Royal Botanical Gardens to conduct controlled burns April 23

The Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) will be conducting two controlled burns at Cootes Paradise Nature Sanctuary on Wednesday.

The two controlled burns will be happening within the Princess Point and the North Shore Landing areas of the Cootes Paradise Nature Sanctuary between 1 and 4 p.m.

The exact timing will be determined by good weather conditions to help minimize the smoke impact on surrounding communities.

During the time of the burns, there will be no public access to Princess Point, Princess Point Trail, and the east end of the Anishinaabe Waadiziwin Trail next to the RBG Arboretum.

The burns will be conducted under the supervision of prescribed burn specialists from Lands & Forests Consulting Ltd.

The RBG says controlled burns are an important and effective management tool in the restoration and preservation of rare native plants.

These restoration efforts also support species at risk, such as the Monarch butterfly.

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