Back to my old site

This week, we visited Riverdale Farm Ponds which was my own site from 2006 to 2009.  I had only been back here very occasionally in the past few years. The vegetation has grown tremendously since then but I can see that the work we did back then on garlic mustard has paid off. It's still around but much less so than before. I find it quite amazing since there hasn't been a regular stewardship team here for at least two years.

 However, there is a lot of stinging nettle especially on the paths where visitors walk along on the site.  We removed a lot of it last night.

The picture is a bit out of focus but it shows the extent of the stinging nettle on the site.  Plus there was quite a bit of garlic mustard right in the middle of it, but I had to clear the nettle before getting to it.

Some of the new stewards doing a great job at clearing the path.

Last week, the Don got flooded overnight after a torrential rainfall and the water level in the ponds is significantly higher. It could also be that there is a drainage problem and that the drain is plugged up.  Nevertheless, areas that are usually pretty dry are now covered in water.

One of the observation decks is completely covered in water.

I also noticed the blue-flag irises that we planted a few years ago and they are doing really well. This planting was one of my favorite activities.

The team of stewards after removing a lot of the invasives.