Volunteers to tackle invasive weed at nature preserve

Volunteers will descend upon the Kingston Peninsula Saturday to try to help stop a stubborn weed from invading the Shampers Bluff Nature Preserve.

The woodland angelica, also known as wild angelica, is a fast-growing and fast-spreading perennial plant that can quickly take over large areas.

The robust weed, which resembles Queen Anne’s Lace with white umbrella-like flower heads, has taken hold along the St. John River over the past few years.

It is a member of the celery family and has a thick stalk with prominent leaf sheaths. It grows over a metre tall and is six- to eight-feet deep along some of the roads in Kingston.

"It looks like The Day of the Triffids," joked George Young, referring to the post-apocalyptic novel about aggressive plants taking over the world.

Getting rid of the woodland angelica can be back-breaking work, said Young, who, along with his wife Colleen, has been battling the unwanted plant for some time.

"The best thing to do it to pull it out. But it's a tremendous job to do that," he said.

The weed spreads by its roots as well as by its seeds in late summer and it's steadily closing in on the Shampers Bluff Nature Preserve, threatening natural ecosystems.

"If there's woodland angelica … on our site, we're particularly concerned because we want the native vegetation to be able to establish throughout the habitat there," said Shawna Wallace, of the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The nature preserve, which is more than 100 hectares, contains a rich diversity of habitats, such as white cedar and hemlock stands, rugged escarpments and rocky shoreline.

According to the New Brunswick Invasive Species Council, unless the species is controlled, it could spread throughout Canada, overwhelming other vegetation.

Volunteers will use shovels and other tools to get rid of the weeds, said Wallace.

Anyone who wants to help is asked to pre-register online, or call the Nature Conservancy of Canada in Fredericton.