Woodland restoration provides food, habitat for wildlife

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/whidden woodland edited.jpg” caption=”Grounds crew members Bill Fisher, Fred Bene, Jim Doek, Luke Vlatkovic, Shawn Fleming, Gary Moscardini and Ratko Jelic spent a week planting more than 400 native trees and shrubs behind Whidden Hall in early November. Photo by Susan Bubak.”]McMaster's campus is a little greener, thanks to the efforts of grounds manager Barb Rabicki and the grounds crew, who planted more than 400 native trees and shrubs on the slope behind Whidden Hall as part of a woodland restoration project.

In early November, several grounds crew members spent a week planting the trees and shrubs, which include sugar maple, butternut, cherry birch and elderberry. The mild weather made the planting easier and will help the saplings become established before winter.

“We're always looking to diversify the trees and shrubs on campus,” said Rabicki. “Insects tend to go for specific species of trees, so that's why we grow a diverse urban forest on campus to mitigate the risk of a large percentage of forest being one or two species and prevent an infestation of pests.” The plants chosen for the area are either non-existent or not prevalent on campus.

Rabicki said it was more cost-effective to buy the plants near the end of the fall season when the plants are removed from the field and placed in cold storage for the winter. The project was estimated to cost up to $30,000, but the actual cost was only $9,000 because the plants had not yet been repotted for the spring.

The plants will provide wildlife with a source of food and habitat. The mulch used to prevent erosion on the slope was made of wood chips and leaves collected from other parts of campus.

Rabicki said the area contains plants that would not be suitable elsewhere on campus. For example, trees that bear seeds or nuts cannot be planted on campus because they pose a safety hazard to pedestrians who could slip.

A fence has been installed around the area to protect the plants from pedestrians. The fence will remain in place for the next two years until the plants have matured.