On October 18, 2024, UCC’s Sustainability Council organized a service afternoon with “Don’t Mess with the Don”. A group of 27 UCC students and teachers spent the afternoon removing Buckthorn in Cedarvale Ravine.
In three hours, students worked tirelessly, uprooting huge Buckthorn while fighting fire ants, thorns, and the heat. However, their hard work paid off, and in total, they pulled out hundreds of Buckthorn, with the largest ones being over 10 feet tall!
Students used extractigators, a tool that clamps on the bottom of the Buckthorn and rips it out of the soil. Once the Buckthorn was pulled out of the soil, students shook the dirt off the roots to prevent the Buckthorn from regrowing. If the Buckthorn is too large to shake off the dirt, students hung the roots on tree branches so the roots would dry out.
Common Buckthorn was introduced to Canada in the 1880s. It thrives in a variety of habitats and competes against native plants, altering nitrogen levels in the soil, and disrupting the growth of other species. Buckthorn also produces many seeds that grow quickly, encouraging its rapid spread, and preventing the growth of native plants.
Although it may not be possible to remove all the Buckthorn, trying our best to remove the invasive species gives native species the best chance to compete and survive.
The Blue and White 
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