---

Images of

---

The Second
Great Air Potato Roundup

Gainesville, Florida

The Second Great Air Potato Roundup took place in Gainesville, Florida on February 3, 2001. Despite the cold, overcast skies, more than 800 people showed up to "take back their natural areas, one potato at a time". Air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) is a non-native invasive vine which has spread throughout much of Florida, as well as parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. (For more information about air potato, go here.)


The Roundup was organized by the City of Gainesville, Florida, Nature Operations Division, as part of their Gainesville Ecosystems At Risk (GEAR) program.





Participants fanned out over the Gainesville area, pulling down air potato vines, and picking up more than 8 tons of air potatoes, tubers which would otherwise grow to cover even more of the city's famous tree canopy.


After the work, participants enjoyed free food, drink and t-shirts (contributed by civic-minded businesses), and received awards for the largest, oddest, and most air potatoes collected.


The City of Gainesville expects to continue the annual event. For more information, contact the Nature Operations Division at (352) 334-2231; e-mail: paulga@cityofgainesville.org or WWW: http://www.natureoperations.org

Florida Photo Sets

Single Florida Scenes

Animal Scenes

Plant Scenes