Feild work to manage invasive species will take place in Cranbrook along with eight other B.C. communities.
According to officials with the Invasive Species Council of BC, their teams will start with a list of sites of concern. These will be places where invasive species have created an imbalance in the local ecosystem.
The Stronger BC program started in 2021, and treated over 770 sites with 14 teams.
“Among their accomplishments, our Chilliwack Action Team pulled out over 550 pounds of Himalayan blackberry by hand, our Victoria crew pulled close to 5,400 Daphne (Spurge-laurel) plants by hand from Golf Islands Disc Park on North Pender Island, and our Salmon Arm Action Team took on Scotch broom at one site,” said Invasive Species Council of BC officials.
Alongside Cranbrook, work will focus on Campbell River, Nanaimo, Surrey, Abbotsford, Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Quesnel and Nelson.
The Invasive Species Council of BC will hire more people to help with this year’s work, thanks to funding from Stronger BC
“Our goal with this $8 million investment from the province is to hire 200 people to help tackle invasive species. This skills development program helps transition people into rewarding careers working for the environment. Crews learn all about invasive species identification and management and they develop important field skills. So far, as part of this program we have hired and trained 176 people to make a positive difference in BC’s natural spaces,” said ISCBC Executive Director Gail Wallin.