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LET’S CELEBRATE a WINNING PARTNERSHIP:![]()
Severn Sound Environmental Assoc. (SSEA) and Copeland Friends’![]()
Garlic Mustard (GM) Project![]()
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For five years the Severn Sound Environmental Association (SSEA) has joined with teams in the Copeland Forest to remove and control the spread of Garlic Mustard (GM).![]()
This year when Patrick Jackson, Invasive Species Coordinator for SSEA, arrived with two McGill and Lakehead summer students at the 5 B’s upper trail, a massive shoutout of joy and relief rang out. ![]()
After a record winter snowfall and shovelling roofs, then an![]()
unprecedented ice storm with ensuing chain sawing and cleanup, their youthful energy and outlook was especially welcome.![]()
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Honestly Garlic Mustard was very slow to appear this spring. Did it react to the cold spring? Maybe it gave up after its record crop last year and our gigantic pulling effort?![]()
Who knows, but by late May and early June 2025 the invasive Garlic Mustard plants shot up enough to declare: ![]()
1) Patrick Brown, winner of the largest bunch of flowering GM plants pulled.![]()
2) SSEA summer staff\ students winners of filling the Purple Star compost bin with GM plants before they burst their seed pods, ![]()
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Preservation of Copeland’s exceptional diversity of native plants is a goal of the Garlic Mustard Project. Insects, birds, amphibians rely on their specific native host plants for food and shelter. When volunteers pull the Garlic Mustard plant out by the root, they prevent its root from creating a chemical wasteland in the soil.![]()
A small sample of the amphibian diversity we found while pulling GM one morning with SSEA:![]()
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American Toad - Anaxyrus americanus ![]()
Wood Frog - Lithobates sylvaticus ![]()
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We also had the Spring Peeper - Pseudacris crucifer. Too shy for the camera though. Red eft newt, our mascot, did not appear this year for any team. Birds, too many to list or see, but Patrick’s rendition of their songs helped us recognize them. ![]()
Thank you all. The Forest would not be as vibrant without your help.![]()
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Margaret Kennedy![]()
Coordinator of the GM Project for the Copeland Forest Friends![]()
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PS: If you would like to learn more about the Copeland’s animals and plants, keep the Garlic Mustard Project in mind for next spring.
Learn how to help with the biological inventory being conducted in the Copeland Forest.![]()
Tuesday June 17th (7PM) at Jarret Hall.
GEORGIAN BAY HUNTERS AND ANGLERS, THEIR YOUTH CONSERVATION GROUP AND COPELAND FOREST FRIENDS GIVE GARLIC MUSTARD THE BOOT ![]()
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Keeping their eyes on the prize, the Georgian Bay Hunters and Anglers (GBHA) and their Youth Conservation Group hit the ground running mid May, partnering with the Copeland Forest Friends to remove Garlic Mustard (GM) from the most biodiverse areas.![]()
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Goal of both groups is to involve young people in learning how to protect the natural environment through a dynamic, hands-on project. To watch these young people pull, pull, pull toxic Garlic Mustard out by the root before the plant releases harmful chemicals into the earth; and, before it matures to create hundreds of seeds is inspiring.![]()
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Thank you, GBHA, for your long-term commitment (five years) to the Copeland Friend’s Garlic Mustard Project. As a result of your dedication, you and others have kept Garlic Mustard from advancing further into the forest. In fact this year, we enjoyed more spring wildflowers and tree seedlings than ever before. All because we are reducing the density of GM.![]()
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Get your trail runners geared up and we’ll see you next year!
ANNOUCEMENT![]()
Great News! A Benefactor recently contacted the CFFA to offer assistance in the cleanup of the trails in the Copeland Forest. Our trail fairies and volunteers have done a HUGE amount of work clearing all of the single track trails. We are left with some significant trees still down along the double tracks areas in the Uplands. ![]()
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This Monday, June 2nd an arborist and their team will be heading into the forest to clear the remaining damage in the Uplands area. We received approval from the MNR for a single rubber tracked vehicle to assist in this work. They will enter from the Nordic Centre and proceed along the double track in the following manner:![]()
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Post 32 - 33 - 34 - 36 (they will go up Fox Run and clear trees and double back from there) - 37 - 38 - 40 - 17 - 16 (most of the clearing will occur here) - 15 - 14 -13 -19 - 18 -17 -18 - 39 -38 - 37 and then back out the way they came. ![]()
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We expect this work to take 2-3 days and ask that you keep clear of these areas as much as possible. They will be attending to the deadfall and widow makers they find along the route. Most of the lowland double track survived quite well. We have funds left over to clear one off widow makers over the next few months. Announcements will be made when those are being done. ![]()
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We would like to thank our incredible community of volunteers and trail fairies, the MNR, Horseshoe Resort and finally a generous donation from a member of the community who recognized that our Forest and the ability for the community to enjoy is paramount to our mental health and physical conditioning.
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Download our map of all the major trails in the Copeland Forest
Copeland Forest Friends
The Copeland Forest is a 4,400 acre Resource Management Area in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada, owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests.The size, beauty, and unfettered use of the forest by a wide variety of recreational users inspired an initiative to conserve the natural integrity of the forest and facilitate compatible recreational use.
In October 2015 the Copeland Forest Friends Association formed a Non-Profit Corporation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the MNRF, and began offering memberships. The organization has been structured to ensure that all of the major recreational user groups are represented equally. There are many ways to join us including becoming a member, volunteering, making a donation, and signing up for our newsletter. We look forward to seeing you in the forest!
