McMaster University students got their hands dirty on Saturday for a good cause.
Around 100 spent the afternoon in the brush near Cootes Paradise to give back to Mother Nature.
“I feel like I’m getting attacked by these trees, but I can’t complain,” said one student.
The event is a collaboration between the university, the Indigenous Studies department, and the greensuits commerce students, which is a group that welcomes first-years.
The students split into two separate groups, one’s goal is to remove invasive species in the Ancaster Creek subwatershed in Dundas, while the other is to plant native shrubs.
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The students hiked into the brush and went to work with what’s called an “extractigator” to remove invasive species like European Buckthorn and Tatarian Honeysuckle, which don’t offer any real food value to animals.
“Most of these come from parts of Europe or Asia, that either were introduced accidentally, or on purpose as horticultural plants. The ones here spread really rapidly, and they out-compete out native plants and shrubs that grow here,” says Coordinator Noah Stegman.
Saturday’s work is part of a larger restoration project.
The idea is a multi-phase project that involves the creation of wetlands, meadows, prairies, and native food forests, along with an indigenous gathering place in the dryer portion.
The project started in March of last year and they’re planning to do more events like this in the years to come.
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