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Middle school students pull knapweed

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton Middle School students Kira Devoge, Danielle Williston, Sophia Neves, Carter Kilpela and Conner Polkky dig up spotted knapweed along Huron Creek Tuesday.

HOUGHTON — Since 1911, when it was first found in Michigan, spotted knapweed has become one of the most prevalent invasive species in Michigan, choking out native plants.

Houghton Middle School students are claiming some of that land back. Tuesday, students from Sarah Geborkoff’s science classes pulled knapweed at a section of Huron Creek near Walmart.

Geborkoff’s classes have adopted that section of Huron Creek through the partnership with the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative.

For the past five years, students have come in the fall to look at water quality and do a macroinvertebrate study, Geborkoff said. The spring visit was added four years ago.

Students partnered with the Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area (KISMA) to remove the knapweed.

“We come back every spring and do a little bit more of the area to try to give the native plants a chance to reestablish themselves,” she said.

How much is due to their efforts they don’t know, but Geborkoff has noticed more diversity creeping back.

“We’re expanding our area of removal because this area’s starting to look better every year,” she said. “It’s really rewarding to see that as their teacher, that it’s making somewhat of an impact.”

Seventh-graders Danielle Williston and Kira Devoge were on the shores of Huron Creek hunting for the weeds.

“It’s helping the environment in a fun way,” Devoge said.

Before they began digging, students received instruction in how to dig a hole around the plant to go deeper. Students also learned how to spot knapweed.

“They said look for soft leaves, and the dead flowers on it,” Williston said.

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