The idea came about organically back in 2016. The prior two years, North Coast Land Conservancy had received grants to bring on crews to help with stewardship during the summer season.
Without a crew or funding for it during the summer of 2016, NCLC’s stewardship team brainstormed a different approach to increase capacity. And that was the origin of Weed Warrior Wednesdays, a weekly program wherein volunteers join NCLC’s stewardship staff in the field, working on various projects. There’s no sign-up required, except to get on the email list to learn about where and when that week’s activity will be held.
“That’s a really nice, low barrier for volunteering,” says Stewardship Manager Eric Owen. “You don’t have to commit. You can decide that morning, day of.”
And from NCLC’s perspective, since the stewardship staff is already doing the field work, Weed Warrior Wednesdays are a low-key and cost-effective way to “get a little bit more done,” using any or all volunteers available that week, Eric says. “Any given person can show up on any given day.” Yet, the results have been outstanding.
“We get so much done and we’re very productive,” Eric says. “We’re able to accomplish a lot.”
Celebrating NCLC’s Dedicated Weed Warriors
This past July, the team celebrated 10 years of Weed Warrior Wednesdays with a stewardship activity—which involved pulling policeman’s helmet, a non-native, invasive weed, from the riparian area at Circle Creek Habitat Reserve—followed by a party. About 30 individuals participated, including NCLC staff, longtime Weed Warriors, new volunteers, and staff from the National Park Service and the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.
It was a chance to look back on the program and what it has accomplished. During that time, Weed Warriors have worked on 20 out of NCLC’s 35 habitat reserves. They’ve treated at least 19 invasive weed species, including purple loosestrife, English ivy, holly, yellow iris, reed canary grass, Scotch broom, and knotweed, to name a few. Throughout the years, the program has occasionally engaged with eight different partners, including nonprofit organizations, municipalities, federal and state agencies, and individual landowners.
Additionally, although named Weed Warrior Wednesdays, volunteers have tackled at least 11 different types of projects, from native plantings and seed collection to community cleanups, fence building, and trail maintenance. As Eric explains, the volunteers allow for a balanced approach that includes tackling known reoccurring weed work that has to be done seasonally (such as Scotch broom in May and June, policeman’s helmet in July, and purple loosestrife in August) and also providing the flexibility to work on unexpected or urgent stewardship activities as they arise.
Boosting Stewardship Capacity
What started as 22 volunteers on the email list in 2017 has grown to 221 volunteers in 2026, and there’s never been a week where no one showed up. The program also has expanded from being seasonal (May to September) to year-round, with occasional breaks for holidays or when staff is occupied with larger projects.
“It’s cool there’s that much momentum and interest and attendance,” Eric says, adding the program has not only fulfilled its original goal but it’s been successful in more ways “than we had ever hoped.”
He notes that the concept is not necessarily unique to NCLC, or something they invented, “but it is a successful program and a great example of what organizations can do if they build up volunteer support and capacity.”
However, NCLC’s program also has served as inspiration for others. Sandy Ward, who’s been volunteering with NCLC since moving back to Oregon two and a half years ago, started a similar program with her nonprofit in Hawaii, which focused on stewarding the shoreline.
As a longtime educator, she names NCLC founding executive director Neal Maine as one of her mentors. She especially appreciated his philosophy of “having kids do real thing,” and that can involve inviting them onto the land for stewardship activities. When she teaches youth about land conservancy, she reminds them that the only requirement is “to be somebody that loves a place.”
When it came to volunteering, she was drawn to the inviting nature of NCLC and the sense of community that can be found, not mention that “what they do is so impactful.”
Longtime volunteer Eric Halperin, who has been volunteering with Weed Warrior Wednesdays since 2018, has a similar take.
“It’s a great group of people,” he says.
There’s also a personal satisfaction that comes from volunteering. “I like being out in nature, for one,” he says. “And I like trying to do something to make the world a better place. This is an opportunity to put those two together.”
A firm believer in wellness of mind, body, and spirit, he adds, “Being able to work in this sort of natural setting, doing something productive, that matches my ethic, my ethos.”
Also present at NCLC’s celebratory event in July was a group of volunteers from the National Park Service and several of their programs, including the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) and Scientists in the Park (SIP).
“We wanted to celebrate the 10 years of Weed Warrior Wednesdays, as NCLC is a great partner,” says Kayla Fermin, the acting Integrated Resources Lead. The two groups have done multiple work shares over the years.
Although they don’t deal with policeman’s helmet yet in the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, it is a species that could potentially spread there. She also sees it as a “great experience for our youth to work with other people and on other lands.” Part of their goal is to create opportunities for them to see “an organization doing similar work in conservation.”
“This is another potential future for them,” she says.
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