A tree-planting effort in Riding Mountain National Park this weekend will help restore native bur oak trees to a cleared field in the park.
Park staff and community volunteers will participate in the planting, which aims to turn the abandoned field back into a forest, complete with a range of native trees and shrubs.
In conjunction with National Tree Day, the 70-hectare parcel of land on the west side of Clear Lake will be restored.
The land, previously used for agriculture, hasn’t been cultivated in several years. In the past, ridges on this property were bur oak woodland, a native ecosystem of Manitoba that is currently in decline. Native species have not returned on their own and invasive species are settling into the area. The land also serves as a wildlife corridor, so restoring the habitat will help animals like white-tailed deer and foxes that travel through the region.
All interested volunteers are asked to meet at the RMNP Visitor Centre in Wasagaming at 1 p.m. on Saturday. There will be a presentation and overview of the project. Participants will then travel out to the site where they will plant native trees and bushes, including Saskatoon, pincherry, dogwood and oak from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The project is supported by Canon’s Take Root program, and Evergreen, which will provide a $5,000 grant and a Canon digital camera to 30 local community groups in Canada every year for the next three years.
The program aims to support community action across the country and to add more than 7,500 trees to the Canadian landscape annually.
» Brandon Sun
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition September 21, 2012
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