Caledon’s Invasive Species Program – Successfully facing threats as they come

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August 20, 2024 (CALEDON, ON) – In the spring of 2021, like much of Ontario, Caledon was encountering a wave of an invasive species known as the spongy moth caterpillar. It was not unusual that year to see these caterpillars crawling up the sides of trees, houses, garages and decks, feasting on the leaves of trees and impacting the health of our tree population. Aimed at limiting the impact, and with a Council-approved budget, the Town established our Invasive Species Program to manage the impacts of reoccurring spongy moth outbreaks. The new program was poised to face this threat, and others, much more prepared and positioned to be proactive.

“As part of this initiative, my position was created and I was hired on to oversee the program, through our Parks and Forestry division,” said Jodi Elchyshyn, Invasive Species Coordinator. “Spongy moth was the main focus early on and we worked with several departments, including Service Caledon and Communications, to develop a strong campaign to help mitigate the impact spongy moth made in our community.”

The spongy moth campaign spanned the full calendar year of 2022, with several different tactics used along the way, including:

  • Collaborating with Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), and the Peel Urban Forestry Working Group;
  • Handing out of Burlap Bands to help protect trees;
  • Ground spraying and biopesticide injections on Town-owned trees;
  • Sticky barrier bands installed on Town-owned trees;
  • Egg mass scraping;
  • Development of a tracking form and interactive map for residents to report spongy moth in various life stages;
  • Video introducing the coordinator and highlighting our 2022 planned efforts;
  • Social media campaign, and more.

The efforts were timely, as they, along with a drop in moth population, helped to limit outbreaks in 2023, and as a result reporting of the moth reduced significantly.

New threats were on the horizon, however, and in response the focus over the past two years has been on other forest pests and invasive plants.

Forest Pests

  • Early detection monitoring was initiated to watch for invasive forest pests posing a large concern for the province, but not yet in Caledon, such as hemlock woolly adelgid and spotted lanternfly.
  • Increasing early detection of forest pests in Caledon such as invasive aphids on street trees.
  • Updating Caledon’s urban tree inventory to better understand host distribution and potential hot spots for future infestations.
    • Over 6,000 trees have been inventoried since June of this year, providing essential information for invasive species monitoring and for better understanding our urban tree canopy and natural asset management.

Invasive Plants

  •  2023 priority was to inventory the Caledon Trailway for invasive plants.
    • Working with TRCA and CVC,13 priority species were identified for Caledon.
    • All 35km of the trailway were inventoried for priority plants.
  • On-the-ground management of priority invasive species along the trailway was initiated in 2024
    • Successful receipt of funding from the Invasive Species Action Fund has aided 2024 plant management, which allowed Caledon to expand management efforts.
    • Caledon continues to work along with the conservation authorities, focussing on managing invasive Phragmites, Japanese knotweed and oriental bittersweet on the Caledon Trailway.
  • 2024 has also seen the expansion of Caledon’s invasive plant inventory along Town road rights-of-way. As of late July, all major Caledon-owned roads have been inventoried for invasive Phragmites, as well as some early detection of Japanese knotweed and wild parsnip.
  • Expanding our inventory to park lands and more trail networks has also begun, using the same 13 priority species identified on the Caledon Trailway.
    • To date, over 1,600 occurrences of prioritized invasive plant species have been inventoried on Town property, in addition to the 2,000+ occurrences mapped by the conservation authorities on the Caledon Trailway.

These efforts directly support actions highlighted in the Resilient Caledon – Community Climate Change Action Plan, specifically to protect Caledon’s natural and agricultural lands, and to work with conservation authorities to manage priority invasive species.

Community Efforts

Efforts are continuously being made to provide education and awareness to the public on invasive species:

  • Consultation with residents during invasive species related service requests.
  • Program representation at the information booth at the 2024 Caledon Home Show.
  • Invasive Species booth at 2024 Tree Seedling pick-up day.
  • Continuously updating our Trees & Yards webpage, providing helpful information on current threats to watch for.

Increased community involvement is planned for the future, involving volunteers and more invasive pulling events.

“Our Invasive Species Program team has done an excellent job of addressing threats and pivoting to manage emerging threats as well,” said Jeremy Johnson, Manager of Parks and Forestry. “Invasive species is an evolving field, and it’s important that the Town continue to increase its efforts both to manage these threats, but to also inform residents of those efforts and ways they can manage threats on their properties.”

Advice for Residents

  • Increase your awareness
    • Learn how to identify invasive species, and how they may impact you and your property.
    • Our Trees and Yards page has some profiles on some invasive pests/plants and links to existing resources.
    • The earlier you identify an invasive species, the easier it is to prevent it and manage it on your property.
  • Report Invasive Species
  • Garden with plants that are native to the area or Ontario
    • Many invasive plants are available in garden centers even today, do your research and increase your native plant coverage in your gardens – the pollinators will also thank you.
    • Check out existing resources such as the Grow Me Instead Guide.
    • Don’t dump garden waste in natural areas.
  • Don’t move firewood
    • Invasive forest pests can live and spread in firewood.
    • Buy local, burn local.

How Caledon's Invasive Species Program is Facing Threats as They Come