“I look at the chestnut in the water and [dream of] removing it and making sure everything is clear,” he laughs. Church just finished leading a team of five summer students hired by the nonprofit Invasive Species Center. The team undertook to search, find and pluck the thick, rooted green invasive aquatic plant by hand along a 30km stretch of the Welland River in the Niagara region of Ontario. The five-person team used two canoes and a motorboat to remove the European water chestnut, focusing on a 30km stretch of the river. “We’re professional canoeists now,” Church said. (Submitted by Invasive Species Centre/Katie Church) “It’s a lot of work, especially when you get into these big patches, and everywhere you look there’s chestnut, and all you want to do is remove it,” said Church, a recent graduate of Niagara College’s ecosystem restoration program. European water chestnut (EWC for short) clogs shorelines, cutting off sunlight and space for fish and native plants. It’s also a nuisance for people – hard to swim or row. Its sharp, spiky seeds can pierce leather and even puncture a thin sandal. When Church began her project in July, huge areas of the river’s edges were covered with EWC – nearly 100 percent coverage in some places. In eight weeks, the team hand-pulled about 7,000 plants, filling 70 of these plastic containers. Pulled plants were removed from the water to die as quickly as possible – dried, turned into green manure and properly composted. During her last day on the water last week, Chert scanned both sides of the river, sharpening her now-special eye for floating aquatic plants. Saw lots of lily pads and foil, but no EWC. “I’m very proud of our team and what we’ve been able to accomplish,” she said. “It’s a really great feeling to fly and be really sure there’s nothing.”
3 known populations in Ontario
The River Welland is one of three known EWC populations in the province. The annual plant is also found around Wolfe Island, near Kingston, and Voyageur Provincial Park on the Ottawa River, according to the Invasive Species Centre, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Colin Cassin, the center’s policy officer, isn’t sure how the plant ended up in Welland. EWC mainly travels through its spore moving around, so he suspects it may have been picked up by a bird or came from a contaminated vessel. “We’re right at the nexus between mainstream and early adoption,” he said. “That’s the best-case scenario in terms of catching it.” Colin Cassin, policy director at the Invasive Species Centre, monitors the European water chestnut along the shoreline of the River Welland. He calls it “a hapless aquatic invasive.” (Haydn Watters/CBC) It yields early detection. A local kayaker first spotted something strange in the river in 2020 and reported it. It turned out to be the EWC, which was mapped in 2021. The field team hit the water for the first time this year.
LISTEN | CBC’s Haydn Watters hits the water with a team searching for the European water chestnut:
Ontario Morning by CBC Radio 5:13 Searching for Invasive European Water Chestnut When summer started, the invasive European water chestnut was everywhere in the Welland River in the Niagara region of Ontario. A team spent the summer making it by hand. Haydn Watters hit the water to witness their efforts. Cassin said working on invasive species is often doom and gloom. But he’s confident this Welland job is on the rare path to success — leading to EWC’s long-term removal from the river. After the team members pulled the plant, they put them in these plastic containers and carried them away from the water. Each bag contains approximately 100 plants. The team estimates it removed about 7,000 plants from the river over the summer. (Submitted by Katie Church) “We’re hoping that next year, by preventing most of these plants from seeding, we’ll be able to have a much lighter pull,” he says, hoping for at least a 50 percent reduction. “If we can stop it from going to seed this year, in theory, we’ve won.”
title: “He Brought Out A River Full Of This Pesky Plant By Hand Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-06” author: “Sharon Saldivar”
“I look at the chestnut in the water and [dream of] removing it and making sure everything is clear,” he laughs. Church just finished leading a team of five summer students hired by the nonprofit Invasive Species Center. The team undertook to search, find and pluck the thick, rooted green invasive aquatic plant by hand along a 30km stretch of the Welland River in the Niagara region of Ontario. The five-person team used two canoes and a motorboat to remove the European water chestnut, focusing on a 30km stretch of the river. “We’re professional canoeists now,” Church said. (Submitted by Invasive Species Centre/Katie Church) “It’s a lot of work, especially when you get into these big patches, and everywhere you look there’s chestnut, and all you want to do is remove it,” said Church, a recent graduate of Niagara College’s ecosystem restoration program. European water chestnut (EWC for short) clogs shorelines, cutting off sunlight and space for fish and native plants. It’s also a nuisance for people – hard to swim or row. Its sharp, spiky seeds can pierce leather and even puncture a thin sandal. When Church began her project in July, huge areas of the river’s edges were covered with EWC – nearly 100 percent coverage in some places. In eight weeks, the team hand-pulled about 7,000 plants, filling 70 of these plastic containers. Pulled plants were removed from the water to die as quickly as possible – dried, turned into green manure and properly composted. During her last day on the water last week, Chert scanned both sides of the river, sharpening her now-special eye for floating aquatic plants. Saw lots of lily pads and foil, but no EWC. “I’m very proud of our team and what we’ve been able to accomplish,” she said. “It’s a really great feeling to fly and be really sure there’s nothing.”
