Today, Nov 7, 2026, 28 amazing volunteers gathered for our November Invasive Pull! After a welcome stretch, we headed down the Champlain Heights Trails, south of the playground, an area we call “The Invasive Base”.
We divided into two groups. The first group, led by Anthea, tackled invasive English ivy, that was growing like a thick carpet on the edge of the trail.
The second group, led by Grace, donned some thick gloves and tackled invasive Himalayan blackberry.
In the process of trimming back blackberry, digging out roots, and pulling out ivy vines, we also removed a whole bag full of garbage from the trail. We found some pretty surprising items – such as a very old leather shoe, a glass medicine bottle, a tangle of wires (that we thought were roots at first!), and two bicycle wheels!
In the process of removing the invasive plants, we were able to free several native sword ferns and a large Indigenous Plum/Osoberry shrub!
We piled up all the invasive plants in a pile, which made for a nice photo op at the end. This pile will be disposed in city green bins located in the Kinross Creek Co-op.
Thank you to all our incredible volunteers: Andrea, Angie, Anthea (co-lead), Bob, Briauna, Connie G (also helped w/ clean-up), Crystal, Dezarae, Dylan (also helped w/ clean-up), Erin (also helped w/ set-up), Grace (lead), Hannah, Heidi, Imogen, Jenny, Joshua, Kai, Kevin, Kurt, Kyle, Liam, Lucia, Moira, Nicola, Robynn, Sherry, and Sun Woo.