Photos: Two against many in effort to remove invasive species

Kerri Mead of Iowa City stacks bittersweet vines onto a pile as she and her husband Charles work to remove invasive vegetation from Shimek Ravine in Iowa City on Monday. There will be another cleanup at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The pulled vegetation is placed in piles that are raised off the ground so it can’t take root. The piles create habitat for small wildlife. The hilly, 13-acre oak-hickory forest just west of Shimek Elementary School was purchased by nearby residents to protect it from development. It was donated to the Bur Oak Land Trust in 1992. The Trust, along with the Shimek Neighborhood Association, hopes to manage and contain the spread of several invasive plants, including oriental bittersweet, Japanese barberry, burning bush, honeysuckle and garlic mustard. The diverse woodland is home to more than 160 species of plants, 80 percent of which are native. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Charles Mead of Iowa City pulls on a bittersweet vine as he and his wife Kerri work to remove invasive vegetation from Shimek Ravine in Iowa City on Monday. There will be another cleanup at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The hilly, 13-acre oak-hickory forest just west of Shimek Elementary School was purchased by nearby residents to protect it from development. It was donated to the Bur Oak Land Trust in 1992. The Trust, along with the Shimek Neighborhood Association, hopes to manage and contain the spread of several invasive plants, including oriental bittersweet, Japanese barberry, burning bush, honeysuckle and garlic mustard. The diverse woodland is home to more than 160 species of plants, 80 percent of which are native. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Bittersweet capsules and fruit are seen on vines at Shimek Ravine in Iowa City on Monday. Kerri and Charles Mead were removing the invasive species and others from the land preserve. There will be another cleanup at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The hilly, 13-acre oak-hickory forest just west of Shimek Elementary School was purchased by nearby residents to protect it from development. It was donated to the Bur Oak Land Trust in 1992. The Trust, along with the Shimek Neighborhood Association, hopes to manage and contain the spread of several invasive plants, including oriental bittersweet, Japanese barberry, burning bush, honeysuckle and garlic mustard. The diverse woodland is home to more than 160 species of plants, 80 percent of which are native. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Bittersweet vines twine around themselves at Shimek Ravine in Iowa City on Monday. Kerri and Charles Mead were removing the invasive species and others from the land preserve. There will be another cleanup at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The hilly, 13-acre oak-hickory forest just west of Shimek Elementary School was purchased by nearby residents to protect it from development. It was donated to the Bur Oak Land Trust in 1992. The Trust, along with the Shimek Neighborhood Association, hopes to manage and contain the spread of several invasive plants, including oriental bittersweet, Japanese barberry, burning bush, honeysuckle and garlic mustard. The diverse woodland is home to more than 160 species of plants, 80 percent of which are native. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)