WEEK 13, July 26

Volunteers: Barry, Geoff, Glenda, Hedrik, Christine plus 7 members of the Heffner family.

The Heffners joined us this week, volunteering as a means of off-setting the environmental costs of their trip from Michigan. This is an admirable idea and they were with us for about 2 hours, until our morning got called by an incredible thunderstorm. The Heffners worked along the part of the Bill Holland trail closest to the IC and on the ravine side, then moved briefly to the field east of the Butterfly Meadow. Their main activity was clearing DSV from around and in the trees, sumacs along the trail and cedars in the field.

While Barry was with the Heffners, Glenda, Geoff and Hedrik returned to the Green Heron road to continue last week's work, along the road toward the Butterfly Meadow. AAFC had picked up the stacks of DSV cut last week and now have more to pick up.

Christine continued her work in the Old Field and also along the fence on the north slope of the Amphibian Pond.   Geoff then switched to the field east of the Meadow.  Glenda and Barry and the Heffners joined him there for the last half hour. We made good progress on this field and we should be able to finish it next week. After that, it's on the fields north of the Ash Woods.

The Heffner Family Gives Back to the Environment

This week we had the pleasure of having the Heffner family from Grand Rapids, Michigan work with us in our efforts to control Dog-strangling Vine (DSV).  Pictured above are Ken and Gail Heffner with Daniel Heffner, Andrew Heffner, Morgan Stewart, and Elisabeth Heffner. 

The Heffners were in town on vacation, visiting son Daniel who is a grad student here in Ottawa.  Aware of the environmental impacts of their travel, they try to offset these when travelling by giving back in some way to the community they are visiting. 

They found out about the Fletcher Wildlife Garden (FWG) and the struggle to control Dog-strangling Vine.  DSV is a highly invasive species that thrives in sun or shade and in any type of soil.  It spreads rapidly, choking out other plants and even trees in the area.  It is pervasive throughout FWG, and volunteers have been busy trying to control the spread of seeds and stem the spread of DSV into areas that are not yet heavily invested.

Upon arrival, the Heffner family enthusiastically got suited up with work gloves and dug right in, so to speak!  


In the couple of hours they gave to FWG, they were able to make a real difference.  First, working along a busy pathway and then moving on to an open area where they were able to free up several trees and shrubs that had been covered with DSV.   We all watched the dark clouds coming in and they gamely kept right on working up until the clouds broke.  Torrents of rain soon came down while we took shelter in the Interpretation Centre.

At FWG, no matter how much hard work is to be done, there is always time to see some wildlife and learn from the many knowledgeable nature lovers around.   Among other things, the Heffners were able to observe a young Green Heron at the Amphibian Pond (photo below) and a crab spider that has been hanging out on a common milkweed plant.   

The Heffners set a wonderful example of environmental stewardship and community involvement.  What a great way to give back when visiting friends and family out of town.  Many thanks to the Heffners and safe travels to you all!

 

Friday, July 22

Barry scythed an area very close to the Interpretation Centre (IC), between the Bill Holland trail and the driveway to the IC and just opposite the leaf mulch compound. Several reasons for this choice: it was another hot day and this area is shaded; but it was also a chance to get a feel for what's it's like working among the sumac. This is a possible task for the Michigan family that will be working with us on Tuesday next. Barry and Barbara Riley cleared DSV from the compound fence, the second time this has been done. The first time was June 10, and the DSV was not quite as tall but already developing pods. Barry also did some clearing around the trees just to the west on the north edge of the lawn. The slope there had been mowed a couple of weeks ago by AAFC, and already DSV shoots are sprouting up.

After break, Barry went to clear up the last mounds of DSV cut on Sunday; these were spread out among the sumac there. A row of cedars separates this north east section of the Butterfly Meadow from the area immediately to the east bounded by the north-south trail running on the west side of the Ash Woods. Barry cut DSV at the edges of these trees, ripping vines down from their branches. This area is heavy with DSV and is a good candidate for more work. It and related areas to the east, along with the southern portion of the Old Field, are the last large, heavily infested areas.

The map has been updated to show this work.

