Weed Warriors Needed in the Capital Region

Volunteers are needed at military history National Capital Parks-East at sites like Fort Dupont, Fort Mahan, Fort Chaplin, Fort Washington, and Fort Foote. Fort Foote, for example, is covered in Wisteria and Weed Warrior Volunteers are necessary to keep the park looking its best. 

For those interested in invasive species removal at these sites who want to work independently, you may participate in Weed Warrior Training. There is no training date set right now, but interested volunteers should contact Kathleen Keeting using the information below.

About The Weed Warrior Program

The Weed Warrior Program is a program in National Capital Parks-East, that is designed to get volunteers involved in non-native, invasive species removal independently throughout the park. In order to become a Weed Warrior a prospective volunteer must attend Weed Warrior Training. This consists of watching or attending an online theory session, followed by an in-person, practical portion of training. This training focuses on safety, proper tool use, and plant identification. After the training is complete, the Weed Warrior has the option to adopt a site in the park. They will communicate this to their point of contact, who they will then meet with in their location of choice. During this meeting they will fill out all of the required paperwork, determine how many hours they want to donate, and will work with their point of contact to create a work plan for their location. They will als undergo a plant identification quiz, in order to ensure they can confidently identify the species they are targeting in the field. After this meeting, the Weed Warrior is free to work independently on their site for one year, when their work plan will be reviewed. Also, after 1 year of being a Weed Warrior, they have the opportunity to become a Weed Warrior Leader, who can lead events within National Capital Parks-East.