Prince George, B.C. – The Prince George Naturalists Club has completed its first major initiative to remove invasive plants on both sides of the channel at Hudson’s Bay Wetland and replace them with native plants.

Clive Keen – photo courtesy Bob Steventon

With funding from TD Friends of the Environment and Pacific Salmon Foundation, spokesperson Clive Keen says the Club organized several planting and weed removal events this year and last.

For example, he says a partnership with Groundwork PG and AiMHi to dig out tansy root on the north side of the channel was a great success.

“The two groups spent a total of four days at the site. They removed 66 contractor bags of tansy roots, stems and flowers from the riparian area and other badly infested areas – the equivalent of two pickup truck loads,” says Keen.

“This has significantly reduced the volume of tansy at the 600 square metre site, ensuring that future efforts to control tansy will require less effort and expense.”

Ultimately he says replacing invasive plants with such native plants as the wild rose, wild gooseberry, yarrow, red-twig dogwood and willow will help to create a healthy ecosystem capable of supporting a much wider range of insect, bird and animal life.

He says the Club’s work builds on the work of the City of Prince George and the Northwest Invasive Plant Council at the site in previous years.