City of Nanaimo to look at banning the sale of invasive plants

James Graham (pictured) said having a bylaw banning invasive species from plant nurseries and stores is a great idea. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

As invasive species cause harm to native ecosystems around the world, on a local level, the City of Nanaimo is looking at banning the sale and distribution of certain invasive plants.

At a governance and priorities committee meeting on Monday, June 23, recommendations were made that city council direct staff to draft a bylaw prohibiting the sale and distribution within city limits of specific species identified by the Invasive Plant Council of BC.

This comes as a staff report found that several invasive plants, such as Scotch Broom, Daphne, English Ivy, and Himalayan blackberry, grow rapidly in the city, impacting native ecosystems. 

Hunter Jarratt, a local ecological restoration consultant and conservationist, spoke with CHLY about the importance of curbing the spread of invasive species in the community.

Jarratt said invasive plants have taken over many parts of Nanaimo’s outdoors. During his over-the-phone interview, he could spot several different invasives from his parked car

“I'm actually looking at quite a few. I'm looking at Queen Anne's lace, common tansy, Scotch broom,” Jarratt said.

Jarratt said that while invasive species come into different communities in different ways, a new bylaw banning the sale and distribution of the plants will help.

“We are managing invasive species. They are present, they are spreading, and them being commercially available is just one source of introduction,” he said. “But the horticultural trade in general is where all of these new invasive species are coming from. So well, it won't address every single invasive species; there's kind of a set list that we're able to regulate. It's a great start.”

Along with drafting a new bylaw, the committee recommended that council direct staff to work with local garden retailers and the community to organize public awareness campaigns about native and non-invasive alternatives and how to properly dispose of invasive plant waste.

Public awareness around invasive plants, Jarratt said, is another huge key in stopping the introduction of invasive plants into different ecosystems.

“There are these volunteer opt-in programs where organizations, retailers, and nurseries can opt in to say, ‘hey, we're not going to sell or distribute invasive species.’ But they only work if those businesses actually opt in to those programs,” he said. “As somebody who's done that work and engaged with the community, and I've heard from many people who have talked to managers and owners of various establishments, it's clear that we're not getting enough buy-in. So this is going to be a huge piece that helps fill in that gap.”

Jarratt said stores may still be selling invasive plants because they have customers wanting to buy the plants, not knowing the impacts it could have on local ecosystems.

“So some nurseries, there's people buying them, so it's a product–they're going to have it available if they're legally allowed to do it,” Jarratt said. “There's money to be made, and that's kind of the end for that.”

Along with plants, he also mentions seed mixes that are also sold in stores, where the seed mixes might feature seeds from invasive plants. He gives examples of foxgloves and bachelor's buttons as invasives commonly found in seed mixes.

Councillor Hilary Eastmure originally brought up the idea for the bylaw back in March of this year. 

“I was participating in a lot of work parties to remove invasive plants, and I was also hearing from people, both volunteers and people who work as experts in the invasive species removal business, and they were expressing that so much time and money is being put into trying to remove invasives and and fighting this at the ground level,” Eastmure said. “But what's really needed is to also go upstream and to stop these invasive plants from getting into the environment in the first place.”

She said many of the work parties would involve the removal of English ivy, daphne, and Scotch broom.

“So the English ivy is climbing up trees and choking them out, and the spurge-laurel, or daphne, is covering the ground and blocking out the sunlight and killing off our native species on the ground floor of the forest,” she said. “Then, of course, Scotch broom, you'll see it blooming all along the highways with the yellow flowers.”

She said banning the sale and distribution of invasive plants is one important tool for the city to have to help slow the growth of invasives. She adds she is in favour of seeing the province step in and do a province-wide ban on the sale of the plants

“We can only do so much as a municipal government, but I do think it's important for us to lead the way and to show that we're on board by doing what we can locally,” Eastmure said. “But it's always about also pressuring the province to step up and do their part, because these invasive plants don't understand municipal boundaries, and so really, we need a provincial approach to these things.”

James Graham is the owner of Birdie and Bees Garden located on Bowen Road. He thinks having a bylaw banning invasive species from plant nurseries and stores is a great idea. 

“It's definitely a problem that needs to be taken into consideration, and it's something that we take into consideration already in our buying, so it's not something that we bring in by and large, we try and avoid the invasive species whenever,” Graham said.

Graham said it is important for local plant sellers to watch what they bring into the community.

“Just being in the industry, there is a knowledge base that you're expected to have,” Graham said. “We're introducing things into the environment, so we're aware of what's available in the marketplace and what to avoid, not just because of the [Invasive Plant Council of BC], but from being active nature lovers too.”

Birdie and Bees Garden opened in March of this year, and Graham said they made the conscious decision when they first opened to avoid buying invasive species in the first place. 

“You have to make a conscious effort not to bring in, even though people are asking for them, things that particularly come into mind, things like periwinkle, things like ivy, those are really detrimental to our environment,” Graham said. “They escape captivity very easily. So it's a conscious decision not to bring those in and to allow them for a selection in the first place.”

So while a ban wouldn’t have a large impact on their store, Graham said change will be good for the industry, and plant shop owners and customers need to make more conscious choices.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.