For the past 300 years, a slow-motion invasion has been unfolding under our feet. Year by year, a plethora of invasive earthworms have been quietly burrowing their way through our forests’ leaf litter, grasslands and backyard gardens. Although earthworms are beneficial for growing food, research shows they are harming our forests, and could potentially be contributing to climate change. Earthworms are not native to most of North America. …Earthworms were reintroduced to North America with the arrival of European settlers in the 18th century. …When earthworms move into our forests, they have the potential to rapidly change these ecosystems by devouring the leaf litter. They break down plant matter in much the same way as other invertebrates, but they do it much faster. In essence, worms speed up decomposition, which can be a bad thing for ecosystems used to taking it slow. …the soil environment becomes inhospitable to native plants, allowing non-native plants to thrive.