Welcome! We are building a cooperative group to remove invasive plants in the Chapel Hill/Durham area. Invasive plants displace beneficial natives and if left unchecked, can kill entire trees and damage buildings. Removing them is a lot of work, but very satisfying. After you remove the invasives, you’ll see interesting native plants appear, and you will benefit wildlife by providing better sources of food and shelter for insects and birds.
To join the collective, you must commit to 4 hours a month removing invasive plants on another cooperative member’s property or on public land (with approval).
Points are awarded for worked shifts. The number of hours you work on a property other than yours equals the points that you will earn. If you own the property being worked on, you won’t earn points for your hours worked, but you will be expected to work during shifts on your property.
Properties will be placed in a random list and everyone will start with 0 points. Once a removal shift has been completed, the number of hours worked times the number of participants (other than the property owners) will be deducted from the property owner’s account. If a property has multiple owners who are members of the collective, the hours worked will be evenly divided and deducted from each owner’s point balance.
Point balances can go negative. If you have a negative point balance, your property will be skipped in the rotation until you have worked enough shifts to gain a positive balance. Any point balance above zero qualifies your property for rotation–you don’t need to “save up” points for your property to return to rotation.
When a new property is added to the cooperative, it will be added to the end of the rotation list. New members will be given a 0 balance and must work a shift before their property will be eligible for the rotation.