Leaders in a new campaign to address Vashon’s ivy problem will kick off the effort this weekend with a workshop to give Islanders the tools they need — both figuratively and literally — to remove the noxious plant from their own property.

Ivy-Free Vashon, a campaign headed by Islanders Sarah Driggs and Cindy Young, will host the Saturday workshop at Vashon Park District’s Wingehaven Park, a swath of land on the north end that is overrun by English ivy, a harmful and highly invasive plant.

“The trees are just dripping with ivy, so it’s a great laboratory for us,” said Driggs, who does communications work for the county’s Department of Transportation.

After short talks by King County noxious weed experts Sasha Shaw and Maria Winkler, as well as Vashon basin steward Greg Rabourn, a crew hired by the county will demonstrate various methods to remove ivy from the ground and trees. Those who wish can try ivy removal themselves at the park, and there will be tools available to borrow and use at home. Native plants will also be given away, and those who decide the task is too much can get information about hiring a crew for their own property and can enter a drawing for free ivy removal.

Driggs and Young, who are both passionate about the outdoors and native plants, began Ivy-Free Vashon about a year ago after discovering a shared concern for the alarming amount of English ivy on Vashon. The ivy — introduced to the region decades ago as an ornamental plant — spreads fast, smothers native plants and is one of the only weeds that can kill full-grown trees, either by smothering them or making them more susceptible to the wind.

Now, the women say, the weed has taken hold at public and private properties across the Island.

“It’s a problem,” said Young, an ecologist with the county’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks. “We may never get all of it, and if we do it will take decades.”

The campaign, under the auspices of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, secured a $1,000 grant from Puget Sound Energy to help fund this weekend’s event. However, the project was slowed when they failed to garner other larger grants they were aiming for, in part because of the economy.

“Some of our grant sources have dried up,” Driggs said. “There isn’t as much money available for a project like this as there was a few years ago.”

Still, the women plan to push forward and continue applying for grants. Future funds, they say, may be used to rid public parks of ivy through work parties or by simply hiring ivy removal crews. They are also considering an Island-wide survey on ivy — something that would help them better understand the problem and provide hard data that would help secure grants.

The women say they’re inspired by similar anti-ivy campaigns that have seen success in other parts of the region. Driggs said she remembers when Seattle’s Seward Park was overrun with English ivy and a volunteer group stepped in.

“That park is virtually ivy-free now. I’ve seen it happen,” she said.

On Vashon, they say, the effort to eradicate ivy must expand beyond just the parks. Ivy can be easily spread from one area to another by birds that eat its fruit, so significantly reducing its presence on Vashon will take widespread community involvement.

“We hope to train some people so they can go and do their own pulling or hire the crew,” Young said.

Rabourn, who also hosts the public access television show “Yard Talk” and lives on Vashon, said he believes there are many Islanders who know they have an ivy problem but don’t know how get started on removing the plants. He said he personally was able to get a handle on the ivy at his south-end home only after learning the best techniques for removing it.

“You’ll save a lot more time and energy and cost if you develop a good strategy to address the problem,” he said.

Rabourn said he’s impressed with what Ivy-Free Vashon has set out to do and hopes everyone will play a part in addressing the infestation.

“Ultimately citizens are going to be the ones responsible for controlling it on their own property and saving the forest,” he said. “I’m excited to have folks turn out and get started on saving the trees.”

Ivy-Free Vashon will hold an ivy removal workshop from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Wingehaven Park. Visitors should park along Cunliffe Road.