DCA’s April 2020 One-A-Day Invasive Species Challenge:
***ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WINNERS!***
As judged and determined by E.Bland, DCA Land Manager and Contest Initiator.
After 30 days of nail-biting action, the results of the April 2020 One-a-Day Invasive Species Removal Challenge are finally in!
In the category of Most Plants Removed by an Individual the winner is John Millen who removed a total of 1859 plants. John also gets the prizes for Most Different Species Removed (Scotch Broom, English Holly, Daphne Laurel, English Ivy and English Hawthorne), Most Consecutive Reports Submitted (one for almost every single day of April!) and Most Total Photos Submitted (37) as well as bonus points for including before/after shots of treated areas. Congratulations John!
The prize for Most Biomass Removed as Quantified through Consecutive Photo Submissions goes without a shadow of a doubt to Luise Hermanutz & David Innes, who also tied for first place for Most Different Locations Where Invasive Plants Were Removed and came in second place after John for Most Consecutive Daily Reports (18) as well as Total Photos Submitted (17). Bonus points are awarded to Luise and Dave for a significant number of before/after shots of treated areas.
The prizes for Most Plants Removed by a Team as well as Most Plants of a Single Species Removed go unequivocally to Ian Bailey and Isabelle Fusey, who removed 2350 Daphne Laurel (as well as 6 bonus holly) plants throughout the month of April.
Second place after Luise & Dave for Most Biomass Removed as Quantified Through Consecutive Photo Submissions goes to Anne DeCossen and Sebo Berg of East Cider Orchard who submitted two photos of giant mountains of English Holly.
Finally, the second prize for Most Plants Removed by an Individual Participant goes to Wendy Broomroyd with 1560 plants. Wendy also tied with Luise and Dave for first place in the category of Most Different Locations Where Invasive Plants Were Removed and rivalled John with her a head-to-head tie with Luise and Dave for Most Consecutive Reports (18). Wendy also takes the top prize for Most Entertaining Reporting with her submissions of poetry, prose and dramatic fiction and gets bonus points for scientific analysis in solving an age-old mathematical problem during the challenge: how much is a gazillion? For inquiring minds who want to know, a gazillion equals 1560 brooms.
Participants of Honourable Mention (in no particular order):
Deborah Bishop, Susan-Marie Yoshihara, Wendy Northcutt, Craig Williams and a Friendly Beaver, Max Mitilpi, Ann Paisley, Shirley Phillips, Sherry Williams, Patricia Gordon, Christina Wilson, Edi Johnston, Angela Robinson, Charlie Tait, Jeanie Rogers, Jane Lighthall, Maria and Keith Biddulph, Tim Fuchs, Shirley Ward, Bill Peters, and Erika Bland.
Thanks, also, to all the silent participants out there!
You’re all WINNERS!
THE CHALLENGE:
Remove one plant (or cluster of plants) of one invasive plant species of your choice for every day of April. Submit a daily photo of your removed invasive plant/cluster to dcalandmanager_at_gmail(dot)com.
At the end of April, the Land Manager will count up the photos from each participant, and we will give away small prizes for the person with:
a) the most submitted photos, and
b) the most total individual invasive plants removed.
Caution: In the context of the Covid 19 global pandemic, it is crucial that you maintain social/physical distancing and the practice of ‘staying home’ while doing this – please do it in your backyard or very immediate neighbourhood where you already regularly walk, and only with members of your household.
Happy Spring!
Feel free to use the handy reference guide below to help you in your endeavours to remove invasive plant species on Denman Island.
