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January/February 2006 Living Now
Join the No Ivy League

by Caroline Skinner

"The Ivy Log." -- Howard Blumenthal holding a section from a mature Ivy vine at a work party in St. Helens, Oregon.

Green is good right?  Not if you’re looking at English ivy vines. Most likely you are looking into a sea of its dark green glossy leaves. At first glance, English ivy, or Hedera helix , might look like a nice ground cover. But as you look closer, you begin to realize that it suffocates all other plant life and even destroys mature trees, given enough time. In fact, English ivy makes a nice habitat for pests like rats and mosquitoes, but that’s about all. Other than that, it just takes over and spreads until everything else is gone.

Unfortunately, this green plague has already gotten out of control in many areas of western Oregon. A Portland-based group, the No Ivy League, has been doing something about it for eleven years. The group holds weekly ivy removal work parties at Forest Park, meeting at 9 AM every Saturday (except major holiday weekends) at the lower MacLeay trailhead in northwest Portland. The No Ivy League has both volunteers and youth crews, with one full-time staff person. Many community groups also help fight ivy by participating in service projects during the week. "It’s great to work with so many people making such a big difference," says Sandy Diedrich, No Ivy League coordinator.

Pulling ivy is hard, dirty work. It can be hot in summer or wet and muddy in other times of the year. At this point, the ivy problem has grown so big in some places that all the group can do is "[un]girdle" the trees by cutting the ivy off from around the trunks. Then the ivy many feet up in the air will die and eventually fall off and the trees will live. In a few areas, such as Tryon Creek State Park and the grounds of Reed College, total removal, from both trees and the ground, is the goal. But this takes countless hours of removal as well as intensive follow-up to prevent re-infestation.

Clearly not planting ivy to start with is the best course of action. So why is ivy still available for sale in some stores such as Fred Meyer?  Briefly, Hedera helix has been classified as a noxious weed and cannot be sold in Oregon. But many stores sell varieties such as "iceberg" or "fluffy ruffles" saying they are not the same. Getting the political clout to ban each and every one of the 400+ varieties of ivy may take a long time. Second best is to tell your friends, and don’t buy or plant ivy!

The No Ivy League is looking for new members and supporters, and responding to many requests for more no ivy action or de-vine intervention. After a no-ivy powwow held in June, the group continues to pursue an agenda for pulling together! Do your part to stop the ivy menace. Get involved and do your part to stop this botanical bully.

The No Ivy League is also known as the Ivy Removal Project. Information about the project, a partnership between Portland Parks and Recreation and Friends of Forest Park, can found on our web site: www.NoIvyLeague.com