Teaming up to fight invasive milfoil

Posted on Sep 08, 2011

Posted by Julie, Tom’s of Maine Quality Manager

Here at Tom’s of Maine, we are encouraged to use 5% of our paid work time to volunteer for a nonprofit of our choice. Team volunteer days are a great way for us to take advantage of this benefit, while bonding with our coworkers outside of the office, lab or even factory environment.

While often recognized for its beautiful coastline, Maine also has an abundance of beautiful ponds and lakes.  Unfortunately, these waterways can be threatened by invasive species of plants or animals. 

The Tom’s Quality team recently took a volunteer day and tackled Milfoil with the Panther Pond Association in Raymond, ME.  Milfoil is an invasive water plant that can spread aggressively, altering the natural ecosystem and clogging recreational areas with dense mats. Milfoil is difficult to eradicate once it has taken hold of an area, and can flourish in a body of water up to 20 feet deep.

It was a beautiful August day as we entered the Jordan River.  We loaded 10 (10 foot by 15 foot) weighted canvas tarps onto the boat to take down river.  Some volunteers “motored” the boat to the worksite…. includinga swim through some chilly spring-fed water and over a downed tree in the river.  Once at the site, our guide Mary gave us a lesson on Milfoil identification and put us to work.  Some of the team hand-pulled Milfoil and collected it in buckets, ensuring no fragments escaped to further spread the infestation. Others maneuvered the tarps into positionand staked them into the riverbed – a tricky task when the water is above your waist!

The experience was nothing like what any of us expected – water in places was over our heads, the bottom was sometimes tugging at our shoes, yet the river was full of laughter. Before we knew it we had all 10 tarps staked firmly in place and we were ready to return to the dock.  The team crowded into the boat with a sturdy few still serving as the motor… over the tree and back up the river.