Volunteers are working to rid the coastal bluff along McNeill Bay of invasive species over the next decade.

Community Association of Oak Bay members Jacques Sirois and Leo Gauthier are in the early stages of clearing the scores of English ivy, Himalayan blackberry, daphne and English hawthorn currently blanketing the cliff along Beach Drive and harming native species including ScoulerB次元官网网址檚 willows, black hawthorn and dwarf Garry oaks.

The project was proposed when Oak Bay formally endorsed the United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration and encompasses shoreline that is part of the Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary. While the upper section of the bluff may be cleared by yearB次元官网网址檚 end, Sirois and Gauthier hope to finish restoring the entire area by 2031.

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B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e rewinding and restoring the McNeill Bay bluff, which is a rare coastal bluff that was totally degraded by all kinds of invasive plants,B次元官网网址� said Chris Hyde-Lay, parks services manager.

The support of Hyde-Lay and the district have been instrumental, providing weekly waste collection and disposal service.

B次元官网网址淏ut, to take care of these natural areas, citizens have to pitch in,B次元官网网址� Sirois said.

Nearby, Nancy and Martti Tienhaara are working in the tree canopy at Kitty Islet to remove what remains of invasive plants that once engulfed the clearing B次元官网网址� a project started in September 2019 with the assistance of Sirois and Gauthier.

Sirois said the area was covered in ivy for as long as a century and described the deformed trees as spectacles from a childrenB次元官网网址檚 story.

The volunteers donB次元官网网址檛 use herbicides and work at a steady pace, coming Tuesday and Friday morning for a couple hours of physically exhausting work. Closing off the restoration areas is vital, preventing people and dogs from transferring invasive plant seeds by foot.

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Community-led ecosystem restoration has been happening in Oak Bay since 1993, with initial efforts at Anderson Hill and Uplands Park and spanning in the years since as far as Mary Tod Island and the Trial Islands Ecological Reserve.

B次元官网网址淎rguably, weB次元官网网址檝e got the best nature in urban Canada,B次元官网网址� said Sirois. B次元官网网址淲e live in a special place, so it needs special attention.B次元官网网址�

He does not intend for the cleared bluff to become open to the public, noting there are already enough coastal access points and that the area is being restored for its own benefit.

While most passersby have been supportive, some have reacted negatively and taken down signs provided by the district. Others are doubtful the project will ever be finished.

Sirois remains hopeful, having helped restore a marsh near his school in Quebec City when he was 12 and seen the benefit of his work for later generations.

B次元官网网址淜eep your judgement until 2031,B次元官网网址� he said with a smile.

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