Thorn in their side: Assiniboine Park asks for help to remove invasive plant
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Assiniboine Park Conservancy is rallying the troops to stop the invasion.
Saturday will be a bad day for European buckthorn at the park, as forestry staff are hoping 100 volunteers will show up to help clear the problematic plant.
“It’s a big issue and there’s a lot of it,” said Barret Miller, the park’s manager of education and programming.
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Barret Miller, manager of education and programming at Assiniboine Park Conservancy, holds up a piece of European buckthorn, an invasive species plaguing the park and the city. On Saturday May 2, members of the public are invited to help fight the invasion at the park by removing the plant, a first for the APC.
This is the first time the conservancy is asking for help from the public to remove the invasive weed from the Winnipeg green space. The section being targeted is in the heart of the park, just south of the cricket fields.
Miller said concentrated efforts like this are important in trying to “roll back” the buckthorn’s growth.
“Small actions add up to big things,” he said.
With dense roots, buckthorn spreads easily and chokes out surrounding plantlife, Miller said. He called the event a chance to educate the public on the species to ensure their own yard is not “ground zero” for a new invasion.
Shovels and plant extractors will be provided for volunteers, as the weed can prove difficult to remove once it’s become established.
“It is a good pull,” said Miller.
The efforts to remove the buckthorn will be paired with a general park cleanup, Miller said.
Information from the City of Winnipeg indicates buckthorn has been present here for more than 20 years and is widespread in forested areas, especially Assiniboine Park.
Volunteers are asked to meet at the Nature Playground parking lot between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca