HELP OUST THE BISHOP WEED!!!
If you see the ‘Bishops Weed’ which has exploded out of the rocks supporting the parking lot, please help us eradicate it.
Big patches are smothered with 3-4 layers of cardboard, topped with organic material (Gray Poplar) cleared out of the outdoor classroom area…or extra mulch/leaf-litter brought from home.
Smaller patches are dug out & taken to the dump in plastic bags. If even a small bit of the rhizome is left in the ground, a new plant grows in with ease. It is important to stay on top of the outbursts before they really take hold.
Bishop weed is one of the most difficult Invasive species to eradicate. As the site is right along the river shore, NO CHEMICALS ALLOWED!! Invasive species disrupt the ecologic rhythms of an in-tact ecology. Migrating fish need protein! Amongst other functions, native plants support insects to feed the Alewives coming up the ladder
We are taking a long term and sustained approach to contain and smother it. We invite community members to help tend the space, in order to maintain natural systems that supports shared resources that migrate here from the sea.
Construction fill often brings invasive species to a site, and there was an explosion of the invasive Bishop’s Weed in the pocket of open meadow situated between the woodland path and the fish ladder. Because we cannot use chemicals so near the river shore, we invite folks to help tamp out the weed using layers of cardboard and mulch (dry leaves, small sticks and other organic material) The roots are pervasive, so if digging out the edges of the patch, make sure to bag and dispose of the entire plant material.
Follow along the approach we are taking and feel free to jump in and participate as you are passing through to enjoy the site!






What IS Bishop Weed??

Brought to this land as the nursery plant, ‘snow on the mountain’, the plant reverts to it’s native form of solid green leaves once it has ‘skipped the fence’. In fact, it is a medicinal plant in Europe. From Wikipedia: “The tender leaves have been used in antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages as a spring leaf vegetable, much as spinach was used. It is commonly used for soup. Young leaves are preferred as a pot herb. It is best picked from when it appears (as early as February in the UK) to just before it flowers (May to June). If it is picked after this point, it takes on a pungent taste and has a laxative effect. However, it can be stopped from flowering by pinching out the flowers, ensuring the plant remains edible if used more sparingly as a pot herb.
“It also had a history as a medicinal herb to treat gout and arthritis, applied in hot wraps externally upon boiling both leaves and roots together. Ingested, the leaves have a diuretic effect and act as a mild sedative. Its use as a medicinal herb has largely declined during the modern era.
“The plant is said to have been introduced into Great Britain by the Romans as a food plant and into Northern Europe as a medicinal herb by monks. It is still found growing in patches surrounding many monastic ruins in Europe, and descriptions of its use are found among monastic writings, such as in Physica by Hildegard von Bingen“