It's Himalayan Balsam yanking season. Wanna help?

The Sault Ste. Marie SSM Himalayan Balsam Community Project officially kicked off on Tuesday with the first local invasive plant pull event of the season.

A collaborative effort that includes a number local partners, the project is in its second year and takes a community approach to trying to limit the growing number of Himalayan balsam plants locally.

“Himalayan balsam is an annual invasive plant with seeds that can last for 18 months. These community events help to significantly reduce the number of plants and can contribute to eradication,” said Derissa Vincentini, Community Science Coordinator of the Invasive Species Centre. “We are already seeing significantly fewer stems come up this year, demonstrating the success of last year’s efforts. We also saw more people come out to the invasive plant pull, which is encouraging to see. The more community members that get involved, the greater the chance we have at successfully managing Himalayan balsam across Sault Ste. Marie.” 

The first pull brought together community members, neighbours, and local organizations leading to 20 volunteers and 15 bags of Himalayan balsam removed from Clark Creek Creekside.  

This year, there are target locations in the Sault that will be focused on as well, including Drake St. Park, Mike Zuke Park, East End Park, Bellevue Park, and Lakeshore Drive in Red Rock.

Including public pull events, the public can also report if they pull the plant from their own yards by using an online form. 

Other planned events in the area include:

• Lake Huron North - July 19, noon to 4 p.m. at Drake Street Park in the east end
• Lake Huron North and Kensington Conservancy - July 24, 10 a.m. to noon on Kensington Road in Desberats 
• Clean North – July 27, 9:30 a.m. to noon at Mike Zuke Park in Bayview 
• Science North – Youth-focused with additional activities at Bellevue Park during the week of Aug. 12-16 
• Sault Naturalist – Aug. 27, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at East End Park