Saugeen Shores council is hoping to chase off geese that have become a nuisance at the Port Elgin waterfront.
Council has tentatively approved $15,000 in the draft budget for tree and shrub plantings along the grassy areas of the harbour, hoping to deter the dozens of geese that have populated the area.
Director of Community Services Jayne Jagelewski says the idea is to make the waterfront less attractive for geese.
"Geese don't particularly like plantings and we're looking at increasing our planting program to assist with keeping geese, I guess I'll say at bay, as opposed to around the harbour on the grass space," says Jagelewski. "So that particular area, we'd like to do some plantings in order to keep the geese off the grass."
Jagelewski cautions the plan will not bring about immediate results, adding the plantings will need time to mature.
Councillor Dave Myette says the plan is not likely to work, pointing out the geese at the waterfront are so used to people, they no longer see humans as a threat.
He says the way to get rid of geese -- short of culling them -- is to make them feel threatened.
"The use of firecrackers or those types of things are used on golf courses all the time with great effectiveness, [geese] understand those measures," says Myette. "I'm not going to say we should go out and kill them, but that's what teaches them to be afraid of people out in the wild."
Myette points out the breakwall at the Port Elgin harbour was recently closed off to pedestrians due to structural concerns, adding that will likely become an ideal nesting spot for geese without people to disturb them.
