It might have been buggy. It might have been hot and muggy. But the evening of June 22nd turned out to be perfect for a the City of Portsmouth Conservation Commission's first community workday of the summer. 

"Being out on the coast at Little Harbor made for one of the most scenic invasive plant workdays I've ever seen," reported Malin Clyde, of the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. "The breeze held, the bugs never showed up, and the view over the harbor was incredible."

The volunteer workday took place on city-owned land on Little Harbor Road, a familiar spot to locals who use a loop trail that connects the property to lands owned by the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion State Historic Site and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests' Creek Farm Reservation.

Peter Britz, Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Portsmouth, helped organize the workday with the Conservation Commission. Volunteers spent two hours pulling invasive shrubs - mostly a plant called Glossy Buckthorn - along the shoreline of the property. Along with hand-pulling, volunteers used a tool called a “Weed Wrench,” on loan from the Great Bay Estuarine Research Reserve in Greenland, to help pull out the larger shrubs by their roots."We hope this is the first of the season's community workdays," says Britz. "It's a great way to work with neighbors and volunteers to care for our natural areas. We look forward to more events - at Little Harbor and at more than 90 other town-owned natural areas - this summer and fall."

Conservation Commission Chair Steve Miller was on hand along with many other members of the Commission. "It looks like a big job, but many hands make light work. This was a great way to spend a summer evening." 

For more information about upcoming stewardship events in the City of Portsmouth or other areas around New England, visit our experiences page and sign up to receive weekly bulletins about volunteer events near you.