Nursery donates time, staff to fight invasives at park

Alpha Nurseries fighting autumn olive at Farview Park.

Jeff Busscher, president of Alpha Nurseries, cuts autumn olive, an invasive species, at Farview Park, 6257 138th Ave., in Laketown Township on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

Jeff Busscher walked the trail along the west side of the Big Pond at Farview Park in Laketown Township on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. He stopped to point at a small sprout – invasive autumn olive. That’s the problem, he said.

The president of Alpha Nurseries, 3737 65th St., went to grab his saw and called for help from a nearby worker with a treatment that will keep that invasive from growing back again.

Busscher and a crew of nine other people – five with chainsaws and five with the chemical treatment in hand – cut through acres of autumn olive and multiflora rose at the 87-acre park at 6257 138th Ave.

Alpha Nurseries is doing the work for free.

“We’ve got the time,” he said, and the crew with equipment to tackle the overgrown bushes.

Jeff Busscher, president of Alpha Nurseries, 3737 65th St., prepares to cut autumn olive, an invasive species, at Farview Park, 6257 138th Ave., in Laketown Township on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

Alpha Nurseries is a wholesale seedling company that grows and sells a variety of native plants for habitat restoration and improvement projects.

A crew member from Alpha Nurseries, 3737 65th St., cuts autumn olive, an invasive species, at Farview Park, 6257 138th Ave., in Laketown Township on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

Autumn olive was brought to the Unted States from Asia in the 1800s and planted widely in the 1950s for erosion control, according to The Nature Conservancy. Because it’s a fast-growing plant, autumn olive can push out native species.

Multiflora rose was once used for erosion control. It grows up to 15 feet with sharply toothed leaflets, according to the Michigan Invasive Species Program.

Clearing both of those invasives will give native plants a chance to thrive, said Busscher.

Jeff Busscher, president of Alpha Nurseries, 3737 65th St., takes a break from cutting autumn olive, an invasive species, at Farview Park, 6257 138th Ave., in Laketown Township on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

Community history

This isn’t the first time Alpha Nurseries has donated its efforts to cut out invasives at the park.

Last August, workers tackled the invasives, saying the nursery is part of the community and they want to help people enjoy the nature around them.

“Hopefully this encourages others to take some action, whether it’s on their land or in a park,” Busscher said on Wednesday as he paused with a chainsaw in his hand, ready to cut down more invasives.

Laketown Township also works closely with the Outdoor Discovery Center to control invasives at township parks. The ODC treats Farview Park for Asian bittersweet.

Autumn olive is treated at the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road, Wolters Woods Park, 6281 147th Ave., and Huyser Farm Park, 4188 64th St.

Jeff Busscher, president of Alpha Nurseries, 3737 65th St., cuts autumn olive, an invasive species, at Farview Park, 6257 138th Ave., in Laketown Township on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, as a crew member prepares to apply a herbicide to the stumps.