Hope Church Friends,
There had been plans in the works for a churches related invasive garlic mustard pull at Ottawa County Parks, but that plan fell victim to COVID-19. The garlic mustard is still there, however, and you can still pull it if you go on your own. For those of you with children, this could be a positive way of getting outdoors. Read this invite and challenge from the community organizers:
“Are you tired of being inside? Do you have a grump at home? Then it’s time for the first-ever not-at-all-annual Hope Church GRMP (GaRlic Mustard Pullers) Community Scavenger Hunt!
To play, go to https://news.miottawa.org/stewardship/ . Watch the four-minute video explaining why garlic mustard is a problem and how to pull it. Then select one of the nine parks that are still open but overrun with garlic mustard because there are no gatherings of volunteer pullers this year. (Wandering the parks is rewarding in its own right, but the “Easy Garlic Mustard Locations for Volunteers” link takes you to maps of exactly where to find your quarry.)
Go to the park, pick at least one kitchen trash bag of garlic mustard and send a picture of yourself and your bag(s) to pboogaart@hotmail.com or text to 616.796.4518 Then dispose of your bag as instructed in the video.
The goal is for the whole church to collect at least thirty pictures and hit all nine listed parks. Updates will be posted periodically so we know how we’re doing. All ages can play, but please only one family per picture! Any GRMP who doesn’t want to be in the family picture can submit their own, but must also pick their own bag of garlic mustard.”
Peter Boogaart, Creation Care Ministry Coordinator