'Eco Egg' Hunt Nets 950 Pounds of Air Potatoes

Saturday's 'Eco Egg' Hunt at Marshall Street Park netted a staggering 950 pounds of air potatoes, according to event coordinator Julie Inman.

The latest in a series of volunteer cleanups aimed at eradicating the invasive vine from greenspaces around town was a huge success, based on comments from those involved.

"The community worked together and collected over 950-lbs. of potatoes," Inman wrote via email. "We Had 34 registered teams. The winning team collected 97.4 pounds of potatoes."

"The bunny was seen doing chalk art eggs on the sidewalk!" she added. "Kids explored the new trail a Marshall Street Park, bounced, hula hooped, played games, painted 'Eco Eggs', created chalk art and more!"

Fellow participant Gisela Bennie, a dedicated activist in the air potato elimination effort, was also impressed with the turnout and pleased with the community's dedication to solving the problem.

"There were hundreds of people, and they collected 960 pounds of air potatoes," she said. "That means approximately 6,000 air potatoes, which means an estimated 10,000-plus air potato vines are kept from growing and invading this beautiful park."

"Everything was very well organized," she added. "The three top teams received gift cards, there were boxes of fresh fruit donated by the Main Street Market, games, hula hoop contests, great music. It was a big success."

While the idea to turn a cleanup effort into an egg hunt meant more fun for everyone involved, Inman said their main objective - to make people aware of the air potato problem - was also reached.

"The best result of the 'Eco Egg' Hunt is the increased awareness," she said. "The participants were not only hunting 'Eco Eggs', they were learning how to recognize the air potato vine and how it destroys our environment."