Today’s good news comes from the Good News Network. Here it is in its entirety.

Around the capital beltway or Washington’s famous Rock Creek Park, you may see a group of people ripping up vines along the treeline beside the roads.

If you have then you’ve glimpsed superheroes who traded in their capes for gardening gloves and their time for the satisfaction of terminating an invasive species and saving a native tree.

Washington D.C’s “Weed Warriors” are a group of volunteers going back to 1999 that work for free to keep hundreds of species of invasive shrubs, vines, and climbers from taking over native ecosystems.

Among the 600 or so non-native invasive plant species found in and around our nation’s capital, some, like Polygonum perfoliatum, also known as the “mile-a-minute” vine, can be devastating. Suffocating trees by overgrowing the leaves in their canopy branches, a mile-a-minute can kill thousands of trees every year.

Since 1999, Weed Warrior volunteers have logged over 135,000 hours of time weed whacking in Montgomery County alone. Anyone can become a Weed Warrior; the group works in units for two-hour spaces removing weeds or planting native species in their place.

These invasive species management events are led by specially-trained volunteer Weed Warrior Supervisors and/or staff from the Montgomery Parks Dept. Warriors can get certified to de-weed in their spare time or lead events on their own. They can even have their own unique patch of ground in the D.C.-Metro area to control.

Why would anyone want to trade their free time for laboring hours away for free doing something our tax dollars are supposed to do for us? The answer is simple: it’s addicting.

“If I have any good mental health, it’s due to Weed Warrioring,” said 74-year-old area resident Barbara Francisco. “You have a sense of accomplishment.”

Francisco spoke to Justin Moyer of the Washington Post, who found the volunteer groups were filled with people who were happy to get out into nature and make a meaningful impact on biodiversity.

The Weed Warriors website states that non-native, invasive plant species (NNIs) can alter the complex webs of plant-animal associations that have evolved over thousands of years to such a degree that plants and animals once familiar to us are eliminated.

In meadows, for example, NNI monocultures can threaten butterfly populations because they can no longer find the native host plants they depend on for survival. In forests, NNI vines can strangle and smother trees. NNI shrubs can displace and shade out native plants that provide birds and other wildlife with food and shelter.

Recent research has even shown that NNIs can alter soil chemistry and disrupt the growth of the mycorrhizal fungi on which healthy forests depend.

Anyone who feels this is something they want to contribute their time to can go to the Montgomery County Parks website here and look at the upcoming Weed Warrior events—the next one is October 21st.

The good news is there are folks who care enough to spend their own time in saving indigenous plant life. Today’s JohnKu talks about investment. I hope you have a super weekend.

Volunteer by John W. Howell © 2023

Scratch a volunteer,

And underneath, you will find . . .

Passion, strength, and love.

Today’s good news story comes from the Good News Network.

Trapped on Tiny Ledge, Fallen Hiker with Mangled Legs Rescued by Off-Duty Air Force Hero

An off-duty Air Force Captain proved himself worthy of rank and regalia after conducting a daring rescue of a fallen hiker on the shoulder of Yosemite’s Half Dome.

Capt. Joshua Haveman, 60th Air Evacuation Squadron, was hiking the famous peak in September when he saw a climber slip in wet conditions and fall perhaps as many as 80 feet down onto a precarious ledge.

Haveman and the other hiker were at a section of the hike where, to pass up solid granite, a series of cables embedded into the rock are necessary for safety and leverage. If they don’t have a harness, rope, and carabiners to secure themselves to the cables, hikers are left simply holding onto or using them as handholds.

Without hesitation, Haveman took action. Faced with harsh winds, slippery rock, and hail, he made a decision to venture outside the permanent cable barriers to reach the fallen climber, Travis Air Force Base wrote in a statement.

His climbing experience and extensive medical training proved invaluable in this life-or-death situation.

“You could see that his legs were not naturally oriented at all, so I started collecting sticks from Sub Dome and started climbing,” Haveman recalled. “Other climbers were concerned for my safety, but the guy was just up there screaming in pain, so I left the cable area and climbed on the ledge.”

Using makeshift splints fashioned from sticks, Haveman provided crucial first aid to the injured climber by securing above and below the tibia/fibula fracture and wrapping his injured ankle with an ace bandage he had in a medical kit he had brought.

To shield the climber from the harsh elements and apparent shock, Haveman covered the climber with his jacket while organizing a call to search and rescue.

“After about 45 minutes, the Park Ranger emergency medical technician came up with a full medical bag, so we were able to use a structural aluminum malleable splint to better stabilize him,” Haveman explained.

“The weather was improving, so more climbers were able to come up and offer their assistance. They took up a collection of supplies that we were able to use to make an improvised pulley system to lower him the 30 feet down to sub dome.”

Ultimately, the climber was medically evacuated via helicopter, receiving the critical medical attention they urgently required. Without Haveman’s swift and selfless actions, the outcome could have been far more tragic.

“I wasn’t sure a helicopter would be able to land with the winds being as strong as they were, so we were preparing to carry him 10 or 12 hours down with a six-man litter,” Haveman said with a pause.

“Apparently, it was this pilot’s first day on the job, and he was amazing! It took him about 15 minutes, but he was able to sit the chopper down, and we were able to get the patient loaded and breathe a sigh of relief.”

It’s safe to say on behalf of the injured climber and everyone else in the country things can only go so wrong when we have people like Capt. Haveman working and walking among us; his bravery and ingenuity are a credit to the Force and the country at large.

The good news here is that Captain. Haveman was in the right place at the right time to save this man’s life. Today’s JohnKu talks about coincidence. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Fate by John W. Howell © 2023

When events collide,

Maybe it’s coincidence . . .

Or the hand of fate.