<p>I have a very bad allergy to poison ivy (as well as poison oak and any other plants which produce the oil urushiol), and so that's affected my college search process a lot. I looked at Reed on Google Maps street view and while it does not look super woodsy, can anyone confirm that? It seemed a lot less well groomed than any of the other campuses I've looked at today. Having read up on Reed, I am very interested in applying there, but me having even a small chance of encountering the plant is essentially a dealbreaker. Thanks!</p>
<p>There is probably posion ivy on campus. Reed has a pseudo nature reserve and I’m almost positive poison ivy is an invasive species that exists there. You should contact the people in charge of maintaining the Reed Canyon and ask them. They’ll probably know if it’s found anywhere else on campus too.</p>
<p>Poison ivy is mainly an eastern/midwest species but poison oak is a possibility. If you stay out of the canyon, I wouldn’t think it would be an issue unless you are sensitive to being in the vicinity, say, of a tree with vines on it. Ghostt’s advice (as usual) was good. </p>
<p>Thanks so much for the info!</p>
<p>Yep, don’t go to the canyon. Shouldn’t be an issue otherwise.</p>
<p>I take issue with your comment about the campus grooming. When I attended many years ago, and when I’ve visited more recently, the college was always exceptionally well groomed. But you can’t groom the Canyon.</p>
<p>I do restoration horticulture in the northwest and have only come across poison oak once, and that was on an island in Puget Sound. I really doubt that even if OP enters the canyon barelegged, that poison oak would be a problem.
I prefer landscapes that allow plants to reach their optimum size. And shape.
I would agree however, that some horticulturalists do not always select the appropriate plant, and so much more clipping and pruning is necessary.</p>