biggest ivy liana we've ever seen
About Us
We are a non-profit that is dedicated to eradicating invasive plants in an effort to restore and protect our ecosystems. Our focus is redwood forests and watersheds, so we target the invasive plants most damaging to those systems such as: ivy and holly.
Gardeners Without Borders
RIPE takes a holistic approach to habitat restoration, working on both public and private land. We think of it as all part of the same ecosystem.
More Bang for the Berry
Unfortunately, we don't have more money than we know what to do with, so we've had to think about the most efficient way to go about this. Ivy and holly propagate by berries, which are then eaten and the seeds dispersed by birds (we're looking at you, robins*). Our top priority is to limit berry production of the invasive plant population by going after mature and fruiting plants. This way, we can 'turn off the tap' and have the biggest impact using the fewest resources.
You can't see them in this picture, but there are baby coho salmon in this creek. The ivy would have soon collapsed the alder it's dangling from, leaving a light gap and water that's too warm for the babies.
* The robins aren't going to be hungry because we cut down all their favorite holly trees. A diverse native plant population will provide much more nutritious and consistently available food for birds. Honestly, the holly and ivy berries are a little toxic and the robins are puking soon after eating those berries.