BVA Wildflower Walk, Garlic Mustard Eradication and Picnic Set for May 13

COOPERSTOWN, NY (05/07/2012)(readMedia)-- On Sunday, May 13, the Butternut Valley Alliance will hold its third annual Wildflower Walk at Elmwood beginning at 1:30 p.m., including a picnic and the pulling of invasive garlic mustard plants.

Garlic mustard is one of the most pernicious of all invasives. In one year, one plant will produce about 1,600 seeds. It crowds out wildflowers, and it is so vigorous that – if pulled when it is in flower – it will still produce seeds, even out of the ground. The only solution is to pull it and bag it.

The garlic mustard is about to flower. Usually blooming in mid-May it is, like other wildflowers, flowering earlier this year, though fortunately the cold snap at the end of April slowed things down a bit. As a result, those taking part in the Wildflower Walk are asked to bring a trowel to help pull garlic mustard plants. Bags will be provided.

On a more positive note, the bloodroot has flowered, the trillium is beginning to flower, trout lilies are out, the May apples are pushing up and ramps are healthy. Given the forecast, walk organizers expect the fiddlehead ferns to be pushing up in time for picking during the walk.

This third annual Wildflower Walk is sponsored by the Butternut Valley Alliance, Otsego County Conservation Association, and the America the Beautiful Fund in alliance with New York Flora Association. It takes place along the Butternut Creek at Elmwood, 133 Peet Road, Morris.

Reservations are requested by calling Jack Maier at (607) 263-5411 (give your name and the number planning to attend).

The walk takes place along a swamp, so appropriate footwear is advised. There will be tables and a grill for the picnic afterward, but no tent. Participants are asked to please bring a dish to pass.

The Butternut Valley Alliance encourages the preservation and protection of the environmental qualities, farming and cultural heritage, economic viability, open space, and village charms of the entire watershed. http://sites.google.com/site/butternutvalleyalliance/

Otsego County's oldest environmental conservation organization, OCCA is a private, non-profit membership group dedicated to promoting the appreciation and sustainable use of Otsego County's natural resources through education, advocacy, resource management, research, and planning. For more information, or to donate, call (607) 547-4488 or visit www.occainfo.org.

The New York Flora Association, founded in 1990, is an organization dedicated to the promotion of field botany and greater understanding of the plants that grow in the wild in New York State. www.nyflora.org

Elmwood is a property listed on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places as the "Morris-Lull Farm", with a Federal stone house dating from 1821.