Students help combat invasive plant in Tiny Marsh
A group of students spent a day this week learning about and combating an invasive species in the local wetland.
About 40 Elmvale District High School students were at the Tiny Marsh wetlands, working alongside officials from the MTM Conservation Association. The students were learning about phragmites, a species that first started invading the area about 15 years ago.
"It's a real challenge to get ahead of it, to control the spread of it, so we don't lose the marsh to become a phragmites monoculture," says David Hawke, the volunteer coordinator for the MTM Conservation Authority.
Deemed Canada's worst invasive plant more than ten years ago, phragmites are invasive plants that spread fast and release toxins from their roots into the soil, killing surrounding plants.
As time goes by, the plant gets thicker, eventually causing many problems like preventing ducklings from walking through the area, stopping turtles from being able to lay their eggs and displacing other plants.
"We've got a great opportunity with these students today to get rid of Phragmites reed, this big tall reed that's an invasive plant," says Hawke. "We have a lot of it, and many hands make lighter work."
Hawke says the work the students were doing this week, cutting down the phragmites, not only helps the wildlife but assists the conservation group with future operations in the area.
The MTM Conservation Authority is a non-government group and relies on the public for support.
For more information, click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.