Greenways Land Trust, the City of Campbell River, the Campbell River Indian Band and Renuable Resources are collaborating on an experimental project this week to improve the soils along the Myrt Thompson trail in preparation for planting this fall.
In the past, the poor soils along the trail have made re-establishing native vegetation difficult due to poor growth and competition from invasive species.
“Greenways Land Trust has sponsored several projects on the Myrt Thompson Trail over the last ten years, focused mainly on invasive plant removal and native planting,” says Chuck DeSorcy of Greenways. “We have found that the invasive plants are reduced for a few years, but unless there are native plants to compete with them, they come right back.”
The project is building on principles of organic soil care to help build healthy soil along the trail for the long term.
The first step is depositing organic material which has been donated by Renuable Resources and delivered by the City of Campbell River; the next steps in the project involve putting in a ‘cover crop’ to protect the organic material and help break it down further, and this fall native ‘pioneer species’ will be planted to continue to build the soil and keep out invasives. Greenways will monitor whether this process helps to establish native vegetation more quickly over the next few years.
For more information, contact Greenways Land Trust at (250) 287-3785 or www.greenwaystrust.ca