Olson Environmental will perform invasive ivy removal work

In the coming months, city contractors Olson Environmental will be removing non-native invasive English Ivy to save mature trees in select parks and public rights-of-way — including one on East Mercer Way.

Mercer Island Public Works has long battled the ivy in local parks and open spaces and intermittently performs work in public rights-of-way to prevent it from killing mature trees, according to the city’s Let’s Talk page.

According to the city, ivy is manually dug out from the base of the tree and no pesticides are used in this process, which residents can replicate in their own yards.

The city received the project information on April 10 and it has an anticipated budget of $55,000, notes Let’s Talk. For more information, visit: https://www.mercerisland.gov/publicworks/project/ivy-survival-rings