Clearing the way

UPPER NEWPORT BAY — They came to make a better home for the wildlife.

As a pair of ospreys tended their three new chicks up the road on Shellmaker Island, about 100 volunteers pitched in just down Bayside Drive to help remove invasive plant species from the hills that overlook the bay Saturday in an attempt to revive native plants in the area.

The Roots program enlisted the help of the volunteers to remove sprawling black mustard plants that popped up after last week’s rain. Although the plants have small yellow flowers that some people may find alluring, the plant does have the reputation of taking over the areas where it grows.

“These plants just don’t provide any value to the area — and we’re talking food, water and shelter,” California Coastal Commission project coordinator Matthew Yurko said Saturday.

Ladera Ranch residents Brittany Kingman and Troy Geisler gloved up Saturday morning and hiked up the hill to begin pulling the mustard, along with star thistle, Spanish sunflower, artichoke thistle, fennel and pampas grass from the area just east of the Back Bay.

Kingman interned for Yurko while she was a student at UC Irvine, but has continued to come back to the monthly event to help do her part.

“I just kept coming and recruited by boyfriend to come with me…. It’s a good feeling when you finish for the day,” Kingman said.

For more information, click on the Upper Newport Bay link at www.coast4u.org.

— Amanda Pennington