By Howard Williams


On December 5th, two members of the Phragmites group and two volunteers from the Bryerswood Optimist Camp on Texas Road started clearing Phragmites from around the man-made pond that was being cut that morning – rather like harvesting sugarcane but in a cooler climate.


The work involved gathering the cut stands of Phragmites, some are over 2 m long, bringing them to sleds and then discharging the bundles of vegetation into a pile for later burning.
The following photographs show examples of the work and the results.

What is clear is that although the cutting may only take about 5 hours with a 2-person team (Chuck – photo above) from the Invasive Phragmites Control Centre, the gathering of the cut stands takes many more person-hours. As of mid-afternoon, there was a need for a few more hours of volunteer effort.

These two above photographs indicate the gradual clearing of Phragmites.

Left: Detail of the cut stands indicating the mixture of residual stems still in growth position, and cut stems that had to be raked and bundled. Right: View of the cut and cleared area.

Two means of transporting the gathered material, by tarp and by sled; note grins that mask aching bodies.

The Bryerswood firepit where the cut material was stacked and where it will be burnt.

View of the man-made pond surrounded by cut but only partially cleared Phragmites stems. This will look so much more inviting in the Spring.