Help Needed to Fight Garlic Mustard in Brighton

A small army of volunteers are needed this month to help rid Brighton of an invasive species known as garlic mustard.

To combat its spread, the Stewardship Network is hosting the 2011 national Garlic Mustard Pull challenge. There are many clusters of Stewardship groups across the state of Michigan. From April to July, all these groups will have their own mustard-pull event. The idea is that various branches of the Stewardship Network will make an impact on curbing garlic expansion.

"(The garlic mustard plants) crowd out other native species we want to see growing," Mary Detloff said, the public relations officer with the MDNR. "We want to get rid of non-native plants."

In Brighton, the pulls will occur each Saturday from June 11 through June 26 at Island Lake Recreation Area and the Brighton Recreation Area.

 To volunteer, visit mich.gov/dnrvolunteers and fill out a Stewardship Volunteer Registration form. Any other questions can be directed to Laurel Malvitz-Draper at 248-359-9057. The dates at the Brighton parks are listed below.

The Brighton locations:  June 11: Island Lake Recreation Area, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

June 18: Brighton Recreation Area, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

June 26: Brighton Recreation Area, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.