Local residents have taken to heart the slogan “Cut Broom In Bloom.”
Without any public recognition of their activities, secret “Heros” can be spotted cutting clusters of these ubiquitous plants in many locations throughout the community. When volunteers formed a Campbell River branch of the Qualicum-based Broombusters group six years ago, the task of clearing that invasive bush from the main roads and byways of Campbell River seemed a formidable task. The years have passed by and thanks to the concerted effort of so many energetic volunteers, including Rotary Club members, and most recently Campbell River Indian Band members, the roads of the city are essentially clear of broom.
There are still large tracts of broom on private land but with the pending legislative approval, a new bylaw will require all land owners in the city to clear their own invasive plants.
The huge effort to remove broom from the Jubilee Parkway continues. Large areas on the embankment have been cut twice but with little effect. There have been several volunteers who live nearby the Jubilee Trail that have been very successful in clearing the pathway but the thick trunks of old broom don’t submit so easily to loppers and saws.
There are some strategies underway for next year’s broom cut that require seeding native species in the area that suppress the broom from reseeding itself. We may never rid our community of broom but we have an inspired core of supporters who vigilantly monitor the areas that were previously been cut and willingly return each year to snuff out that toxic, noxious, flammable invasive weed.
Coordinators,
Morgan Ostler, Carol Couture and Janet Koch