12th June
Once again, I apologize for the lateness of the post. I seem to have been busy lately.
Upper Canada College students use extractigators to remove buckthorn
On Tuesday 21st May, Toronto Nature Stewards (TNS) ran a joint event with Upper Canada College (UCC) in Cedarvale Park, in which UCC students pulled up European buckthorn trees using extractigators. There were 19 students and several accompanying adults. We were also joined by 5 staff from Parks, Forestry and Recreation. The students were supervized by the 3 Cedarvale TNS lead stewards: Alexandria Pike, Bob Kortright and myself. Catherine Berka of TNS also supervized. TNS provided 7 extractigators, 7 shovels and gloves.
After a few introductory speeches, the students got to work. Here are some of the students a the start:
This is the vehicle in which some of the Parks staff arrived:
We had tagged the buckthorn trees to be removed before the event, making it easier for the students to identify them. The students very quickly picked up how to use an extractigator (a large metal tool that clamps on to the trunk of the tree close to the ground and then uses a long lever to pull the tree vertically out by the roots). In fact, so eager were they to start after the demonstration, they practically grabbed the extractigator out of my hands. Here is one of the students using it:
These are the Parks staff, talking to Alexandra, who has her back to the camera:
Here are two of the students, taking a pause from their labours:
And here are 4 of them sitting on the bench at the Glenayr entrance:
They had found an old frisbee hidden in the bushes. At one point, I ended up playing frisbee with two of them!
We left the extracted trees lying on the ground:
Here are two more of them:
The event ran from 1 pm to 3 pm. Over that time, we managed to extract a large number of smaller buckthorn trees.
We also made an agreement with the Parks staff that we would tag larger buckthorn trees beyond the capability of extractigators and they would return later with chainsaws to cut them down. We are already tagging these larger buckthorn trees.
I think we can count this a successful participatory event, with UCC, TNS, Friends of Cedarvale and Parks all involved.
Various sightings: shoes, rabbits, snake
On our many trips through the park, we encounter many different sightings. One of the most puzzling was this pair of footwear left abandoned at the side of the trail. Where had the owner disappeared to, we wondered?
On two occasions recently, I have seen rabbits. This shot is unfortunately rather blurry:
This one, of a different rabbit on a different day, is better:
On another day, I took this shot of a snake wriggling across the path:
I think it is a Dekay’s brown snake. It did not have the colouring of a garter snake and was all brown.
Flowers
At this time of year, a wide variety of flowers and flowering trees can be observed in the ravine. I believe the white flower in this shot is Canada anemone:
This is yellow flag iris:
It is non-native. The same flower in a different location:
This flowering tree is next to the path:
I believe it is a horse chestnut:
Another tree down in Suydam Park
Another large tree recently fell on someone’s fence in Suydam Park (the park between Cedarvale and Spadina Rd: we count it as part of Cedarvale), very close to where another tree had previously fallen further along on the same fence!
A crew had already visited the scene and cut the tree up:
On a later day, I observed that more cleanup work had been done:
There is always something of interest to observe in the park.
My next post will follow shortly. I will then be away on vacation in Washington State and British Columbia from 24th June to 23rd July. Keep an eye on the park for me during my absence!
John Cummings
Friends of Cedarvale 