Student Volunteer Restoration of Cunningham Woods

March 2, 2013 Cunningham Woods student restoration project and a large pile of Holly and Ivy that was removed.

In March of 2013, student volunteers at the University of Victoria engaged in restoration of Cunningham Woods, a small 1 acre forested area on campus. What is significant about Cunningham Woods is that the University planned to build on the site in 2000, but it was saved by a vigorous publicity and lobbying campaign and a freeze on development was placed. However, that freeze could be lifted in 2013 as the University reviews it's Campus Plan (http://web.uvic.ca/vpfin/campusplan/). By involving students in restoration activities in Cunningham Woods, raising the awareness of the ecosystems on campus, it is hoped the University will consider putting a moratorium on development of all natural areas and focus on already developed areas (ie. existing surface parking lots).

Cunningham Woods, UVic Campus Plan, 2003, pg. 19

The UVic Restoration Club's (http://web.uvic.ca/~nature/) on-campus restoration program was initiated in September 2012 to provide opportunities for all students to participate in restoration of natural areas on UVic's campus. The first project was a work party to remove invasive Daphne (Daphne laureola) in an area known as Haro Woods and involved a small group of six students for three hours. Since the beginning of January 2013, the recruitment of student volunteers has grown and the Cunningham Woods project was created. The project comprises over a dozen student volunteers over three Saturdays in March, as well as the participation of over 40 students from an ES341 Ecological Restoration class.

The goals of the Cunningham Woods restoration project are:

1. to remove English Ivy (Hedera Helix) from the trunks of Arbutus (Arbutus menziesii), Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and the Provincially red-listed endangered Garry Oak (Quercus garryana);
2. to remove, as much as possible, English Ivy growing on the ground;
3. to remove Holly (Ilex aquifolium), which is present in abundance;
4. to remove Daphne  were present (infrequent).

For more  info on these invasive species, see the Municipality of Saanich's website (http://www.saanich.ca/living/natural/stewardship/invasive.html?ref=shortURL)

Two volunteers removing Ivy from the ground at Cunningham Woods, March 2, 2013.

Three aspects of the student volunteer project have come together to grow this group.

1. Using existing knowledge - several student project reports have been done on the natural areas on campus (see website: http://web.uvic.ca/enweb/undergraduate/courses.php#ES_341) These reports identify existing issues and provide researched recommendations. These papers represent ready-to-go projects, so a limited amount of planning and research was required in determining what to do for restoration activities.

2. Communicating and recruiting - utilizing existing groups to spread the word to students made recruitment much easier. The Restoration Club and Environmental Studies Student Association (http://web.uvic.ca/~essa/) both have extensive e-mail lists and weekly updates that publicized the work party dates. Recruiting at events, like the UVic Environmental Round Table and UVic Club Days also generated awareness of the project.

3. Engagement - Outreach included Faculty members who taught restoration and who agreed to involve their class in the project. Also, the University's Facilities Management department were consulted and agreed to allow students to participate in invasive species removal. One member of the Facilities Management crew came and demonstrated invasive species removal techniques to the group leaders prior to the project commencement.

A student works at removing Ivy from the ground at Cunningham Woods, March 2, 2013.

One of the team leaders, Morgan Davies submitted a grant application to the UVic Sustainability Project for the purchase of tools and gloves to support the project. We were fortunate to receive a $125 grant to equip the team. This meant we could provide gloves and tools for about 12 people for each work party.

Another of the team leaders, Shannon Charlebois works as a Residence Advisor at the South Tower Residence. The residents of the South Tower building are required to sign an environmental living pledge to engage in positive environmental action.

The three student team leaders were able to organize with the benefit of templates for organizing a work party from Earth Corps., a Seattle non-profit restoration group (www.earthcorps.org). These outlined the pre-event, event and post-event logistics, including covering what information to communicate to volunteers to ensure a safe and fun event.

A large pile of Ivy and Holly that was removed beside an Arbutus tree in Cunningham Woods, March 2, 2013.

One of the overall goals of the organizers was to keep the work party commitments manageable for students - only requiring 3 hours during a Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm during the end of term allows for a stress-busting activity that doesn't conflict with class time or eat into other responsibilities (papers and exams). Rather than set an overly ambitious goal for the group, by keeping the objectives tailored to students, far more students were able to participate and thus, more work was accomplished than might have been!

Removing Ivy from the trunks of trees in Cunningham Woods, March 2, 2013.

Looking ahead to next semester, UVic Facilities Management is interested in further collaboration with student volunteers to combat invasive species in natural areas. With the growth of the restoration group in numbers, a  collection of tools and resources, and education and commitment from team leaders, a sustainable base for restoration of natural areas on campus has been established to do future projects. A separate initiative has been formed to work on a submission for the Campus Plan to promote the preservation and restoration of natural areas on campus.

A cleared section of ground in Cunningham Woods, March 9, 2013.