The only thing more persistent than dog-strangling vine is the group of Alta Vista volunteers ripping it out of Sawmill Creek’s shorelines every Thursday and Saturday.
For the past three years, the small group of dedicated residents have been meeting twice a week where the urban creek meets the Rideau River to try and control the aggressive plant.
“We could see the shoreline was overtaken with dog-strangling vine, and to have this last stretch of the creek covered en masse was really a shame,” said Suzanne Doerge, a founding member of the group connected to the Alta Vista Community Association’s Green Space Stewardship Committee. The group partnered with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s City Stream Watch program to receive guidance and support to start the shoreline renewal project.
Dog-standing vine can quickly colonize an area while pushing out native species and wreaking havoc on local biodiversity. Monarch butterflies are particularly at risk as they mistake the flowers for milkweed, the only plant that supports monarch caterpillar development.
Sawmill Creek has more documented types of invasive species on its banks than almost any other creek in the City of Ottawa, said RVCA City Stream Watch co-ordinator Rosario Castanon-Escobar. It's also extremely vulnerable to garbage pollution where it runs near major roads and commercial plazas.
“We host at least four garbage clean-ups on Sawmill Creek every year,” Castanon-Escobar said.
Unfortunately, removing invasive species not nearly as easy as hauling fast food cups and shopping carts out of the riverbed, and isn’t something City Stream Watch can do full time. That’s where the Alta Vista volunteers come in: providing persistent removal of dog-strangling vine each and every week to keep it in check.
Clump by clump, the group gets to work with trowels, pitchforks and even their hands to remove the invader one plant at a time. In especially dense areas, five layers of cardboard are piled to smother any remaining roots. In future seasons, cleared areas will be replanted with native wildflowers.
It’s a never-ending job that requires stamina and strength. While the group has partnered with City Stream Watch staff for guidance and assistance, Doerge said what they really need is more helpers.
“On a given day we might have two to five people, and we could sure use more,” she said.
While finding volunteers for any project is always a struggle, ripping invasives out by their roots certainly has its appeal.
Nancy Jackson said the hands-on work was a welcome change after retiring from a job that was “all committee meetings and sitting around a table,” she said. “The physicality of it is great. On Thursday mornings, I come and get all my frustrations out on dog strangling vine.”
Another Nancy – Nancy Johns – joined this year in search of similar satisfactions.
“I wanted to get my hands dirty and feel a sense of accomplishment,” Johns said. “When you get a big clump of this stuff out with your bare hands, it’s very satisfying.”
Volunteer Tsitsi Mpofu-Mketwa brought her entire community development class from Carleton University on a field trip last fall to showcase environmental advocacy in action.
“It was an opportunity to bring my classroom into the woods to learn about greenspaces and environmental advocacy,” she said. “The students enjoyed the experiential learning.”
Bringing students and young people into the project is exactly where Doerge hopes to go next, especially as they try to conquer more rugged areas of the shoreline. Doerge said they will happily sign for high school volunteer hours or help with references and applications for any dedicated young volunteers.
“We would love to have young people come and work with us and be part of this process of regeneration,” Doerge said.
To learn more or to get involved contact
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