July 4, 2024

Written by Chelsea Nuez

The HAT field crew had the opportunity to join Islands Trust Conservancy for three fun days of invasive species removal on SDȺY¸ES (Pender Island)! It was such a treat to visit different covenants and contribute to the stewardship of these special areas. 

Beginning in an oceanside wetland removing seed pods from a dense yellow flag iris patch, the crew worked in several different ecosystem types removing a variety of invasive species - wetland, coastal douglas fir forest, coastal meadows, and garry oak meadows. It was inspiring to visit sites where restoration efforts have been ongoing for many years, and exciting to be able to look back at our work and see the positive impact that our crew was able to make in a short amount of time. 

Some highlights for the team included seeing native prickly pear cactus flowers for our first time, hearing the chirps of river otters communicating with each other as they swam by the coastal work site, and working with new species - but of course the real treasure was the friends we made along the way :)