This week we began a project to clear an area behind Kinross Creek Co-op, adjacent to the back of an accessible unit. Over the course of many years the area had become engulfed by English Ivy, Himalayan Blackberry, and Lamium. With the help of several… Read More »Roll Back the Ivy Carpet
Free the Fern has just launched a fundraiser – Art for Plants! We will be selling hand painted art made by our volunteer Christine Nombrado (Kiki). She is painting (5×7) canvases featuring local birds and native plants. We are selling the art for $15 each… Read More »Art for Plants!
I had one of the happiest, most satisfying moments in Doug’s Garden on the Champlain Heights Trail today. I was in the area of the garden that I hope to transform into a bed of ferns in the future. So, after removing invasive ivy in… Read More »Such a Happy Moment!
Recently a couple of our members have been christened as “Fern Fairies”. It all began when we heard from a local resident who had been helping trim invasive blackberry on her early morning walks. However, due to physical limitations of using a walker, this local… Read More »Fern Fairies!
Free the Fern recently found out that we have been awarded a $500 Small Neighbourhood Grant to fund a FREE Public Educational Zoom Session on Invasive Weed Removal. We will be hosting this zoom on April 28, 2021 at 7pm. Tasha Murray, Executive Director of… Read More »Small Neighbourhood Grant
We were recently able to plant approx 70 native plants donated by the Environmental Youth Alliance. Plants included: Western Sword Fern, Salal, Western Bleeding Heart, Red Flowering Currant, Oregon Grape, Saskatoon Berry, Bunch berry, and more! Our volunteers planted them over 4 sites along the… Read More »Planting!
Our fellow Free the Fern member, Chris Corless, is not only good at getting ivy out with a rake, he also is a very talented woodworker. Over the last few days he has been working on a very special project that uses to his carpentry… Read More »Wheelbarrow Wow!
We were very blessed to be offered a donation of 70 free plants from The Environmental Youth Alliance! According to their website (https://eya.ca/): The EYA is a registered charity supporting BIPOC youth to connect with nature, community, and skills to become environmental stewards and community… Read More »Free Plants!
Today, I began the process of removing invasive lamium from area F of our Doug Garden Pilot Project site along the trails (see projects page). I succeeded in hand-pulling an area about 5 feet square in the space of 2 hours (with several breaks to… Read More »Lamium
How do you make an old growth forest? This is an interesting question that is brought up in the classic study Ecological Characteristics of Old-Growth Douglas-Fir Forests by Jerry F. Franklin, et al. In it, the authors summarize the 4 distinctive features of old-growth forest:… Read More »How to Make an Old Growth Forest