What’s been happening at GaLTT
Cut broom in bloom
June saw us make a wonderful island-wide effort to finish culling Scotch broom while it still bloomed. Amazing work was done in multiple neighbourhoods and parks. Then from June 4 to 14 the culled broom was collected all around the island and trucked to [...]
Shifting gears
As May approached our tireless invasive species team turned its attention from Daphne laurel to Scotch broom—already blooming vigorously at the south end. Early in the month, our GaLTT volunteers led broom bash sessions at the entrance to Drumbeg Park, at Burren's Acres, on Paisley [...]
Truckloads of invasives
On Earth Day (April 22), GaLTT's Invasives and Community Engagement Committees organized an island-wide pick up of cut invasive species and took them by truckloads to the South Firehall, for disposal. And islanders continued to take their own cut invasives there until April 25. [...]
Introducing: Nature Stewards
On Earth Day, GaLTT's Nature Stewards group distributed a brochure to every Gabriola mailbox that described how landowners can help conservation by "wilding" their properties. Become a nature steward on your own property. Find out how best to protect the natural environment where you [...]
Pouring the concrete
As soon as the weather was warm enough our volunteer crew did the needed concrete work near the newly wheelchair-accessible outhouse and picnic table at Pilot Bay in Gabriola Sands Provincial Park at Twin Beaches. Once the parking lot is improved (soon!) and the [...]
McConvey Resting Bench
On a sunny spring day, Barry and Peter installed a lovely new resting bench on the McConvey trail. It was built by Jamie Doig using wood donated by Tom Cameron. THANK YOU!
Whaling on Daphne on Whalebone
Early in the month GaLTT's invasives crew and a crowd of energetic neighbours cut yet another huge Daphne laureola infestation in the Whalebone Community Parks. RDN crews helped to cart away the debris and level the disturbed ground. Well done!
If it’s not one thing
On Easter Sunday in Elder Cedar Nature Reserve, a work crew (including two new GaLTT members) pulled from the meadow dozens of immature invasive Scotch broom plants—getting them before they become a seed-spreading problem!
GaLTT’s new Native Plant Depot at the Commons
Clearing land? If you plan to clear part of your land, please contact us first. Our Rescue Team will dig up and remove native species and take them to our Native Plant Depot at the Commons. There is no charge, no disruption to your work, [...]
Accessibility: lots and lots of gravel
At the beginning of March the Lions Club pitched in to help GaLTT improve accessibility at Pilot Bay (Twin Beaches) by spreading huge loads of suitable "cartpath" gravel on top of landscaping cloth over the previously widened and flattened paths. Once the gravel is thoroughly [...]
More Daphne
Work parties continued to pull out invasive Daphne laureola all around the island before it went to seed and the Community Engagement Committee held a workshop to train landscape professionals to identify and control invasive plants in the course of their work. [...]
The end of the Great Winter Walkabout
February 3 saw the last posting of a neighbourhood trail walk in our Great Winter Walkabout. We left the signage and ribbons up until February 28 because lots of rain throughout January meant very muddy, wet trails, so many delayed their explorations until it dried [...]
