Treed Buffer Planted on Pittock Conservation Area鈥檚 South Shore (UTRCA weekly, December 16, 2022)
Pittock Reservoir鈥檚 south shore has a new treed buffer, planted by 糖心直播 (UTRCA) staff and school students over the past four years. The buffer is approximately 50 metre wide and 600 m long, and flanks Pittock鈥檚 South Shore Trail and the Lampman-Lock Drain on UTRCA land. The buffer roughly follows the regulation limit, meaning all flood susceptible land is now retired from agriculture.
Buffering watercourses with native plants helps to filter pollutants in runoff, prevent erosion, and provide wildlife corridors. In 2019, two local school groups planted the first section of the buffer through the UTRCA鈥檚 Communities for Nature program. In 2020-2022, UTRCA forestry staff machine planted the remainder of the buffer. Staff鈥檚 family members helped with some of the tree planting during the pandemic.
The species planted include oaks, hickories, White Pine, Sycamore, Tamarack, Black Cherry, and Tulip Tree. In 2021, eight Butternut seedlings were added. The tree survival rate has been very good so far. Staff will maintain the site with mowing and spraying for another couple of years until the trees are tall enough to out-compete the weeds. This project increases the area鈥檚 biodiversity and assists the UTRCA with its environmental target of planting and restoring 1500 hectares of vegetation by 2037. The project was funded by a private donor as well as grants from Forests Ontario and the Clean Water Program.
