On the last weekend of April, TLC banded together with the Greater Victoria Green Team and the Highlands District Community Association for a grand ol’ broom bash in the Highlands Region. The community were encouraged to cut broom for the week leading up to the event and leave it on the roadside for pickup. Well, cut broom they did! There were so many roadside piles of broom, volunteers thought they may never get it all. Thankfully, TLC volunteer Sammy Kent with Pacific Ecoscapes landscaping brought out his one-tonne Elf truck and they had it loaded up in a jiffy.
It’s hard to know how much broom was pulled or cut, but you can see for yourself by the photos that it definitely made an impact.
The warm weather made for a wonderful time outdoors, and first time volunteers Roberta MacDonald and Stephen Archer remarked over how satisfying cutting and pulling broom was. There’s nothing like seeing the fruits of your labour while exposing beautiful flowers previously hidden by the broom! Garry oak seedlings, camas, few-flowered shooting star, sea blush, and chocolate lilies were all found while removing broom.
Amanda Evans of the Greater Victoria Green Team continues to pull broom and other invasives, and you can find out more about her work and how to join by emailing amanda@greenteamscanada.ca. Bob McMinn, former mayor of Langford and member of the Highlands District Community Association worked with the volunteers all weekend, and was the first to show up and the last man standing. Thank you for all your hard work, Bob!
Overall, the weekend was a great success in removing Scotch broom. There is always more work to do though, so if you’re interested in finding out more on invasive removal, please contact Torrey at covenants@conservancy.bc.ca.
