Local woodland spruced up

Conservationists recently completed the first phase of a restoration project aimed at eventually ridding the 15 hectare woodland of buckthorn, an invasive tree-like shrub that threatens to overrun the park's vegetation.

"Phase 1 planned for the removal of buckthorn on a 3 to 4-hectare surface, but we weren't able to do it this year unfortunately. Nevertheless, with the money that we did have, we still wanted to show that there was something that could be done," said Érik Bassil, president of the Comité Écologique du Grand Montréal, who ran the operation.

The group managed to redo the park's 2 km of walking trails by covering them in literally tons of mulch, small branches, and wood chips trimmed from local trees that would otherwise have been sent for recycling. The end result is soft ground, much like a real forest floor, and makes for a comfortable walking experience.

Two entrances with shallow steps into the woods, one on Cavendish and the other on the west side of Marcel Laurin Park, have also been installed.

Bassil hopes future phases of the restoration project will be allowed to continue as planned. The next phase is scheduled to begin in June 2007 pending there are enough funds. This year's operation cost about $44,000 all told, with the borough contributing to over half the amount.

The work consists of the removal of buckthorn in stages to allow for the 20 or so indigenous species of trees to flourish. Bassil points out that he and his team have planted several trees, such as oak, red maple and ash.

"[If left unchecked], what we'll see in the next 40, 50 or 60 years won't be a forest with trees over 30 ft tall, but a forest dominated by buckthorn. In the long term, if their population diminishes, it will allow the trees that are already here to continue. We might not be around to see the trees [we've planted] get to maturity, but our children and grandchildren will see that we acted," said Bassil.