Empty ground is all that was left Wednesday afternoon after vandals uprooted fresh plants along the banks of Little Egg Creek. – Lucie Roy Photo
by Morinville News Staff
Morinville – Two days after the Town of Morinville, NAIT Sturgeon River Research Project and local students partnered to do a planting on the banks of the Little Egg Creek near Georges H. Primeau School in Morinville, vandals have rewarded the efforts by uprooting half the plants and removing them.
In 2013 vandals also uprooted the young plants, tossing them into Little Egg Creek; however, the plants were retrieved and replanted. Some of those survived the winter and are thriving on the banks. This planting, vandals not only uprooted the plants – they seem to have absconded with them.
Morinville Mayor Lisa Holmes was not impressed with the news and took to Facebook to express her displeasure. “I was very upset this morning to hear that the plants that were put in by local students from MCHS and Primeau, the Town of Morinville and NAIT volunteers were vandalized last night and over half of the new plants are missing,” the mayor wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday afternoon. “We had a similar situation last year with many plants being pulled out and thrown into the creek. This is a great initiative – meant to enhance the natural habitat in the area and to provide fruit and berries as part of our Incredible Edible program.”
The NAIT / Town collaboration began in 2013 with the planting of trees and shrubs to enhance fish habitat, create wildlife habitat and a wildlife corridor, and enhance river bank stability by planting species with deep and binding root masses thereby reducing erosion of the river banks.
In addition to improving the local fish and wildlife habitat, Monday’s work bee provided local students with the opportunity to learn about stream ecology, and riparian area habitat and re-vegetation through a hands-on opportunity.
As of press time there was no word if additional plants would be planted this year to replace those taken from the banks of Little Egg Creek. The mayor encouraged anyone with information on the missing plants to contact Allen Jacobsen at the Town Office at 780-939-4361.
The only way to combat utter disrespect for our town, our “growing together” movement and all of our volunteers effort is to move forward, replant and show these misguided individuals that good will always triumph. The Trenchard family and Morinville Sobeys will help in anything that needs to be done to help the urban ag course to replant.
No Mayor – if anyone has information on this, the Town Office is probably not the best place to call… After all what can the Town Office do??
I would suggest that anyone with any information on this contact the RCMP…
Mr. Trenchard – you’ve got it right, and thank you for your ongoing support for this and many other initiatives!
Put a camera up or ask someone to camp in the trees to identify the thiefs then make an example off them
The animals most likely ate them. Deer love new tree shrubs.