3 known populations in Ontario
The River Welland is one of three known EWC populations in the province. The annual plant is also found around Wolfe Island, near Kingston, and Voyageur Provincial Park on the Ottawa River, according to the Invasive Species Centre, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Colin Cassin, the center’s policy officer, isn’t sure how the plant ended up in Welland. EWC mainly travels through its spore moving around, so he suspects it may have been picked up by a bird or came from a contaminated vessel. “We’re right at the nexus between mainstream and early adoption,” he said. “That’s the best-case scenario in terms of catching it.” Colin Cassin, policy director at the Invasive Species Centre, monitors the European water chestnut along the shoreline of the River Welland. He calls it “a hapless aquatic invasive.” (Haydn Watters/CBC) It yields early detection. A local kayaker first spotted something strange in the river in 2020 and reported it. It turned out to be the EWC, which was mapped in 2021. The field team hit the water for the first time this year.
LISTEN | CBC’s Haydn Watters hits the water with a team searching for the European water chestnut:
Ontario Morning by CBC Radio 5:13 Searching for Invasive European Water Chestnut When summer started, the invasive European water chestnut was everywhere in the Welland River in the Niagara region of Ontario. A team spent the summer making it by hand. Haydn Watters hit the water to witness their efforts. Cassin said working on invasive species is often doom and gloom. But he’s confident this Welland job is on the rare path to success — leading to EWC’s long-term removal from the river. After the team members pulled the plant, they put them in these plastic containers and carried them away from the water. Each bag contains approximately 100 plants. The team estimates it removed about 7,000 plants from the river over the summer. (Submitted by Katie Church) “We’re hoping that next year, by preventing most of these plants from seeding, we’ll be able to have a much lighter pull,” he says, hoping for at least a 50 percent reduction. “If we can stop it from going to seed this year, in theory, we’ve won.”
title: “He Brought Out A River Full Of This Pesky Plant By Hand Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-05” author: “Elbert Lawlor”
“I look at the chestnut in the water and [dream of] removing it and making sure everything is clear,” he laughs. Church just finished leading a team of five summer students hired by the nonprofit Invasive Species Center. The team undertook to search, find and pluck the thick, rooted green invasive aquatic plant by hand along a 30km stretch of the Welland River in the Niagara region of Ontario. The five-person team used two canoes and a motorboat to remove the European water chestnut, focusing on a 30km stretch of the river. “We’re professional canoeists now,” Church said. (Submitted by Invasive Species Centre/Katie Church) “It’s a lot of work, especially when you get into these big patches, and everywhere you look there’s chestnut, and all you want to do is remove it,” said Church, a recent graduate of Niagara College’s ecosystem restoration program. European water chestnut (EWC for short) clogs shorelines, cutting off sunlight and space for fish and native plants. It’s also a nuisance for people – hard to swim or row. Its sharp, spiky seeds can pierce leather and even puncture a thin sandal. When Church began her project in July, huge areas of the river’s edges were covered with EWC – nearly 100 percent coverage in some places. In eight weeks, the team hand-pulled about 7,000 plants, filling 70 of these plastic containers. Pulled plants were removed from the water to die as quickly as possible – dried, turned into green manure and properly composted. During her last day on the water last week, Chert scanned both sides of the river, sharpening her now-special eye for floating aquatic plants. Saw lots of lily pads and foil, but no EWC. “I’m very proud of our team and what we’ve been able to accomplish,” she said. “It’s a really great feeling to fly and be really sure there’s nothing.”
3 known populations in Ontario
The River Welland is one of three known EWC populations in the province. The annual plant is also found around Wolfe Island, near Kingston, and Voyageur Provincial Park on the Ottawa River, according to the Invasive Species Centre, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Colin Cassin, the center’s policy officer, isn’t sure how the plant ended up in Welland. EWC mainly travels through its spore moving around, so he suspects it may have been picked up by a bird or came from a contaminated vessel. “We’re right at the nexus between mainstream and early adoption,” he said. “That’s the best-case scenario in terms of catching it.” Colin Cassin, policy director at the Invasive Species Centre, monitors the European water chestnut along the shoreline of the River Welland. He calls it “a hapless aquatic invasive.” (Haydn Watters/CBC) It yields early detection. A local kayaker first spotted something strange in the river in 2020 and reported it. It turned out to be the EWC, which was mapped in 2021. The field team hit the water for the first time this year.
