Two groups of volunteers filled more than 10 bags with spotted knapweed on Thursday, July 23, pulling the invasive weed by hand from the open meadows at Maybury State Park in Northville Township.
The effort was organized by Friends of Maybury State Park, the all-volunteer nonprofit that has supported the 944-acre park since 1996. The group is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Spotted knapweed is a bushy biennial native to Eurasia that releases toxins into the soil, poisoning surrounding plants and allowing it to dominate large stretches of land where nothing else can grow. Its pinkish-purple flowers, which resemble thistle, begin blooming in July. The plant's common name comes from the black-tipped sepals that look like dark spots on its flower buds.
Volunteers had to grip each plant low and extract the entire taproot from the soil to prevent regrowth, according to a Friends of Maybury post by Shelly Andrews.
Why it matters
Maybury's open meadows are habitat for native wildflowers and grasses. Left unchecked, spotted knapweed can convert those fields into monocultures where only the invader survives. The hand-pulling sessions are one of several invasive-species removal events the nonprofit runs each year, including regular garlic mustard pulls in the park's wooded areas.
Friends of Maybury is a 501(c)(3) organization run entirely by volunteers. The nonprofit partners with schools, scouts, and corporate groups to staff events, all of which are free.
The park, overseen by Park Supervisor Kale Leftwich, is open year-round from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at 49601 Eight Mile Road. Mountain biking trails are closed for renovations through summer 2026, but hiking trails and meadow areas remain accessible.
Get involved
Friends of Maybury is asking residents to complete a park survey at surveymonkey.com/r/TFLL6VG to share feedback and help shape future park planning.
What's next
The group's next scheduled event is an Edible Plant Hike on Saturday, August 15, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Maybury State Park. The hike is free. Additional volunteer events and programs are listed at friendsofmaybury.org.