WEEK 12, July 19

Volunteers: Barry, Hedrik, Geoff, Glenda, Marg

We've decided to consolidate the areas we've been working on and then evaluate where we are at this mid-point for the season. A check on Monday afternoon revealed some places that needed work in order to complete several areas. These included spots along the trails running south from the bridge and the southeast section of the field south of the pool. Three of us scythed away while Glenda and Marg clipped and pulled around the trees. Here are some before / after pictures showing the progress.

BEFORE

AFTER

A small tree is hidden by DSV - can you find it?

The small tree once freed from DSV

The upshot was that we completed these areas, with the exception of a small corner near the barn where an active bird nest is huddled low to the ground in one of the spruces. Glenda found the nest last week and immediately stopped working near it. The nest had eggs then and perhaps four altricial chicks this week.

The trails run from the bridge, forming a triangle as they reach Green Heron road. The eastern trail curves into and through the butterfly meadow, the western between the main field south of the pond and the western side of the meadow. Much of this triangle was cut over this week, so now we have contiguous cutting all along Green Heron road, with the exception of the small area at the west end where the nest was found.

Barry has completed the map, sketching in and confirming the various trails and marking areas cut and areas remaining to be worked on. The main areas remaining are all along the Bill Holland trail from the IC to the bridge, the southern part of the Old Field and the area north of the Ash Woods, sometimes referred to as the dogwood meadow. Both these latter areas are heavily infested and it may be that the best we can do is clear around the many trees and shrubs being overtaken by DSV. A final area is the west end of the New Woods, up to Prince of Wales and along the driveway into FWG, including the area between the Hedgerow and the ball diamond. This area is one that may have to be left alone, unfortunately.

Seed pods are changing colour and seeds are ripening up. We will need to monitor cut plants; hopefully we will not have to gather up these mounds of material scattered throughout the areas where we've been working.

More DSV Funnies

 

 

Two guys go golfing. One’s semi-pro and the other is his pretty lame beginner student. Both of them manage to knock a ball into a big fat patch of DSV. Which one has the best chance of hitting it out?

The beginner, cause he sure can slice!

I don't know about Barry's golfing abilities, but in a field of DSV, he is a master-slicer!

DSV Facts

Did you know......

Dog-strangling Vine (DSV) spreads by seed.  And, indeed, it most certainly does spread!

DSV can be pollinated by insects, but it has the handy little skill of self-pollinating.   It turns out, this is the best of both worlds.  When insects are around to pollinate, this increases the genetic diversity of the plants, making the DSV stronger and more resilient as a group.  Alternatively, when there are no insects to help it pollinate... well, no worries, it will do the job itself.  This plant will not be denied!

Several studies have shown that DSV plants growing in the shade produce fewer seed pods and fewer seeds per pod than DSV plants growing in sunny conditions.   This is something we have noticed at Fletcher Wildlife Garden also.   DSV has a habit of finding sun though.  In a wooded area, it will grow up through tree branches and find the sun that way.  Oh, and in ideal partial-sun conditions, around 30,000 seeds per square metre can be produced.

Polyembryony has been found to be "strongly evident" in DSV.   This means that the seed has two shots for success.  If the seed does not germinate because of weather conditions, it gets to try again with its spare embryo.  Did I mention that this plant will not be denied!

Most DSV seeds fall close to the parent plant, but some research has shown seeds spreading as far as 60 metres from the parent plant.  Not surprisingly, it is a pretty flexible germinator, too.  It tends to germinate after stratification (over-wintering), but some DSV seeds germinate just fine in the same season before winter even hits, and others can germinate two or three (perhaps more?) years later. 

Source:  Dog-Strangling Vine: A review of distribution, ecology and control of this invasive exotic plant


DSV at Fletcher Wildlife Garden

So what does it all mean?  Well, of course, it means that we do not expect to eradicate this plant.  We are however doing what we can to contain its spread.  The Tuesday Invasive Species Group (TISG) is focused on cutting down DSV plants before viable seeds are produced and cutting and removing plants with viable seeds.  It's a big job, but remarkably satisfying!

Visitors to FWG are reminded to brush off their clothing and their dogs' coats before leaving the site, to prevent bringing seeds home with them.

DSV Funnies

QUESTION:  What happens to a DSV volunteer after a hot morning of swinging the scythe and creating piles of DSV like these?

