Tackling Japanese Knotweed at the Eastern Promenade

This season, our volunteers came together to take on one of the Eastern Promenade’s biggest challenges: Japanese knotweed. With its rapid growth and dense, bamboo-like stalks that can reach five to ten feet tall, knotweed has made it really hard for native plants to thrive. Managing it is no easy task; it takes patience, persistence, and a lot of hard work.

Over the course of the season, 5-10 volunteers per session joined us every 1st and 3rd Tuesday from July through October, working alongside Friends of Eastern Promenade and the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization to restore and protect this vital green space.

Over the weeks, we focused on two main patches, returning again and again to pull and clear the knotweed. Watching the progress was amazing. Week after week, the volunteers showed up ready to dig in, and slowly but surely, the towering thickets started to give way. By the final session, the patches were completely cleared, and it was incredible to see new native plants starting to grow where the knotweed once dominated. Seeing that transformation, knowing all the work that went into it, really highlighted how much of a difference our volunteers made.

Towards the end of the season, we were also able to pull some invasive burdock and spread milkweed seed pods, which was a nice addition and helped support the park’s ecosystem. However, Japanese knotweed was always the main focus, and the progress we made there was the real highlight.

We are so grateful to everyone who came out this season. Every bit of effort, every pull, and every handful of knotweed removed mattered.

Even though this was our first season, it was inspiring to see what can happen when people show up week after week with dedication, energy, and heart. Thank you for helping us care for the Eastern Promenade and for being a part of this first step in the work ahead.

Check out the photos from this season!