Charles Russell, left and Alex Wuestneck. Photo by Vince Crockenberg.

From left, Jane Alsofrom, Ruth DeFreest and Bill Bruett. Photo by Vince Crockenberg.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, the Thompson’s Point Leaseholders Association and the Charlotte Invasive Collaborative, sponsored an Assault on Buckthorn Day on Thompson’s Point. Buckthorn is an invasive plant brought to the U.S. from Europe in the mid-1800s that creates dense thickets and outcompetes native vegetation for nutrients, light and moisture. It also lacks natural controls like insects or disease that curb its growth.  

Wearing long pants and good footwear, and hauling shovels, loppers, wood saws and chainsaws, volunteers, organized by Dick Tonino, pulled small growths, chain-sawed trees, and cut, hauled and stacked branches from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.