“We went in exactly where the data was showing there were high levels of buckthorn from our sampling,” said professor Paul Mensink, director of the MES program, adding that the project provides an opportunity for learning, with practical applications. They took that data back to the classroom and analyzed it spatially to know where to target their efforts. This past September, the students conducted ecological sampling of buckthorn in the area to prioritize a location for its removal. Students worked together pulling and digging out buckthorn shrubs of a small diameter, flagging larger ones, which were removed with chainsaws by a Landscape Services crew.

The bust happened along the forested area of the Thames River behind the practice fields across from the FIMS/Nursing building on Lambton Drive, in collaboration with Landscape Services and Western Sustainability, as a project within the unit’s ‘Campus as a Living Lab’ initiative. Armed with shovels, shears and a lot of enthusiasm, students in the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) program took part in a ‘Buckthorn Bust’ earlier this week.