CVC's Nature Invaders Scavenger Hunt's Boletim

Last week marked the final week of the Scavenger Hunt!

Although the iNaturalist project has ended, stopping the spread of invasive species is an ongoing effort. It’s important to stay vigilant. CVC has identified over 184 invasive species in the Credit River Watershed in the last decade. Early detection and rapid response remain the best strategies for managing and controlling the spread of invasive species on your property and in the watershed.

Read our last issue of the Nature Invaders Weekly Digest for top tips on how to stay vigilant in your efforts to stop the spread of invasive species.

Pollinator Prize Pack Giveaway
If you registered and participated in the Scavenger Hunt or one of our Nature Invaders webinars and live in the Credit River Watershed, you're eligible to enter a draw to win one of three native pollinator plant prize packs that CVC's home planting team will deliver straight to your door. You should have already received an email inviting you to participate. If you haven't, enter your ballot at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/nature-invaders-giveaway by noon today (August 2).

The draw will take place August 2 and winners will be notified by email.

Overall Observation
We want to thank everyone who participated in the hunt. We had over 83 observations and 60 species identified. We urge you to continue to explore your property to better understand what's growing there and what shouldn't be!

Weekly Challenge
For your last weekly challenge, we ask that you share what you've learned through the Scavenger Hunt with your friends, families and neighbours. Small actions taken by many people can have big results! Thank you for participating!

Welcome to week five—the last week of the Scavenger Hunt!

If you missed last week’s Nature Invaders Weekly Digest, you’ll want to take a look. We discussed different methods for removing invasive species, including when you should consider hiring a professional. As we head into the last week of the Scavenger Hunt, we want to emphasize how important it is to develop a removal strategy for the invasive plants you may have observed on your property in order to keep your yard and garden healthy and beautiful and protect native plant biodiversity and wildlife habitat.

In this week’s Nature Invaders Weekly Digest, we looked at some of the invasive plants invading our ponds, wetlands, rivers and streams.

Like land species, invasive aquatic plants reduce biodiversity and habitat. But they have other impacts as well. They can block irrigation canals, interfere with recreational activities and create conditions that support disease vectors, like mosquitoes, that can threaten human health.

Watch for water hyacinth, yellow iris, yellow floating heart, water soldier and phragmites. Although these plants can be aesthetically pleasing, it’s important we take action to remove them when you find them.

Even if you don’t have a water feature on your property, you can still spread aquatic invasive plants through activities like boating. Always clean watercraft and gear before moving from one area to another.

Weekly Observation
We've noticed one scavenger hunt participant has found purple loosestrife on their property. Purple loosestrife is a wetland invasive that can also be found in roadside ditches, shorelines and wet areas. They're hard to miss: their deep pink flowers stand out on long stems that can grow over a metre and up to two metres tall. Removal strategies have been in place in North America since the 1980s, but it has still managed to spread rapidly into Ontario from the United States. You can learn more about purple loosestrife and possible removal strategies in Ontario's Invasive Plants Council's best management practices guide.

Weekly Challenge
If you have a water feature, like a stream, pond or wetland, on your property, observe whether you have any invasive species and upload them to the Scavenger Hunt. If you don’t own a water feature, see if you can spot invasive species in or around your community. Phragmites is common along roadside ditches and wet areas. Once you know what to look for, you’ll be surprised how often you see it!

Welcome to week four of the Scavenger Hunt!

So far, we’ve focused on identifying invasive plants. We covered common invasive ground covers in week two and invasive trees and shrubs in week three.

In this week’s Nature Invaders Weekly Digest, we talked about strategies for controlling and removing invasive plants. Not receiving the weekly digest? Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h4FSLf.

Although it may hurt to hear it, removing invasive plants can be a multi-year effort. The removal method you choose will depend on the species and the size of the infestation (not to mention how much time you want to spend). Hand-pulling, digging and tarping are methods you can use to control and remove more smaller infestations, like patches of periwinkle or lily-of-the-valley. But there may be cases where hiring a professional is your best option, such as for large buckthorn removal projects or when herbicides are required.

If you choose to DIY, make sure you dispose of invasive plant matter and debris properly. It should be solarized in a black garbage bag prior to being placed in the garbage (not your compost!).

