Food forest pond could create biodiversity “explosion”

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/06/2019 (2363 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dave Barnes wants to make a major addition to the Assiniboine Food Forest by starting a water conservation project in a 30-acre field currently filled with weeds.

The plan is to build an earthen dam at the end of an ancient creek in the hope it fills up with snowmelt water. This would create a pond in the middle of the field and an explosion in biodiversity, said Barnes, the chairman of the food forest.

“What it would do is it would cause an absolute blossoming, a flowering of intense biodiversity, because when you capture water, right away you’ve got an immediate formation of wetland, however permanent.”

All the water currently drains into the Assiniboine River east of downtown Brandon and away from the property and where it is needed.

The land is currently protected by a declaration from Manitoba Habitat Conservation, the same one that protects the entire Assiniboine Food Forest. As a result, Barnes is limited in what he can do, even if it’s ultimately a benefit to the environment.

“A 30-acre field of weeds has permanent protection, and every little plant is treated preciously … which when you think about it a little while is a little bit unusual.”

Barnes was at city council on Tuesday evening to ask the city to make a declaration in support of water conservation. This would help Barnes get a land-use permit, which is a step in convincing the province to allow the dam to go up.

“It’s got some pretty tough regulations to work around. If the city were to saying a very gentle declaration, ‘Well, we support water’ it’s just another card in our deck that we can use (with) the province to get permission to do this.”

City councillors on Tuesday voted to send the request to city administration for further research.

Building the dam and subsequent pond would go a long way to remediating the piece of land. Barnes said it was clear-cut early in the city’s history, which encouraged weed growth and allowed invasive species to take root.

“Once you have clear-cut a forest, you have inflicted serious, serious forces that reduce biodiversity, and you cause water balance to be lost. A lost forest means no more roots to hold water, so spring snowmelt tends to just puddle up and run down the old creek bed and leave the place.”

With a new pond, it would attract ducks, frogs, many types of insects and even fish back to the area.

“In my opinion, and in the opinion of many people in the tourism industry, we are poised on a national and international scale on permaculture. This is a big, big win for Brandon, it’s just waiting to happen.”

It’s also a step in the right direction on climate change. While human activity has done great damage to the environment, Barnes said projects like this show how people can also improve it.

“We have taken flourishing ecosystems and we have decimated them. … Our group says humanity has to get busy and start regenerating thriving ecosystems, and we better get going fast because climate change says we are running out of time.”

» dmay@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @DrewMay_