Community Collaboration for Biodiversity
by Liz Jansen
May 2025
The Biodiversity Committee, members of the BTC and various community groups have been working hard to enhance biodiversity in our section this spring.
The spring season kicked off with a “train the trainer” event hosted by staff from Dufferin County Forests. An enthusiastic group headed out to the Mono Tract to learn best practices for garlic mustard removal. This set the team up for our first garlic mustard pull event with students from Orangeville District Secondary School (ODSS).
During Earth Week, approximately forty (40) grade nine geography students arrived on a cloudy, but warm day to remove garlic mustard from the Boyne River School property.
During the two kilometer hike into the site, students were introduced to the Bruce Trail and discussed the importance of invasive species removal. Arriving at the pre-determined spot, students started pulling, and pulling and pulling. Their hard work resulted in removal of large quantities of garlic mustard. ODSS intends this collaboration to become an annual event.
Despite all the garlic mustard removed by the students, there was still more to pull. Thankfully the Orangeville Scouts were keen to assist with this monumental, ongoing task.
A small, enthusiastic group of Scouts (aged 9 – 11) joined us on a cool, damp Saturday morning and undertook the task with gusto. The ever-curious youngsters asked questions throughout the event and helped the Biodiversity team remove even more garlic mustard from the Boyne River School site.
Unfortunately, a Garlic Mustard Pull with another group of fifty Scouts at a different project had to be cancelled because the ice storm had made the trails unsafe to use.
In Fall 2024, Dufferin Hi-Land’s Biodiversity team and ODSS students participated with the Bruce Trail Conservancy to establish a Seed Orchard at Splitrock Narrows property.
Together, we planted trees, shrubs and under-story wildflowers. This spring, twenty-eight (28) Grade 9 Science students helped plant the expansion of the seed orchard, as well as hike the property learning about ecosystems, local flora and fauna (with iNaturalist app), and the interconnectedness between humans and our environment. Approximately 110 plants of 16 different species were planted. A special surprise was the installation of the “official” Seed Orchard signage at the site.
Thank you to all the community organizations who have helped make this spring season a productive one in preserving a ribbon of wilderness. Your hard work and dedication are greatly appreciated.
Do you or someone you know work with a community organization that would like to get involved? If so, please contact us: biodiversity@dufferbrucetrailclub.org
American Chestnut: A Revival Project
Article contributed by: Cathy Hughes
In the early 1900s, the Carolinian forest (which includes the Dufferin Hi-Land area) was home to the American Chestnut tree (Castanea dentata). The American Chestnut could live up to 500 years, grow to over 100 feet tall, and produce between 3,000 – 6,000 nuts per season! These majestic trees played an integral role in both the ecosystem and the economy. Woodland mammals and birds had shelter and a reliable food source. The timber was used for barns, houses, and furniture.
This marvelous tree species is believed to have made up twenty-five percent of the trees in the Southern Ontario forests (an estimated two million chestnut trees). Unfortunately, by the late 1940s, the chestnut population was decimated, with only small numbers of isolated trees remaining. Most recent surveys estimate only 2,000 American Chestnut trees remain in Ontario, firmly entrenching it as an “endangered species” under the Ontario Endangered Species Act.
What happened?
An accidental introduction of fungal disease Cryphonectria parasitica, commonly known as “Chestnut Blight” occurred. American Chestnut trees have no natural resistance to the blight. Once infected, the leaves, branches, and stems die off. The roots often remain unaffected and new shoots will resprout, however, the new growth becomes infected, and the sprouts do not survive. Some sprouts will survive long enough to flower, but if there are no other chestnut trees nearby to pollinate with, no viable seeds are produced. The cycle continues.
What’s being done?
In 1998, The Canadian Chestnut Council (CCC) was established. This charitable organization’s mission is “to help restore the American Chestnut tree to areas of Canada it once occupied.” To achieve this, the CCC is working with the University of Guelph to produce fungal resistant American Chestnut trees of a Canadian origin.
As a result of successful American Chestnut plantings on other Bruce Trail Conservancy BTC) protected areas, the CCC is providing the BTC with 120 trees, to be planted within Dufferin Hi-Land Bruce Trail Club (DHBTC) boundaries. The DHBTC Biodiversity Committee hosted a tree planting event on September 14, 2024.
“Alone each of us can do a little, together we can do much.”
For more information: The Canadian Chestnut Council and Dufferin Hi-Land Bruce Trail Club.
iNaturalist Project
Join the Bruce Trail project on iNaturalist and collect biodiversity data. Cataloging your observations helps track invasive species, identify new species, and record native species. This provides detailed, relevant, and scientific data on which to base effective stewardship strategies.
Making this valuable contribution is as simple as downloading the iNaturalist app, joining the Bruce Trail Project, and uploading photos and audio recordings during your hike.
Learn more at: brucetrail.org/what-we-do/#iNaturalist