city park rehabilitation project - nvcannvcan.ca/wordpress1/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/...stewards...
TRANSCRIPT
CITY PARK REHABILITATION
PROJECT
Evergreen
•National, not-for-profit, environmental organization
•Mission: Inspire action to green cities
•Vision: Green cities, healthy planet
• 4 key areas of focus: Green space, children, food, and cities
City Park Rehabilitation Project
•2003 – Mahon Park Project •2005 – Mahon Park Stewards •2012 – City Park
Rehabilitation Project & the City Park Stewards
Project Goals
• Restore & enhance ecosystems of CNV Parks through invasive species removal & subsequent replanting with native vegetation.
• Engage community members in on-going stewardship & restoration activities.
• Provide educational opportunities for park users & community members about the ecological & social importance of parks & the risks facing them.
Invasive Plants
• Invasive plants are introduced from other parts of the world and can cause ecological destruction.
• No natural controls, such as insects, diseases, and competing plants, to keep them in check, and as a result may spread rapidly, crowding or choking out the existing native plants.
• Spread through illegal dumping of garden waste, movement of soil and seed dispersal by wildlife, wind and water.
Native Plants
• Occurs naturally in a particular region, ecosystem or habitat - and occurred prior to European contact.
• Native plants have co-evolved with animals, fungi, and microbes to form a complex network of relationships. These plants are the foundation of native ecosystems, or natural communities.
Project Activities
• 11 monthly stewardship & restoration events
• Earth Day & Rivers Day
• 20 additional events • Evergreen Adventure Camp • Interpretive Mahon Park Tours • Blackberry Bake-off • Invasive Weaving with NVCAC • Community Engagement • Field Trips
Project Statistics
• 2015 • 600+ participants engaged • 395 native trees and shrubs planted • 237 cubic meters of invasives
removed
• 2016 to date • 640 Volunteers • 416 Native Trees & Shrubs planted • 647 cubic meters of invasive removed • 341 participants engaged in 19
education & outreach events
• 23% of volunteers from DNV
CNV Support
• CNV Environmental Technician
• CNV Facilities & Operations Staff
• Transportation of invasive plant material for compost
• GIS support with AlienMap
CNV Results
• 91% reduction in incidence of Giant Hogweed
• 71% reduction in incidence of Japanese Knotweed
• Reduction in majority of invasive plants
• Nearly all trees cleared of climbing ivy
Last Event of 2016
•Saturday, November 26
• 9 am until 12 pm
•Kings Mill Walk Park (on the Spirit Trail next to Bodwell High School
•All tools, gloves, and training supplied
•Plus refreshments!
Helpful Resources
• www.evergreen.ca
• www.cnv.org/cityparkstewards
• Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver - http://www.iscmv.ca/
• Native Plant Society of BC - http://www.npsbc.ca/
• Laura Nickerson