The SOS Summer Team (Clara Rogers, Nick Taylor, Kennedy Povey, Paige Prescott, Barbara Farpelha, and Isaac Henderson) managed to have a safe and productive summer despite being faced with a slew of challenges including COVID-19, extreme heat, drought, and forest fire smoke.
Core Summer Team activities this year included watering, invasive species removal, and garbage removal. Heavy and frequent watering of the Triangle, the Rain Garden, and the Wildflower Meadow was necessary in order to combat the drought and allow young plants to establish their roots. Invasive species removed included blueburs, buckthorn, burdock, creeping thistle, leafy spurge, vetch, and yellow sweet clover. Native foxtail barley heads were also removed at the Rain Garden due to the safety risk to pets upon ingestion. A variety of garbage was removed from both the river and its banks, including 40 tires, 36 metal signs, 10 shopping carts, 6 bikes, and 51 bags-worth of general litter. The team collaborated with Niakwa golf course to tackle a particularly debris-filled area running along the property.
During extreme weather days, the team worked from home with the focus on making public education signs as well as Facebook updates on the team’s progress. Six signs were developed and are now ready for the graphic design team. Some of the topics covered by the signs include algal blooms, how to distinguish rhubarb from burdock, and general information about the ecosystem. The Summer Team also started a project on iNaturalist – an online platform where citizen scientists can share their observations of the natural world. The team made 81 observations throughout the summer and received lots of feedback from local users, indicating that it is an effective way to interact with the Seine River community.
SOS congratulates the Summer Team on a successful season and thanks them for all of their hard work!