Clearing out invasive species: Scouts and Cadets clean up Boucher Forest

 

Last Sunday, the Fondation forêt Boucher, in partnership with the 1st Aylmer Quebec Scouts, the 2644 Hull Cadet Corps, the geocaching community and the Nature Conservancy of Canada, organized a buckthorn removal work bee. A small shrub that can reach 6 metres and threatens the biodiversity of the Boucher forest, Buckthorn is a fast-growing plant that alters the ecology of the soil and thus hinders the regeneration of woodlands. It is present in very large quantities in the territory of the Boucher forest. Controlling the buckthorn requires a lot of work to pull it out but also in terms of the follow-up that must be done afterwards to ensure that it will not grow back.

More than 80 people uprooted and cut down hundreds of shrubs in an area particularly affected by the buckthorn problem.  The Fondation forêt Boucher will ensure that it returns to the site of the chore to prevent the cut individuals from growing back in the coming months.
(MS)