Vancouver Island volunteers battle against invasive Scotch broom
Bev Agur says that motivation for clearing broom could be social as many people are allergic to the plant, or ecological as it pushes out native species, or even safety focused as broom heightens risks of wildfires. Photo: Heather Watson / CHLY 101.7 FM
BroomBusters are on a mission to clear Vancouver Island of the invasive plant Scotch broom. Bev Agur is the coordinator of the Comox Valley branch, and has been part of this volunteer effort for fifteen years.
“Scotch broom is a very invasive plant. It's not native to Vancouver Island or even to Canada at all. It was brought here in the mid-1800s by a well-meaning Scot, and what you see all over the island started with three broom plants that were brought to some place near Sooke,” Agur explained. “So there's no natural controls for it here. It takes over. It's very highly flammable because it has a very high oil content, so it's a fire risk. It chokes out native plants. It looks kind of pretty when the flowers [are] in bloom, but after that, it's scraggly and really shouldn't be here at all.”
Agur said the plant can be easily spotted along roadways, with its bright yellow flowers standing out.
“If we cut plants when they're in bloom, most of the energy's in the flowers, so the plant is at its weakest. And we're going into the dry summer, and so the plant will die if we cut it right at ground level,” she said.
Agur explained that if cut above ground level, the plant reacts as though being pruned and sends out many more branches. For the roots to die, it must be cut right at the root, while in flower, and before it goes to seed.
“So there's about a six week window that we're busy cutting broom,” she said.
The group works with local municipalities to clear broom from public spaces, like parks and trails. Volunteer BroomBusters gather to cut the plants at their roots, and the city, township, village or regional district comes along after to gather it up.
Agur said that so far this year they have been cutting for three weeks, and will keep going until the end of May. While she doesn’t think the island will ever be fully free of the invasive plant, she does see success in the efforts made the past 15 years.
“Some places where we've cut broom, there is no broom at all. So there are seeds that land in the ground and the seeds can live for a long time, but broom needs sun to grow. So if there's other things growing, salal, good grass cover, shade from trees, the seeds won't germinate,” she said. “So it's heartening for me to see places where we've cut broom and there is none, or where there's a lot less than there used to be. You know, I could be overwhelmed by how much broom there is, but I can— I know where there used to be broom and there isn't.”
Agur said that one challenge the group faces in the endless annual battle against broom is the need for more hands on deck.
“Some of our volunteers started with us 15 years ago and they're not as physically able as they were, so we're always trying to get more volunteers to work with us. I think that would probably be our biggest challenge that we have. The more volunteers, the more we can cut,” she said.
Agur said that motivation for clearing broom could be social, as many people are allergic to the plant, or ecological, as it pushes out native species, or even safety focused, as broom heightens risks of wildfires.
“I think we should all care about our community and we should try to make our community as safe as it can be and allow native plants to grow,” she said.
Anyone interested in joining the efforts, whether in the Comox Valley or other communities up and down the island, can find more information online.
Agur demonstrates how to correctly remove broom: for the roots to die it must be cut right at ground level, while in flower, and before it goes to seed. Photo: Heather Watson / CHLY 101.7 FM
“If you go to the Broom Busters website, which is broombusters.org, and click on the Comox Valley link, you can either contact me through the email that's listed there, [or] it also lists all the places where we'll be cutting broom coming up, so you can look at that and come and join us,” Agur said.
This Saturday, May 17th, the group will be cutting broom at No. 1 Japanese Town in Cumberland from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
“And you don't have to come at the beginning, you don't have to stay the whole time. Just anytime in there,” she said.
When the community comes together to bust broom, Agur sees hope for the island ecosystem.
“Will we ever get rid of all of it? No. But if we can get it out of our public areas, that would be great. And if people can take responsibility for Broom on their own property, that's even better,” Agur said.
Editor’s note: The location for the May 17th volunteer event has been updated.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada. Reporting done in the Comox Valley is done in partnership with CVOX.