ANSWER:  They come up with jokes like this:




How do demented weedpullers (aka TISG associates) get thru a newly emerging of patch of DSV ?

They take the psychopath.

Good one Hedrik!

WEEK 11, July 12

Today's volunteers were Barry, Glenda, Geoff, Hedrik, Jean, Christine, and Marg.

Jean and her new billhook joined us today, her way of thanking FWG for the loan of the Weed Pullers. The billhook is like a cross between a machete and a sickle and is an effective tool for cutting off DSV in tight places, such as under trees and where single plants or small clumps grow in the midst of desirable plants. Jean cheerfully put in 4 hours at this and it's unfortunate she is not available for other Tuesday groups.

The rest of us continued with where we had left off last week, with Christine and Marg working in the Old Field (above), along Green Heron road, and the remaining four in the field south of the pond. Glenda had a large spot at the southeast corner, where the trail from the bridge meets GH road. She spent the morning pulling and clipping DSV from under the trees there (see before and after pictures below), rescuing some small trees that weren't even visible until released from their cover of DSV. She also continues to keep a photo record of our activities.

Barry, Geoff and Hedrik worked the scythes, finishing the clearing of this field back to the banks of trees that hide GH road. Geoff worked as well on the north side of GH road, eventually linking up with us in the main field. Geoff noted the difference in regrowth of DSV in areas where he had pulled DSV and Barry had scythed several weeks ago. This is the where the Purple Finch had nested in a spruce by the road, Geoff having worked on the west side and Barry on the east side of this spruce. Geoff's area showed much more growth of desired plants while Barry's was regrowing pretty much DSV. We wondered whether the difference was owing to difference in techniques and / or difference in original state. We also wondered if the difference would carry into next year.

We tried an earlier start this week, with five of us turning up at 8:00 and two coming later at 9:00. It was a hot and very humid day, hence the early start. We could also finish by 11:00 although several worked after that. The past few weeks have shown good progress, the group has hit its stride and we are pleased with how things are going. Many challenging days ahead, of course, but we continue to work toward minimizing seed production. Attention will be paid in the coming weeks to the progress of seeds, as bagging will be required once seeds are starting to distribute.

July 12 Interim Update

We had a great morning going after DSV.  Check back later for more details.  In the meantime, here is a taste of what we did.  We turned this

into this

And, this tree (yes, there is a tree in there)

into this 

And, this

Is now this

If you haven't voted today for our Butterfly Meadow, be sure to VOTE here.

SUNDAY, JULY 10: FIRST BLITZ DAY

The blitz day - aka Weeding Bee - was a huge success!

About 25 people came out, including most of the TISG group, joined by Geoff's wife Judy, honourary member for the day. The main target area was in the Butterfly Meadow, between the tarp and the rail fence to the north. This is a large patch, with a lot of DSV mingling with many other plants that belong in the meadow. The group worked very hard, most people being there from 9 to about 1, with a mid-morning break at the Interpretation Centre.

The area was pretty much cleared of DSV, taken out entirely by pulling. This is proving to be the most efficient way of taking out DSV that is growing among other plants. Although the DSV stems seem to become more brittle as the plant matures, it was still quite easy to pull them out singly and in clumps without breaking them off. The pulled plants were carted to the sumac growing on the south side of the ravine, where they were used as a thick mulch. The understory of this extensive stand of sumac is almost entirely DSV; vines reaching up into the trees were torn down before armloads of DSV from the meadow were tossed on top. We'll need to monitor this for effectiveness. Several of us took photos, for both the TISG blog and the FWG blog.

Friday, July 8

Barry set off toward the pond but couldn't resist scything around the clump of trees growing by the old retaining wall across from where the Bill Holland trail comes out at the main FWG sign near the parking lot. He then spent about 1.5 hours continuing to scythe the areas south of the pond, i.e., the remaining patch on the south slope down to the pond and much of the remaining DSV in the west side of the field south of the pond trail. The plants are very tall, heavy with pods and twining around each other, pulling themselves over with the weight, making scything very difficult. Some still remains to clear. The good news is that several milkweed plants were braving it out in the midst of this heavy infestation. Before and after photos were taken. After break, Barry and Sandy had a good discussion on how things are going with the TISG. She has some good ideas in regard to databasing our photographs.

