Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Removing invasive white sweet clover near Mono Lake

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

This post was written by Ava Stavros, 2017 Mono Lake Intern and 2018 & 2019 Outdoor Education Instructor.

Thank you to botanist Ann Howald and all the volunteers who joined us on August 8 to remove invasive white sweet clover at Mono Lake!

The large pile of pulled Melilotus albus is nearly obscured by the hard-working removal crew at Mono Lake’s Old Marina. Photo by Ava Stavros.

The event was incredibly productive due to all of your hard work and effort. Together we pulled 177.75 pounds of white sweet clover, Melilotus albus, at the Old Marina boardwalk. Luckily the weather complied by not being too hot, and the weeds were obliging enough to come out of the damp soil easily.

Also, it seemed like nearly everyone who was there made a new friend.

Volunteer Kevin Sea with an unexpected praying mantis passenger on his hat. Photo by Ava Stavros.

For those of you who are interested in coming out again, or if you missed the last event, we will have one more removal day this season on Wednesday, August 30 from 9:00am to 12:00pm. We will meet at the Mono Lake Committee, then carpool to the location we’ll be weeding. Please bring close-toed shoes, sun protection, plenty of water, and a snack. And of course, be sure to stick around afterwards for a picnic lunch!

Native plant species once again have ample light and space to grow at the end of the Old Marina boardwalk now that the large patch of sweet clover has been removed. Photo by Ava Stavros.

Feel free to contact me by email or at (760) 647-6595 with any questions or to RSVP. We’re looking forward to seeing you out there!