Rapids Parkway residents are invited to participate in a virtual community consultation session this week.
Plans to improve the green space on the north side of Berger Road from Modeland Road to The Rapids Parkway will be shared.
Degroot's Nurseries was asked by the City of Sarnia to come up with ideas to improve the area and collaborate with neighbours.
Owner John Degroot updated council on their progress at Sarnia council's September 9 meeting, showing photos of areas of concern in his presentation.
"This spot has become somewhat of an overgrown mess," Degroot told council. "There's invasive weeds that are in there, there's crown vetch in there, there's thistles in there. We're actually seeing a little bit of phragmites growing in there."
Degroot said the area had been identified as a safety hazard.
"You're going to get burrs in there. So, when the dog runs in there to grab the frisbee, he's going to get burrs. And of course the other issues that's come up in the last decade or so, is the abundance of ticks in a spot like that," he said.
Degroot said introducing a native landscape into a non-native environment is challenging.
"The issue, of course, is that homeowners take pride in their own gardens. They cut the grass, they keep the weeds out and they would really like that level of maintenance for their entire neighbourhood," Degroot added.
He said the existing mini-forest has received the most criticism.
"The challenges for a mini-forest is that it really is difficult to keep the invasive plants out," said Degroot. "It's a little bit unsightly, it's prone to debris, thistles, (and) ticks. So, if it is a bit of an obvious mess, then when somebody walks by with a water bottle they're likely to throw it in, because it's a mess there anyway."
He recommends cleaning up the existing neglected area, planting grass and moving trees to adjacent areas.
The session will be held on October 3 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.
Those interested in joining are asked to register by emailing social@degroots.ca to get an invitation.
