Zoo Camp on the Move came to the aid of the Blackstone Parks Conservancy on August 3rd this summer, once again tackling invasive species such as bittersweet. Aged 14 to 17, the volunteers are longtime Zoo Camp participants and seasoned weeders. They love the woods and understand the problem of invasive plants.

At the end of a long, dusty morning Ryan Mobley, Roger Laflanne, and Patrick Pollard wrestled an impressive euonymous (“burning bush”) root out of the ground and held up their prize as ospreys shrieked overhead.

Afterward, BPC president ex officio Anna Browder explained the habitat planting at York Pond and the kids spotted a hummingbird and monarch butterflies dancing among the native plants. The next word on everyone’s lips was “lunch.”