September 5, 2022
Hello Betty Sutherland Stewards,
"It's thanks to you guys that we can enjoy this nice park, so thank you" - an appreciative member of the public.
We had the best conditions yesterday while we worked - cool weather, cloud cover, no rain, but the ground was damp enough. Due to these ideal conditions, and with a lot of help, we managed to clip much of the Dog Strangling Vines along both sides of the path all the way from the south to the north! Marlene even triple checked to ensure we got all of the pods. Gary and Geri started the difficult job of clipping buckthorn branches with berries, to prevent further spread. Mario and I tackled the big hedge parsley patch close to our monitoring plot (see before and after pictures below). In all, we collected 1 bag of DSV pods, 1 bag of Hedge Parsley, and 1 bag of buckthorn berries!
Special thanks to Andrew, who is part of the TNS team that trained Gary and I! He joined us for the first time at Betty Sutherland helping us with the DSV, sharing some tips for removing buckthorn, and shared his knowledge of the native snakeroot plant that we can spread out on our site once it goes to seed. We also came across some other natives including the Jerusalem Artichoke (part of the asters family) and Devil's Beggarticks. To see pictures of these plants, as well as other plants at our site, check out our iNaturalist project here.
We also had many positive interactions with families and even cyclists! It seems like our slow down signs are making a difference. Many people expressed gratitude for our hard work and were surprised to hear that we were all volunteers. Whether or not you personally get a thank you, all of your contributions are always appreciated!
Check out pictures of our time below:
Before (Hedge Parsley plants are the white flowers, almost as tall as Gary!)
After (goldenrods, wood avens, snakeroot plants and other natives can now spread in the empty spaces!)
Andrew sharing a clever method for collecting DSV pods (bag rests in front with the large handle around the neck)
Mario showing a giant hedge parsley plant
Marlene, Gary and Geri are not letting any invasives get away!
Thank you so much to Marlene, Gary, Geri, Mario and Andrew who helped us make some amazing progress this Sunday!
I hope you will join us next time, as we continue to shift our focus on helping native plants spread seeds, and removing buckthorn berries and small saplings.