[USA] APPELT PARK KNOTWEED REMOVAL in World Mission Society Church of God

World Mission Society Church of God in USA

On Sunday, July, 18, 2010, over 140 members of the World Mission Society Church of God in Ridgewood, NJ drove to the neighboring township of Riverdale to volunteer their time to uproot the invasive Japanese Knotweed from the banks of the Pequannock River. This project aligns with the World Mission Society Church of God’s continuous global effort to restore the planet’s natural environment. After the removal, native trees and shrubs will be planted, allowing native flora to thrive.

Japanese Knotweed, regarded as one of the world’s 100 most invasive species, flourishes in thick colonies under a wide range of conditions. It chokes out native plants, disrupts the ecosystem, damages structures and even reduces natural flood defenses. The dense mass of roots and bamboo-like stalks, capable of reaching over 12-feet high, makes the Japanese Knotweed especially difficult to remove. Executive board members of the Pequannock River Coalition (PRC) recruit groups of volunteers to undertake the immense task of uprooting the weeds multiple times a year. However, when the Church of God[WMSCOG] members arrived, Barbara Kushner, wife of Ross Kushner, Executive Director of the PRC, exclaimed, “I was told 100 people were coming [to volunteer]. I didn’t think that was possible, but here you all are!”

Church of God[WMSCOG] volunteers joined together in unity using pitchforks, shovels, and their gloved hands to dig up the stubborn growths under the sweltering heat and threat of poison ivy. Regardless of these circumstances, cheers of triumph and bursts of laughter echoed from the group. Church of God[WMSCOG] members completed “double the work in half the time,” as expressed by Laurence Bair, Chief Executive of the PRC. In an interview with NorthJersey.com, Ross Kushner shared, “The results speak for themselves. Most of the park is now free of knotweed. These folks deserve a big round of applause.”