to visit are the Forest Park – Kennedy Woods Savannah in the City of St. Louis and Emmenegger Nature Park in Kirkwood.

Honeysuckle Sweep Month Events: November 2020

Please Note:

While the Missouri Botanical Garden is not the organizer of any of the events listed below, we strongly encourage all volunteers to follow CDC recommended guidelines for safety and prevention of the spread of COVID-19 when participating in Honeysuckle Sweep events.
Registration is often requested—check each description.
Please bring sturdy shoes, water bottle and gloves (if you have them).
Each organization will have additional information on hand to help ensure the safety of participants.

Special Opportunity:
A New Way to Remove Honeysuckle: Root Docking Training Workshop
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Two Shifts: 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. OR 1:30–4 p.m.
Al Foster Memorial Trail
Join us for a hands-on training workshop on Root Docking, a manual approach to removing invasive honeysuckle. This is an excellent hands-on learning opportunity to learn about the root docking method. Workshop participants will learn about the advantages and benefits of the method, how to properly and safely use the tools needed to conduct root docking, and have the opportunity to practice the method in the field on the Al Foster Memorial Trail. Space is limited to 20 people for each shift. Attendees must be 16+ years of age to participate. Space is limited and registration is required—please register at: rootdocking2020.eventbrite.com. Special thanks to Great Rivers Greenway, the L-A-D Foundation and Open Space Council members for their support!

honeysucklesweep_201811_200w November 7 and 21; 9 a.m.–noon
Creve Coeur Park
Organized by St. Louis Audubon Society
Help us remove the non-native invasive Bush Honeysuckle shrub from the upland forest of the Upper Park at Creve Coeur Park. Bring your favorite lopper or saw. Registration is required. For questions, contact Mitch at stlaudubon@charter.net or (314) 599-7390. Register

November 7; 8:30 a.m.–noon
Paul A. Schroeder Park (359 Old Meramec Station Road, Manchester, MO)
Organized by the City of Manchester
Bring sturdy shoes, bug repellent, water, gloves, loppers and/or a sharp trench spade if you have one. Be prepared to wear a cloth mask all morning. Register by calling the office at (636) 391-6326, x 400.

November 7; 9 a.m.–noon
Rayburn Park (746 Rayburn Ave, St. Louis, MO 63126)
Organized by the City of Crestwood Beautification Committee
Parking is available off of Rayburn Ave or the end of Fox Creek Ct. Participants should meet near the large playground area. Volunteers should bring their own gloves, water bottle, loppers, and hand saws. Register by sending email to beautifycrestwood@gmail.com or call Angie Weber (314) 583-0971.

November 7; 9 a.m.–noon
Willoughby Heritage Farm and Conservation Reserve (631 Willoughby Ln, Collinsville, IL 62234)
Organized by the Willoughby Heritage Farm and Conservation Reserve
Tools will be provided, but you may bring you own hand snips or loppers and work gloves. Registration is not required. Contact BobbieSue Hill with questions: (618) 980-2004 or email bhill@collinsvilleil.org.

November 14; 9 a.m.–noon
Spellman Park (Park is located east of Spellman Avenue north of the intersection of Spellman Ave. and Joshua Drive)
Organized by the City of Crestwood Beautification Committee
Participants should meet near the playground area. Volunteers should bring their own gloves, water bottle, loppers, and hand saws. Register by sending email to beautifycrestwood@gmail.com or call Angie Weber (314) 583-0971.

November 14; 8 a.m.–1 p.m.
Woodland Park (Pine Lake Road, Collinsville, IL 62234)
Organized by the Willoughby Heritage Farm and Conservation Reserve
Tools will be provided, but you may bring you own hand snips or loppers and work gloves. Registration is not required. Contact BobbieSue Hill with questions: (618) 980-2004 or email bhill@collinsvilleil.org.

December 5; 10 a.m.–noon
George Winter Park (401 Allen Rd., Fenton, MO 63026)
Organized by the Community Stewardship Alliance
Join us for a volunteer workday to harvest willow stakes at George Winter Park on the morning of Saturday, December 5th. The stakes will then be transported to Lower Meramec Park where they will be planted along the riverbank in the afternoon. You can also learn about an exciting opportunity to become an Ambassador for the Community Stewardship Alliance program which launches in 2021. Check-in and registration is at 9:45a.m. Volunteers will meet at the Goode Shelter at George Winter Park - 401 Allen Rd, Fenton, MO 63026. For questions, contact the Open Space Council at 314-835-9225.
Register

Resources

Bush Honeysuckle Removal, Control, Alternatives and MORE:

Missouri Botanical Garden's Invasive Species Information Pages
The Shaw Nature Reserve’s manual to the Control and Identification of Invasive Species provides detailed instructions for control and suggestions for native alternatives for many of the worst invasive species in the Saint Louis region.
Missouri Botanical Garden Short Tutorial—Removing Honeysuckle in Your Backyard
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invasive plants page contains useful resources for the identification and control of more than 25 of the most common invasive plants in Missouri.
Missouri Botanical Garden’s Native Alternatives for Bush Honeysuckle and Other Exotic Shrubs
GrowNative! helps protect and restore biodiversity by increasing conservation awareness of native plants and their effective use in urban, suburban, and rural developed landscapes.
The Missouri Invasive Plant Species Task Force (MoIP) is a multi-agency, multi-industry networking and advocacy group to bolster statewide efforts to identify and control the invasive plant species that severely impact native biodiversity.
The Midwest Invasive Plant Network (MIPN) is diverse group of participants and partners with the mission of reducing the impact of invasive plant species throughout the Midwest. Their website includes many useful resources for invasive species identification, control, and education, and research, such as this informative brochure on emerging invasive species to watch out for in the Midwest.
Invasive.org website contains numerous resources for invasive species of the United States, including a vast library of invasive species images, and useful advice for invasive species control.
Root-docking Tutorial for Bush Honeysuckle Removal: Watch video

Honeysuckle Sweep for Healthy Habitat Recap

2019 Sweep Results:

80		Events
34		Locations
952		Volunteers
3028		Volunteer Hours
61.25		Acres Cleared

2018 Sweep Results:

39		Events
18		Locations
722		Volunteers
2154		Volunteer Hours
35.75		Acres Cleared

2017 Sweep Results:

28		Events
22		Locations
800		Volunteers
2190		Volunteer Hours
20		Acres Cleared

2016 Sweep Results:

25		Events/Locations
613		Volunteers
14		Acres Cleared

“I appreciate the leadership that was shown on this project. Although we regularly fight honeysuckle and other invasive species, this year we did it with more enthusiasm and with more volunteers. Many thanks to both of you and to Mo Bot for pushing this project.”

—Tim Wood, Sustainability Coordinator, The College School