Decimating Arundo Donax from the Banks of the Russian River
Last Saturday volunteers from the Windsor, Healdsburg Noon and Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary clubs, as well as strapping youth from the Healdsburg High School Interact club, enjoyed a wonderful three hours decimating as much Arundo Donax along the banks of the Russian River as possible.
Close to one-half acre was reclaimed from the bamboo-like grassy plants and at one point a stone bench on the banks of the river was “rediscovered” and liberated!
An informative talk by coordinators from the Russian Riverkeepers before the project began provided much information about the plants; one previous unknown fact was that scientists have measured that one acre of Arundo Donax sucks up between 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 million gallons of water per year! This may explain why river levels are so much higher in Healdsburg than Guerneville (tongue in cheek). Rotarians enjoyed the fellowship of working together to permanently “correct” the environment from this invasive species.
