Savannah Stories - Spring 2007
Now that spring has taken firm hold, and is rounding its way into summer, we finally have a breather here at the Nature Centre to report on some of the natural happenings. It’s been a busy time, with the completion of our renovations (thanks again to our volunteers and donors), our well-attended open house, and incessant inquiries about cherry blossoms.
Luckily, the recent prescribed burns provide us with an excellent reason to visit the Black Oak Savannah (not that we need another reason!). On our first trip we make a side stop in the Parkside ravine to search for trilliums. We find two on the verge of blooming—an increasingly rare sight in the park as the invasive garlic mustard takes over much of the forest floor. Our OISE intern Jon is doing his part to eradicate this edible weed through culinary innovation (see recipe below).
Garlic Mustard Pesto Sauce
1 cup packed Garlic Mustard leaves
½ cup packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or pine nuts if you can afford them)
½ cup olive oil
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)
In blender or food processor, combine all of the ingredients and puree. Toss the sauce with any cooked pasta and sprinkle with additional nuts and/or parmesan
Continuing on, our heads are drawn skyward by a large flock of black and white kingbirds, just one of over 250 species of birds migrating through the park. Some will stay to breed, but most will continue on to more northern locales. Orioles, flickers, thrushes, thrashers, grosbeaks, warblers and wrens are only a few of the stars of this annual spectacle—catch them soon before they’re gone!
We follow our noses to the burn site just southwest of the TTC loop. We can already see new green peeking up through the black ash-covered soil. These small shoots would have once attracted hungry deer; in fact, this was one of reasons the native Iroquois also practiced controlled burns.
Savannah ecosystems are naturally fire prone, and the native plants are adapted to thrive under this disturbance. Their long roots give them an advantage in fire over non-native, short rooted plants like garlic mustard. The city added fire management practice to its restoration efforts in 1997 and has had great success in native plant regeneration. Make sure to check out the Wild Lupines this summer in the savannah north of Grenadier Restaurant—but remember: Look, don’t pick!
After spotting a pregnant-looking chipmunk scrambling over an old felled oak tree, we head over to inspect the Nature Centre’s planting site. The tallgrasses, bergamot, black-eyed susans, and other savannah species our participants planted last year look set for a strong season. We are overjoyed to see that the black oak acorn planting plots have shot up many tiny saplings. We will continue to monitor these for all our young stewards.
Eastern Comma
On our way back to the Centre, we are treated with several spring firsts: our first butterfly, an eastern comma, and first dragonfly.
Fantastic!