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16- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 1, 1995 ---- Sn sins ---- - aguas dul ea sb bia wae ms did "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Churches continue with purple loosestrife By Cynthia Morden ~The enthusiastic pa- rishioners of Scugog's An- glican Churches, St. John ~ Blackstock and the Church of the Ascension, Port Perry, joined togeth- er on our causeway, for a second time, on Sunday, July 30 to continue the at- tack against Purple Loo- sestrife. Their goal this year was to try and bring the popu- lation of purple looses- Work focused on causeway trife, on the causeway, un- der control. This weed came from Europe over a century ago and continues to rigorously spread across North America, aided by the absence of na- tive predators. Purple loo- sestrife ultimately chokes out all native vegetation and destroys the diversity of plant communities that. are so important to the survival of wildlife. It ends Congregation enjoys outdoor service Hope everyone was careful during the storm on Friday. It was closer than we thought! Scugog Island United Church It was a beautiful Sun- Saskatchewan 4H kids visit Scugod A group of 10 4-H stu- dents from Saskatchewan spent the last 10 days in the Scugog area, learning about culture in Ontario. The group, along with the Durham East 4-H club spent the past 10 days to- gether through the Open House Canada Exchange Program. the CN Tower, SkyDome and the 80th anniversary of 4-H celebrations in Mil- ton. Locally the group toured the Winfield Farms facility on Simcoe Street and listened to a lecture from Blackstock resident Bill Lishman. Earlier this month the Along with their chapa- 10 local 4-H members rones, the 4-Hers visited spent10daysin Saskatch- . Canada's Wonderland, éWan. J ra / Bo -- Scugog island day morning and every- one enjoyed the Outdoor Service. Carol Edgar and Doug Barber led us in mu- sic on keyboard and bass. The ministry of music was provided by Florence Fra- lick, Joan Aldred and Car- ol Edgar. Thank you la- dies for your ministry. Don't forget to mark your calendars with Vaca- tion Bible School. It is soon approaching. Vaca- tion Bible School will be held at Scugog Island United Church on Aug. 14,15,16 and 17. The Chicken Barbecue will be held on Sunday, Aug. 27 at Scugog Island United Church. Get your tickets early by calling Bonnie at 985-7426. If you are able to help, please contact Bonnie as well. This barbecue is spon- sored by the Stewards but is put on by the congrega- tion. Manchester will be join- ing us for Joint Outdoor Services for the month of August. Services are at 9:45 a.m. at Scugog Is- land. Bring your lawn chairs and a sweaterifitis chilly and enjoy this infor- mal type of worship. For Pastoral care call Elaine Barber at 985- 4094. Call 985-8871 with your news for next week's col- umn. Have a good week! up creating a dense purple landscape almost totally devoid of flora and fauna. As natural habitats and food sources are destroyed by purple loosestrife, the animals that reside in the area will either move on to another or simply die out. In Canada, there are no herbicides registered for use against purple looses- trife growing in or close to water. A single plant is ca- pable of producing 2.7 mil- lion seeds per year. Each seed can lay dormant for ten years or longer before germinating. The entire plant must be removed to minimize the chance for regrowth. Where plant digging isn't feasible, flow- er head removal helps re- tard the spread of the seed. The flower heads must be cut and placed in green garbage bags and taken to the dump. Com- posting is not advisable, as purple loosestrife seeds may not be destroyed and the thick woody root will take a long time to decom- pose; therefore, it could possibly reroot itself. There is no solution cur- rently available to perma- nently rid ourselves of the weed. Biological controls have only recently been 4 approved and it may take campaign 5-10 years before there are adequate supplies of Kuro- pean insect predators for widespread use. Purple loosestrife in our wetlands and fields looks beautiful to the onlooker, but the plant is actually working on destroying all native vegetation in its surrounding environ- ment. It destroys the wet- land habitats that are ex- tremely vital to our fish and wildlife, two of Scu- gog's most important tour- 1st attractions. Purple loosestrife still poses a threat in many places in Scugog, but the efforts put forth last year and this year were not in vain. Several individuals have remarked that there has been an improvement, a difference in the popula- tion of the wetland weed along both sides of the causeway. The Anglican Churches in Scugog are hoping that the actions they have taken, and the results that have occurred because of them, will help to make the community more aware of the ecologi- cal treatment of purple loosestrife and what can be done to stop the spread. For more information, please conact Project Pur- ple, P.O. Box 2800, Peter- borough, Ontario, K9J 8L5, Phone (705) 748- 6324. Saturday, August 5 in the Canadian Tire Parking Lot! Swept The Lot For These Bargaimmsy Trimmed Many, Many Prices! