Conservation Strategies
JUMP TO:
MORE DEVELOPMENT SECTIONS:
MAINTAINING BIODIVERSITY
Methods of Conservation in Urban Parks
Our communities play important roles in conserving the natural biodiversity of our ecosystems, as well as in contributing to vital sustainability practices. If you’ve decided to dedicate portions of your park ecosystem to conservation efforts for your community, you’re part of a network of communities across Canada dedicated to preserving our natural ecosystem.
Even on a small scale, there are benefits to encouraging natural areas in your community to flourish:
Native species are naturally hardy to the climate;
Removing invasive species can protect neighbouring yards and streets from unwanted plant overgrowth;
Encouraging native species to flourish can help manage invasive plants and animals that can cause damage to surrounding infrastructure;
Flourishing conservation areas are low cost classrooms for interactive programs that teach kids and adults about the world around us;
Natural areas may require less intensive maintenance than built up areas of your park system;
Conservation areas can help with erosion and water runoff management for developed areas.
So how do you manage these conservation areas for the greatest benefit? It may require input from experts on best practices for managing erosion, discouraging invasive species, encouraging native species, and how to monitor biodiversity efforts.
Think about ways to incorporate someone with a passion for, or knowledge of, conservation practices into your team or advising committee. Hiring a student, finding someone in your community passionate about leading a conservation committee, or engaging with a consultant can help you get started on a conservation strategy.
Conservation Strategies: Identifying and Managing Invasive Species
Encouraging natural biodiversity requires some amount of invasive species management. Once invasive species are under some control, native species have the space to establish and thrive. Depending on the extent of the spread of invasives, your strategy can integrate different control methods.
Provide Education
Some invasive species spread from gardens and yards, when residents choose plants without knowing the ecological impact. Once an invasive plant has established in a natural area, it can take many years to get it under control.
Prevention should be part of your management strategy, including educating residents to avoid invasive garden plants and about how to identify invasive species when they are in conservation areas.
You can learn more about identifying invasive species from the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre and the Saskatchewan invasive Species Council.
Targeted Grazing
Targeted grazing for conservation areas has a number of benefits, including a great opportunity to engage your park users in fun events! Many ecosystems throughout the prairies developed alongside the activities of grazing animals, and native species have adapted to flourish when grazing animals are present..
Meewasin Valley Authority uses a contractor to graze two of its conservation areas using sheep. The contractor spends the season on the land with the herd and guides them to areas with high density species that require control. As the areas of overgrowth are grazed down, natural species have the space to establish, and more diverse habitats for birds and other wildlife can flourish. Throughout the summer, Meewasin hosts events so that the grazing contractor can provide education about this management technique, and showcase the skills of herd dogs! It’s an engaging event for kids and adults alike, and it gets visitors out to visit new areas of the valley.
Pesticide & Herbicide Spot Treatments
Depending on the location and severity of the species you are trying to manage, pesticide treatment may be warranted. Caution should be taken using any pesticide treatments near waterways, and care to use pesticide that targets the invasive directly is best.
Wascana Centre has an integrated invasive species management plan that includes monitoring, shoreline remediation, manual removal, and pesticide applications. In an effort to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides and herbicides, they focus on natural remedies where available. They use a natural foam spray application in place of harsher chemical herbicides, an option that works well along their shoreline where chemical applications cannot be used.
Manual Cleanup
With a good education campaign, your residents can become front line workers to identify and help eradicate these species! Many ASUPCA members use invasive plant management volunteer events to get residents engaged in protecting their urban parks.
Meewasin Valley Authority has several invasive species volunteer days throughout the growing season. Over a two hour period, volunteers are provided with the tools and knowledge to travel through the conservation area and manually remove any invasive plants that they find. These volunteer days provide opportunities for conservation education, new experiences for the volunteers, and to grow a group of park users passionate about conservation.
Remediation & Monitoring
Erosion and overuse of a conservation area can create conditions that allow invasive species to establish and to out-compete native species. In built up areas, human traffic in ecologically sensitive areas or along shorelines might require mitigation before an invasive species can be reduced or eradicated. If you are able to reduce erosion by blocking an area from high impact traffic, and remediate the area to provide a more diverse ecosystem through manual removal of invasives or building up soils, native species should return over time.
Once more biodiversity is introduced, monitor the area for invasive plants and pests to stay on top of either manual removal efforts, or through pesticide or herbicide applications if required.
Wascana Centre manages a unique shoreline ecosystem in the centre of Regina, an area with high traffic and built up areas, not just of humans, but also of Canada Geese. In some cases, invasive species have established a strong foothold due to high traffic from a high population of these birds. Soil erosion from their activity was the first problem to address and they used fencing to discourage birds from that area. As erosion problems decreased, natural species began to re-establish along the shoreline. This along with other remediation efforts have encouraged more natural species growth throughout the water system.
CHECKLIST ITEMS
Review your management plan and current municipal reserve for opportunities to create a conservation area. There may be provincial or national support for conservation projects.
Set up a process for monitoring invasive species within your community. Areas of concern include shorelines and riparian zones that may have invasive species.
Playground at Little Red River Park, Prince Albert
Learn more about invasive species in your area. Commiting resources to monitoring green spaces for invasives can save time and resources in the long term.