Greens at Work is pleased to announce that at our September 6, 2025, work party along the Bay Trail by Marina Bay in Richmond, volunteers Dee + Dimitrios + Gerrik + Gray + Jim + Jin Hee + Kimberly + Laurie + Marion + Miriam + Silas + Sophia + Usha removed the ONE MILLIONTH LIRA (Limonium ramosissimum, aka Algerian lavender) plant!
We needed to remove 765 LIRA that day to reach 1,000,000, and we more than made it, removing a total of 10,570. That haul got us to a grand total of 1,009,805 LIRA plants removed since the beginning of the project in August 2019.
We applaud all the amazing volunteers who helped remove LIRA over these past years. The population of this highly invasive plant at our initial sites along the Richmond shoreline is severely diminished. Year-on-year totals that we have carefully recorded demonstrate a significant reduction in the plant population, which helps to make the case for the efficacy of manual removal versus herbicide application. Over the past year we have incorporated additional sites that lead us to believe we may reach the 2,000,000 mark considerably faster than the first million.
One of the new sites is Cerrito Creek by the Bay Trail, where a shell mound was occupied by a camper for some 12 months but cleared in early August by Caltrans. We ventured out there on August 14 of this year to survey the site, gauge the amount of LIRA, and collect any remaining litter. We saw the absolutely fantastic job done by Caltrans in restoring the shell mound. We collected trash and started removing LIRA.
We returned three times to remove LIRA but didn’t see a single shorebird at the site. Finally, on our fifth visit on September 20, while getting ready to leave, we saw a small flock of shorebirds arrive on the shell mound and heard them vocalizing excitedly amongst themselves. It seems as though they have now reacquainted themselves with this safe haven.
We started on this project to prevent ongoing herbicide application to control LIRA infestations in the sensitive habitats of the marsh and Bay. What we have learned over the years from manual removal is that a good level of “control” is achievable when the effort is sustained, though eradication is unlikely. Seeds are mobile on the tides and you never really find the last plant. Herbicide applications negatively impact native vegetation and degrade the soil and water so that even common native plants like pickleweed and salt grass take time to return.
Be sure to wear LIRA flowers in your hair
Photo © Jane Kelly.
An additional, obvious benefit of manual removal is the improved mental and physical health volunteers experience, as well as the satisfaction of knowing they are making a valuable contribution to their local environment. All you have to do is look at the happy faces of our volunteers to know they have acquired something of benefit.
Our heartfelt thanks to all who volunteer with environmental projects around the Bay Area and beyond.
—Jane and Tom Kelly, Greens at Work
October 2025
