Since graduating from Greens Farms Academy in 2003, Sefra Alexandra has been on a mission: preparing people around the globe to survive.
Jesse Levin and Sefra Alexandra.
She and her twin brother Jesse Levin have brought “readiness skills” to the veteran, disaster response and entrepreneurial communities.
As part of their efforts, their company Tactivate outfitted customers with gear, and offered advice and training for every conceivable emergency, at a Bedford Square pop-up shop.
Their Norwalk-based Readiness Collective invites residents to train and learn alongside medics, veterans and first responders, in a “fun club-like environment.”
But Sefra cares about the environment too.
As the lead “boatanist” — not “botanist” — of the Boatanical Expedition, she coordinates The Ecotype Project. They grow seed crops of Connecticut’s native pollinator plants, bringing them to nursery growers and homeowners to produce plants that restore native pollinator habitat.
In 2021 they paddled in outrigger canoes down the Connecticut River to Long Island Sound. Along the way they removed invasive species, and spread “the seeds of ecological resilience.”
Of course, rivers are not the only places under threat.
Cockenoe Island is rife with “mile-a-minute.” The vine smothers other herbaceous plants, shrubs, even trees, by growing over them, almost as quickly as the name implies. (Click here to learn more.)
Mile-a-minute is a very invasive species.
On Friday, April 26, the Boatanical Expedition invites residents to paddle to Cockenoe Island, where they’ll remove mile-a-minute.
The date is significant: It’s the 247th anniversary of the Battle of Compo Hill. On that day in 1777 local Minute Men fought Redcoats, on their way back from burning the patriots’ Danbury arsenal.
British ships were anchored off Compo Beach, not far from Cockenoe.
Sefra calls the upcoming event “The Minute WoMan Mile to Fight Off Mile-a-Minute.”
It’s a clunky name, but it includes all the main ideas: Minute Men. Mile-a-Minute. Cockenoe Island, a mile off shore. And women are more than welcome.
RSVP to theboatanists@gmail.com, to reserve a spot. Bring a canoe, paddleboard or kayak, plus a life jacket, canteen, gardening gloves and vine removing tools.
Sefra — and the planet — thank you.
(From the Revolutionary War in 1777 to Cockenoe Island in 2024, “06880” is where Westport meets the world — every day. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
That’s a very tough vine to remove
Great cause. Sadly, the abandoned town park once known as Barons South, is being overrun by Mile-a-Minute. Town officials were informed years ago.
I trust that somebody has planned a replanting plan so as the mile of minutes roots are replaced another species. The shame if not, and major erosion occurs due to the defoliation. The islands ecosystem is very fragile and
pulling a lot of roots could be more harmful than helpful. Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men go awry.
Hi Chip,
I have been leading The Ecotype Project for 5 years ensuring the genetically appropriate native plant materials are available locally for this type of ecological restoration work – “putting the right plants in the right place,” if any of you are looking for seed: http://www.northeastseedcollective.com 🌱!
Sefra is using the correct approach for Mile-a-minute. it is an annual so removing it at this time of year, before it can set seed, is extremely important, to keep future mile-a-minutes out of the seed bank. The perennial native plants which remain, when not being overshaded by mile-a-minute, will bounce back and protect the soil from erosion. Fortunately this vine’s roots do not go deep so it’s easy to pull. Volunteers have been using this method to contain mile-a-minute at Wakeman Town Farm and it has been largely successful. as a side note there is a weevil which eats mile-a-minute and contains its spread. If a vine shows the chewing evidence on its leaves, that means the weevil is present and will help reduce the spread. https://extension.psu.edu/mile-a-minute