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As the summer season begins, so does Golden’s Community Invasive Plant Program.
This seasonal program was initiated 10 years ago through Wildsight Golden with support from the Town of Golden as a means of removing invasive plants in the community. Invasive plants (terrestrial and aquatic), are a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. Invasive plants out-compete local Indigenous plants and agricultural crops for water, nutrients, and light. Without the insect predators and plant pathogens that kept them in check in their natural habitats, these invasive plants are highly adaptable and difficult to control. Golden’s Community Invasive Plant Program aims at decreasing invasive plant infestations while increasing public awareness about these invaders within the Town of Golden. Removal is done through non-toxic methods like hand-pulling the plants in high-priority areas. The program also offers free invasive plant inventories to private landowners on their land, it educates the public about the Town of Golden’s pesticide bylaw, coordinates community weed pull events, and provides expertise on invasive plant identification and removal to the public at the local farmer’s markets.
Are you interested in getting involved? Wildsight Golden has two community weed pull events scheduled for this June and July and are accepting participants. Volunteers will leave with a full belly from a free lunch and refreshments, as well as a deeper knowledge in identifying some of Golden’s most prevalent invasive plants. Wildsight Golden invites the community in its effort to control the spread of invasive plants in the area to help protect the riparian areas – as well as the many native plants and that animals call these areas home.
The first community weed pull event will run the morning of Saturday June 29 from 9 to 11:30 a.m., pulling invasive plants along the Kicking Horse River. The meeting location is at Spirit Square by the pedestrian bridge. If you do plan to attend this family friendly event, please contact the community invasive plant coordinator to RVSP, Tesia Hackett at wildsightweedprogram@gmail.com or call 250-344-5530. Hackett will also host an event table at the Wednesday farmer’s market every third week until the beginning of August. Feel free to stop by and see Hackett if you have any inquiries, would like further information, or are interested in a free invasive plant survey conducted on your private land within the Town of Golden.
