The Sierra Club, Hawai‘i Chapter is looking for volunteers to help remove invasive Himalayan blackberry on Mau‘umae Trail on June 14.

The service project will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor) is a thorny vine native to western Europe. Division of Forestry and Wildlife “Hawai‘i’s Most Invasive Horticultural Plants” list includes all species of the genus Rubus. Blackberry forms dense impenetrable thickets that exclude other native plant species, and make access difficult for hunters, hikers, and other visitors to forests.

These thickets can produce 7,000 to 13,000 seeds per square meter, which can remain dormant in the soil for several years.

Blackberry occurs in only a few locations on O‘ahu. We can get rid of it before it takes over!

We will hike along a well maintained trail for one hour before arriving to the site. The hike to the work site will be an hour long on a hot, sunny, exposed ridgeline.

This volunteer trip is for advanced hikers. Expect difficult hiking. Bring bag lunch, hiking shoes, sunscreen and water.

Meet at the Church of the Crossroads parking lot.

RSVP to 286-4616 or oisc@hawaii.edu.