Community project seeks to eliminate invasive plant from area

A community clean up of an invasive plant species on Thursday kicked off a series of public pull events scheduled for the area, with gift cards available to be won for participating.

The Himalayan Balsam Community Project is a local partnership aimed at reducing the numbers of Himalayan balsam invasive plant species in the area.

Thursday's kick off community pull at Drake Street Park is the first of a number of similar events planned this summer, said Derissa Vincentini, Invasive Species Centre's community science coordinator.

The plant can be found along river and creek beds, among other places. The banks of the creek at Drake Street Park was overrun by many Himalayan balsam plants.

"Because it has such a shallow root system, it’s really easy to pull. You can get kids involved, you can get elders involved or anyone else who wants to get involved," said Vincentini. “They had fun cracking the stems because they make a popping noise and they had a blast doing it. It’s important to have fun while also educating about invasive species."

Those shallow roots can cause all kinds of problems for native species, said Vincentini.

“It can displace native vegetation, it can out compete native vegetation," she said. "With its preferred habitat along shorelines it will increase the risk of soil erosion along those stream banks and that can have a detrimental impact on the aquatic systems, as well."

It can also attract much-needed pollinators away from native plant species who need them to survive.

Himalayan balsam is just one invasive plant species found in the area, as well as garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed and others.

About 20 people were on hand for Thursday's pull, including Mayor Matthew Shoemaker who pulled up the first plants for a photo op.

Shoemaker said the work of pulling out the invasive plant species will have an important impact in the area.

An estimated $51 million is spent by municipalities and conservation authorities every year to combat invasive species, he said.

“These invasive species aggressively spread and devastate the ecosystem, which costs a lot of money," said Shoemaker.

Information on how to identify the invasive plant species is on the centre's web site, along with information about other upcoming community pulls, as well as info on how to win gift cards for New North Greenhouse.

The prizes are not just limited to the community pulls, they can also be awarded to those who find and remove them from their own backyard.

Partners in the project include the Invasive Species Centre, Clean North, Sault Naturalists, Voyageur Trails Association, Science North, Lake Huron North, Sault College and Algoma University, with support from the City of Sault Ste Marie, the province of Ontario and the government of Canada.

invasive Species Centre staff will also be on hand at Mill Market the next seven Wednesdays with more information on invasive species in the area, as well as giving away free seeds for native plant species.