Local Butterflyway Rangers Looking For Help

Gardeners needed for replanting effort on Sunday

Andrew Wray lays siege to invasive ivy.

After a successful spring ivy pull, Lions Bay's local gardeners are looking for some re-planting help.

Butterflyway Rangers Val Morton and Hana Boye are marshalling their forces to replant the area beside the village hall that was denuded of its invasive ivy cover back in March.

They are asking interested gardeners to don their gloves and bring their trowels down to the hall on Sunday morning from 10 a.m. until noon. The event will run rain or shine, but Morton is optimistic.

"The weather forecast is for warm sunny weather on Saturday, so it seems like a good bet that it will not be raining," she says. "The village hall will be open and there will be snacks available, but participants might like to bring something to drink."

Morton says that the team is not looking for donations of anything but energy at this time, however "it would be helpful if people could bring some appropriate tools for digging, as well as gloves."

"It is an ongoing process to keep the ivy under control," she says, noting that gardeners will likely be faced with having to pull out more of the ivy that continues to sprout from the earlier root system.

The group is planning to replace the invasive ivy with native plants including flowering red currant, salal, tall Oregon grape, mock orange and a vine maple.

Morton says that these are good examples of replacement plants for gardeners who are pulling ivy from their own gardens. To help maintain slope stabilization after removing ivy, Morton also recommends shrubs such as kinnikinnik, ocean spray, snowberry, and baldhip rose, as well as smaller plants such as goat's beard, large-leaved avens, lady fern and sword fern.

While it's an ongoing process to keep the ivy under control, Morton thinks that adding a little fun to the job is the best way to get things done.

"My fellow Butterflyway ranger Hana and I are hoping to arrange a street party on Sunset Drive in the later part of the summer. The goal is to have fun socializing with our neighbours, while pulling out some of the nasty ivy on our street. We are hoping to give out some native plants that people can use in their own yards, and inspire other people in Lions Bay to try some similar initiatives to reduce invasive plants on their own street."

The most important thing to remember about tackling invasive ivy is to keep at it. "One person cannot make much difference on his or her own," says Morton, "but if everyone does a little bit, a great deal can be accomplished."

Replant the ivy patch: Sunday, June 8 from 10 a.m. until noon. Snacks provided!

Find out how to add your garden to the local butterflyway HERE.

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