WEEK 10, July 5

Barry, Glenda, Hedrik, Geoff, Marg and Luke braved the scorching heat today to continue the battle with DSV. 

Tony Denton had turned up at 7:30 this morning and was just getting ready to leave as we arrived to start work. That got us thinking - it already being a hot day and getting hotter - that we should come in earlier ourselves. We decided on 7:30 as well, although anyone who doesn't make it at that time is welcome to come in later. 

Thanks to the lighter summer traffic, Glenda was able to tackle a small area of the Bill Holland trail before we gathered and got started.  Although just a small area, it did clear the DSV from a tree and some other plants.

We returned to the Old Field and to the south slope of the pond and the field beyond it. In the Old Field, Geoff continued scything along the trail running north along the west side of the Ash Woods. He continued cutting from the T-intersection (where Green Heron Road meets the Ash Woods trail) toward the ravine, then after break scythed part of the triangle at the T-intersection and did a second cut on the northeast corner of the Old Field, first cut in Week 5. Glenda and Marg continued clipping in that area, clearing DSV from among the other plants, primarily goldenrod, growing there. 

Typical View of Goldenrod AFTER the work

Typical View of Goldenrod Patch BEFORE

Pile of DSV pulled from near and amongst the Goldenrod

Barry and Hedrik worked on the pond slope and field to the south. This field had been left alone, apart from some work on the eastern and western edges, as there are so many Tree Swallow nesting boxes there. Not a TS in sight today, however; Christine had noted that they fledge by end of June, and this year they proved true to form. The field had become an eager target and about two thirds of it was cut. Luke arrived around 10:15, keen to use a scythe for the first time. He had a talent for it and happily cut his way around the field even as the rest of us took a break. Barry and Hedrik took turns lending him their scythes and pulled DSV growing among the cat-tails at the edge of the pond. The Red-winged Blackbirds protested but they seem a hardier species than the Tree Swallows so we weren't too concerned. Hedrik found a nest low in the DSV where he was cutting; it was clearly no longer in use and possibly a Song Sparrow's, as they like nesting close to the ground.  Below are pictures showing just some of the impact of their work today. Since May, the DSV has been growing taller and taller in this area.  Now, once again, we can see the base of the trees and some native plants in the background.

Barry went to the Old Field to let people know it was quitting time. Marg and Glenda were still clipping away and Barry idly pulled a few plants while chatting about their work. He then took the trail running west to check how DSV was doing in the OF. Passersby had pulled plants here and there, so Barry got into it as well, spending about 40 minutes pulling plants around a small tree near the bush this trail runs through.

This trail ends at the north-south trail that marks the western edge of the OF. Cutting north toward the pond, Barry pulled DSV plants among the bushes and small trees along this trail. Two observations come from this experience: pulling is a relatively satisfying way to deal with DSV, easier than scything and more efficient for removing DSV growing among other plants we want to keep. This was a taste of the technique we'll be advocating for the upcoming Sunday blitz days. But rambling along and checking for DSV here and there on the edges of trails and stopping to pull it out was another satisfying task. Same technique, different application.

So now there are two kinds of activities, both using pulling (or clipping, if preferred), to deal with relatively small or hard to cut patches of DSV. Scything in this hot weather is exhausting, requiring frequent breaks and care not to over-heat. But pulling provides a respite, being easier and, if along the trails, some shelter from the sun.

We made excellent progress today, but the window for cutting/pulling DSV and leaving it as mulch is closing. The pods are getting bigger and the day is coming when we will need to start bagging it up, at least in areas of most mature growth. This will add to the work load while decreasing the time for cutting. We'll need to check this week's cut areas in the near future to make sure that pods are not already producing viable seed. Probably not yet, but cut plants dry out and release seed faster than growing plants. We noticed as well many small orange pods near the tops of the plants; these appear to be dessicated pods, so maybe the sun that helps DSV grow so quickly is also drying them out. Considering how we feel working in this heat, that is poetic justice indeed.

A final observation: the comfrey patches were swarming with pollinators; the DSV is a comparative dead zone, with other insects around but few if any pollinators.