LISTEN | CBC’s Haydn Watters hits the water with a team searching for the European water chestnut:
Ontario Morning by CBC Radio 5:13 Searching for Invasive European Water Chestnut When summer started, the invasive European water chestnut was everywhere in the Welland River in the Niagara region of Ontario. A team spent the summer making it by hand. Haydn Watters hit the water to witness their efforts. Cassin said working on invasive species is often doom and gloom. But he’s confident this Welland job is on the rare path to success — leading to EWC’s long-term removal from the river. After the team members pulled the plant, they put them in these plastic containers and carried them away from the water. Each bag contains approximately 100 plants. The team estimates it removed about 7,000 plants from the river over the summer. (Submitted by Katie Church) “We’re hoping that next year, by preventing most of these plants from seeding, we’ll be able to have a much lighter pull,” he says, hoping for at least a 50 percent reduction. “If we can stop it from going to seed this year, in theory, we’ve won.”
title: “He Brought Out A River Full Of This Pesky Plant By Hand Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “Ronald Seymour”
“I look at the chestnut in the water and [dream of] removing it and making sure everything is clear,” he laughs. Church just finished leading a team of five summer students hired by the nonprofit Invasive Species Center. The team undertook to search, find and pluck the thick, rooted green invasive aquatic plant by hand along a 30km stretch of the Welland River in the Niagara region of Ontario. The five-person team used two canoes and a motorboat to remove the European water chestnut, focusing on a 30km stretch of the river. “We’re professional canoeists now,” Church said. (Submitted by Invasive Species Centre/Katie Church) “It’s a lot of work, especially when you get into these big patches, and everywhere you look there’s chestnut, and all you want to do is remove it,” said Church, a recent graduate of Niagara College’s ecosystem restoration program. European water chestnut (EWC for short) clogs shorelines, cutting off sunlight and space for fish and native plants. It’s also a nuisance for people – hard to swim or row. Its sharp, spiky seeds can pierce leather and even puncture a thin sandal. When Church began her project in July, huge areas of the river’s edges were covered with EWC – nearly 100 percent coverage in some places. In eight weeks, the team hand-pulled about 7,000 plants, filling 70 of these plastic containers. Pulled plants were removed from the water to die as quickly as possible – dried, turned into green manure and properly composted. During her last day on the water last week, Chert scanned both sides of the river, sharpening her now-special eye for floating aquatic plants. Saw lots of lily pads and foil, but no EWC. “I’m very proud of our team and what we’ve been able to accomplish,” she said. “It’s a really great feeling to fly and be really sure there’s nothing.”
3 known populations in Ontario
The River Welland is one of three known EWC populations in the province. The annual plant is also found around Wolfe Island, near Kingston, and Voyageur Provincial Park on the Ottawa River, according to the Invasive Species Centre, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Colin Cassin, the center’s policy officer, isn’t sure how the plant ended up in Welland. EWC mainly travels through its spore moving around, so he suspects it may have been picked up by a bird or came from a contaminated vessel. “We’re right at the nexus between mainstream and early adoption,” he said. “That’s the best-case scenario in terms of catching it.” Colin Cassin, policy director at the Invasive Species Centre, monitors the European water chestnut along the shoreline of the River Welland. He calls it “a hapless aquatic invasive.” (Haydn Watters/CBC) It yields early detection. A local kayaker first spotted something strange in the river in 2020 and reported it. It turned out to be the EWC, which was mapped in 2021. The field team hit the water for the first time this year.
LISTEN | CBC’s Haydn Watters hits the water with a team searching for the European water chestnut:
Ontario Morning by CBC Radio 5:13 Searching for Invasive European Water Chestnut When summer started, the invasive European water chestnut was everywhere in the Welland River in the Niagara region of Ontario. A team spent the summer making it by hand. Haydn Watters hit the water to witness their efforts. Cassin said working on invasive species is often doom and gloom. But he’s confident this Welland job is on the rare path to success — leading to EWC’s long-term removal from the river. After the team members pulled the plant, they put them in these plastic containers and carried them away from the water. Each bag contains approximately 100 plants. The team estimates it removed about 7,000 plants from the river over the summer. (Submitted by Katie Church) “We’re hoping that next year, by preventing most of these plants from seeding, we’ll be able to have a much lighter pull,” he says, hoping for at least a 50 percent reduction. “If we can stop it from going to seed this year, in theory, we’ve won.”
