Showing posts with label Weed Pulls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weed Pulls. Show all posts

Wednesday, 8 July 2015

It's Your Turn to be SUPERMAN...WOMAN...CHILD ...

(Editor's Note: We are being invaded by a noxious species. It looks sweet and innocent, but Oh-HO!!! what a nasty beast! Major environmental deterioration, loss of beef production, damage to crops. Individual plants can produce over 150,000 seeds PER SQURE METRE. It has an immensely long taproot and sucks the area dry. Literally. You can help. Please bring along your family July 16th from 7-9pm and FIGHT THE INVASIVES!!!)  
Here's what Knapweed looks like. It's disguised as pretty. It's effects are devastating.

Its that time again..... the third knapweed pull of the 2015 season is coming up fast!! 

I am very excited about this weed pull because it is the site of our most successful weed pull so far.  In 2013, we had our first City of Lethbridge weed pull at Elizabeth Hall Wetlands and it was a HUGE SUCCESS. 

We pulled out over 50 bags of knapweed and had a super fun time doing it!

Here's where to meet :-)

July 16 2015
Knapweed Pull

Help keep our river valley healthy and diverse by pulling prohibited noxious weeds in the hopes of eradication.  Save the Date:

              Thursday July 16th 7-9pm

                                       Elizabeth Hall Wetlands
                  Next:   Thursday August 20th 7-9pm Location TBA
                    Next: Thursday September 17th7-9pm Location TBA 
Why is Elizabeth Hall Wetland is such a special place - hidden away in the center of the city?

·         Elizabeth wetlands was part of the Urban Parks project and was originally called the Oxbow Lake Nature area. 1987 the area was renamed the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands

·         Elizabeth Hall was born in England and came to Canada with her family in 1958. She was a Lethbridge City Council member from 1977 to 1986 and during that time she worked tirelessly to ensure the river valley maintained its natural environment during park development. She is also credited with developing the Helen Schuler Coulee Centre, now the Helen Schuler Nature Centre


·         Red-winged Black Birds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Orioles, several varieties of ducks, geese, muskrats, sandpiper, beavers and their dams, spotted turtles, and deer are some of the wildlife you can watch as you weed pull!  

Here are some reason I am so passionate about these weed pulls:

Our goal is to work on invasive plant education and awareness.  Through this process we can prevent the further introduction and spread of invasive species, and in this case specifically knapweed. 
We have chosen to focus specifically on Knapweed control in the Oldman River valley because it is a highly competitive introduced plant that invades native vegetation and threatens the health of our watershed. If left unchecked, the loss to farmers, ranchers and recreational users could be disastrous.  It is a prohibited noxious weed in Alberta.
 We have chosen a multifaceted approach incorporating the physical efforts of hand pulling, through events like this, and direct herbicide application.  The combination of mechanical and chemical methods has been shown to be a great success in the past.

 
We love our volunteers!


See you all July 16th at Elizabeth Hall Wetlands!!!

 
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Friday, 22 May 2015

I double-dare ya - Test your knowledge

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(Editor's Note: OK ...So You Think You Are A Watershed Warrior? Yesterday, many helping hands gathered at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre for the kick-off of the Battle of the Invasives (there will be more weed pulls throughout the summer). In the meantime, on this theme, Erin McIlwraith from the City sent in this blog. I was about to gather photos and then I thought: YOU could test your knowledge and see if YOU know what these species are! Let me know how it goes :-)
As we gear up to start the season of invasive plant control I find myself getting very excited about the chances to build positive community and at the same time have a long lasting impact in the Oldman Watershed.  I have been amazed at the overwhelming support from local groups and organizations who want to participate and encourage the once a month Knapweed pulls, so a HUGE thank you to all the supporters.
The integrated Pest management program has been growing and developing in new and exciting ways over the last few years with the focus on having a multifaceted approach that incorporates Bio control, cultural, physical, and mechanical aspects.
Invasive plants can have a devastating effect on the natural areas in the city, and we are working hard to keep the invasive plants that are present in the city to a minimum with the end goal of total eradication!
Spotted Knapweed has been a persistent problem in Lethbridge, despite our best efforts to control this invasive plant species, they still have the potential to become an expensive devastating problem.  While prevention, bio-control agents, manual, and mechanical control measures are successful, there is still a long way to go to protect native plant species.  Through our weed pull efforts, we are able to remove the weed seeds from the soil as well as prevent allelopathic effects (Editor: what does this mean?) in the soil.
There is a list of INVASIVES here >>>      https://www.abinvasives.ca/fact-sheets
 Test your knowledge! Maybe your teen knows more than YOU?!
If you are an environmentally conscious citizen, or corporation, wanting to participate in some fun, outdoor, community building events ... we want YOU!   
We will be having a Knapweed pull 
on the THIRD THURSDAY of the summer months. 
We would love to have your participation. 

Each weed pull will start at 7:00pm with snacks, drinks, gloves, bags and tools provided to participants.  Prizes will be awarded to volunteers throughout the summer!  
Anyone wishing to participate can contact the Nature Centre for more details or to register – 403-320-3064 –  email erin.mcilwraith@lethbridge.ca or just show up!
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