Weekly Observation
This week, iNaturalist user brittameier is leading with the most observations. One of the plants they observed is creeping bellflower. Creeping bellflower is a priority three invasive species in the Credit River Watershed. This plant, along with others like periwinkle and lily-of-the-valley, are sometimes planted as ornamental garden flowers and can still be found at garden nurseries in Ontario. It's not uncommon to find these species in your yard. But if you have them, it's important to control them and prevent them from spreading. Replace these species with colourful native flowers. Our plant lists can help you.

Weekly Challenge
Prepare to take action. Look up the control methods for an invasive species you’ve found on your property. If feasible, put them into practice. If your infestation is large and complicated, connect with us to learn how we can help.

Welcome to week three of the Scavenger Hunt!

In this week’s Nature Invaders Weekly Digest, we talked about invasive trees and shrubs. Not receiving the weekly digest? Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h4FSLf.

You may already be familiar with some invasive trees and shrubs, but others might surprise you. Buckthorn is a common and widespread invasive in our watershed. iNaturalist users in the watershed have reported nearly 250 observations. Often one of the first shrubs to leaf out in the spring and the last to lose its leaves in fall, buckthorn creates dense thickets that crowd out native plants.

A species you might be surprised to learn is invasive is the Norway maple. Although it looks similar to our iconic native maples, the Norway maple spreads quickly and reduces native plant diversity. It’s dense crown shades out lower canopy plants.

Other invasive trees and shrubs you should watch for include burning bush and non-native honeysuckles. Avoid planting these on your property. Choose flowering shrubs like smooth serviceberry, red-osier dogwood or chokecherry instead.

Weekly Observation
It looks like the most common observation people are making is Canada thistle. We're just starting to see these prickly plants pop their purple flowers. Considered a noxious weed in Ontario, these plants spread by seed and underground roots (or rhizomes), so it's important that you remove them before they flower and ensure you dig out all of the roots.

Weekly Challenge
Take an inventory of the trees and shrubs on your property. What native species did you find? Learn about what benefits they provide to local birds and pollinators. If you’ve discovered an invasive species, take a look at these best management practices and don’t forget to upload your findings to iNaturalist.

Welcome to week two of the Scavenger Hunt!

In this week’s Nature Invaders Weekly Digest, we talked about common invasive ground covers. Not receiving the weekly digest? Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/h4FSLf.

Invasive ground covers like lily-of-the-valley, periwinkle and goutweed form dense, thick mats that spread quickly beyond garden borders into lawns, neighbouring yards or forests and natural areas. Periwinkle has been frequently observed across the watershed and in surrounding regions, so you may find you have it on your property too. Others to look out for include English ivy and dog-strangling vine.

Weekly Observation
Our top observer this week, hilmcleod has shared 11 species including the pesky garden invasive periwinkle.

Photo Credit: @hilmcleod

Weekly Challenge
Commit to replacing invasive ground covers with one of the native plant alternatives found in the Grow Me Instead guide.

It’s time to get ready to get out into your yard, garden, field or forest to identify problem plants and stop them from taking over. We're excited to see that some of you have already been posting observations of what you've found!

About the Hunt
The Scavenger Hunt runs June 24 to July 31. You can participate at any time during this period. When and how much you participate is entirely up to you.

Each week we’ll send you challenges, resources and expert advice on how to identify, manage and remove invasive species you might find on your property. Sign up here to receive these resources delivered to your inbox every Monday and to receive your ballot for the free native pollinator plant prize pack giveaway*: http://eepurl.com/h4FSLf.

Get Started
To kick off the Hunt, here are some resources to help you get started.

• Know what pesky plants to look for by using our Top 10 Invasive Plants in the Credit River Watershed
• Get better results on iNaturalist with these tips for making observations
• Discover top plants to replace your troublesome garden invasives
• Learn more about managing the spread of invasive species in the countryside

Weekly Observation
Each week we’ll showcase some of your observations and provide some insight on what you’re finding.

Weekly Challenge
Each week we’ll also give you a small challenge to complete. This week we invite you to post your first observation to iNaturalist. Tell a friend or neighbour about what you found and invite them to participate, too! Remember, invasive species don’t respect fence lines! Sharing your findings with your neighbours helps protect the whole community.

*Contest rules apply. Read the contest rules.