The 2025 drought in the Kingston area has not officially ended and was still considered severe as of mid-November. The soaking rains we received in early November, while not enough to end the drought, were sufficient to loosen the hold of the buckthorn roots on the soils of Lemoine Point. When our volunteers began their annual buckthorn pull on November 2nd, the damp soil made it possible for them to uproot fairly large plants.
Over the course of the next two weeks, we gathered four times. The fifteen people involved dedicated almost 80 hours of their time to removing this invasive plan from some of the forest edges. Our work this year was greatly assisted by the loan of four specialized tools from our colleagues at the Nature Conservancy of Canada, tripling our capacity for uprooting plants.
This y ear we added "grinding" to our portfolio of control techniques. If a plant was too big for uprooting, we used electric saws to remove a three inch wide band of bark and cambium from the trunk. With a little bit of follow-up next year, that should spell the end of these larger invaders.
With the techniques and resources that we are currently using, we don't expect to make Lemoine Point buckthorn-free. At the moment, we are focusing on clearing the trail edges and protecting some high-value trees in the forest.
If you would like to join out highly-motivated (and appreciated) team of invasive plant control volunteers, you can register here. We take up out tools again in May, when Garlic Mustard will be our target.
Before and After
