City continues fight against ragweed and Giant Hogweed
Sherbrooke’s Department of Urban Planning and Sustainable Development submitted its plan for the control of ragweed and another for the eradication of giant hogweed to the City Council Monday night.
Ragweed
In 2017, the City received a $31,000 grant from the Department of Health and Social Services to implement a partner mobilization plan to fight against ragweed. This grant also resulted in the development of a new informational pamphlet for the public and the training of municipal staff in the Parks and Green Space Division to identify the plant.
Every summer since 1997, the City has organized a campaign to detect ragweed in its territory. The goal is to reduce the density of the plant in urban areas, as well as to raise awareness of the public health problems it can cause. During the 2017 campaign, students covered 680 km of roadsides, or 29.2 per cent of the city’s territory. On 120 km of roads with low to high infestations, ragweed harvesting cleared nearly 81 km, mostly in areas of medium to high infestation.
Giant Hogweed
The Giant Hogweed is native to Asia, but began to show up in Sherbrooke a few years ago. This plant is dangerous because contact with its sap by the skin causes serious burns when the skin is exposed to the sun. The City has awarded a five-year contract to pest management company Acéri-for to carry out a management plan and to begin the eradication of giant hogweed on private land. Interventions were carried out on the nine colonies (1,000 plants) that were found within Sherbrooke’s city limits. These actions will have eliminated many plants. However, an inspection in August showed that new plants are growing due to the presence of seeds in the soil. The eradication activities will continue in 2018.
Two pilot projects to fight other invasive species
In 2018, the City of Sherbrooke will launch two pilot projects to control or even locally eradicate buckthorn and Japanese knotweed, two plants that are found everywhere in the territory. Both of these plants were introduced to Canada as ornamentals. Glossy Buckthorn is commonly found in woodlots and forests, while Japanese Knotweed grows mainly along roads and trails. These invasive species pose a significant threat to local biodiversity.