For anyone concerned about the Vale of Avoca, there’s no need to wait for the completion of the master plan, important though that is. Last month community volunteers got to work on ecological stewardship of the ravine through a joint project between the Midtown Ravines Group and Toronto Nature Stewards.
Weekly stewardship sessions will initially focus on reining in the spread of invasive plants in the southern section of David Balfour Park (the flat section closed to the Roxborough/Mount Pleasant intersection). The group has already had an impact on the park through removal of significant amounts of garlic mustard and dog-strangling vine. There’s lots more work to do, including the deployment of extractigators to curtail the spread of common buckthorn.
Planting native varieties to fill the spots left by some of these invasives will also be included in the stewardship program. For further information please contact the Midtown Ravines Group.