Through Paul Abell’s relationship with the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust, A Rocha participates in the environmental stewardship of the charity’s StarCliff Nature Reserve in King Township. The ecologically unique property is situated in Ontario’s Greenbelt, part of the Moraine’s Natural Core Area‎ and protected in perpetuity (999 years) as a nature reserve.

Legal protection, though, doesn’t always result in conservation. A key priority for restoring and maintaining biodiversity at StarCliff has been the control of invasive plants, especially garlic mustard, common buckthorn and dog-strangling vine. Efforts to control their spread in the Nature Reserve started in 2010, and today there are positive and encouraging results.

This is not always the case with these aggressive species. It is likely they may never be completely eradicated. However with science-informed stewardship their negative impacts can be reduced, especially in StarCliff’s Humber and Holland River watersheds. There can be transformation of these places back into life-giving ecosystems for God’s creatures (including us humans) who live in and depend on them.

Visit our GTA events page to find out how to get involved with Community Conservation in the StarCliff Nature Reserve & more places!

Top photo: Volunteer Jim Purvis removing garlic mustard.