Bucks for Bellflowers: Calgary man offers cash for bagging invasive plant
A Calgary man is offering a cash reward to neighbours who dig up a bag full of Creeping Bellflower.
Simon Wilson, who lives in West Hillhurst, is paying $5 per garbage bag of the invasive plant, which is overrunning lawns and gardens in the community.
"I started seeing it in my lawn and in our front planter boxes," he said.
"You pick it before it flowers, like you're trying to do the best you can, and then, two months later, the next year, you're like, 'It's on the other side of the lawn now.'
"I found myself becoming more frustrated. Walking around the community, it's everywhere. I thought instead of being powerless to its spread, let's do something as a community."
Wilson has set aside $1,000 to pay West Hillhurst residents for their work, and says he's had two people cash in so far.
"If you show me a picture of a regular household garbage bag, I'll put five bucks in your mailbox."
Wilson says the first two people to take him up on the offer told him to donate the money to the food bank instead of paying them.
Creeping Bellflower has sprouted throughout Calgary, but has yet to flower and seed.Creeping Bellflower, a noxious weed, is seen in a Calgary yard.
Once that happens, each stem of the plant can produce up to 15,000 seeds.
Even getting rid of it before it seeds is difficult, because of the way it spreads.
The Alberta Invasive Species Council website lists Creeping Bellflower as a noxious weed, and says on a fact sheet that digging out as much of the roots system as possible can be successful, but will require "several years’ effort."
"Hand-pulling or cutting and bagging flower spikes pre-bloom can be an option for preventing seed production. However, the plant will re-sprout from its creeping root system."
Adding to the problem is the fact that Creepping Bellflower is a pretty plant when it blooms, and many people do not recognize it as a weed until it’s too late.
Creeping Bellflower is pretty but noxious.The City of Calgary warns that Creeping Bellflower seeds are sometimes even found in wildflower mixes, and says gardeners should check the labels to ensure that those containing the Campanula species do not contain C. rapunculoides.
The city also says you should never place Creeping Bellflower parts in your green compost bin.
Instead, they should be bagged and disposed of in the black garbage bin, so they do not contaminate the city’s composting program.
Wilson says he knows his bounty won’t solve the city-wide spread of Creeping Bellflower, but hopes it will engage his inner-city community to expunge the invading plants.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.