News Release Archive
YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS--YOUTH STOP PURPLE INVASION!
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Four youth are working this summer with the Nova Scotia Youth
Conservation Corps in the Cheticamp area to stop the spread of
the purple loosestife.
The purple loosestrife is a deceivingly beautiful flower of
European origin that invades and eventually destroys ponds,
stream banks, lakeshores and ditches.
In fact, any water body that receives even one seed may
eventually become choked out by this beautiful killer. Given the
fact that each plant produces about 2.7 million seeds annually,
it is difficult to limit its spread. The purple loosestrife
problem is further compounded since it has no indigenous
predators in Canada.
Clayton LeVert, Sandra LeFort, Denise Chiasson and Jean Pierre
Larade will be locating and then destroying the weed in the
Cheticamp area under the guidance of the staff at the Cape Breton
Highlands National Park.
"The weed has spread a lot further than we had expected," says
Jean Pierre, "But we've been giving out lots of information to
the public, so hopefully our work can continue even after the
summer."
The Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps is a program of the Nova
Scotia Department of the Environment. It is designed to provide
meaningful employment for young people aged 17-24 while providing
valuable services to Nova Scotian Communities.
The team will also be managing a recycling program at the park
and offering environmental education workshops throughout the
summer.
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Contact: Alexandra Widmer 902-424-8207
Gordon Delaney 902-224-2490
trp July 23, 1996 - 9:25 a.m.
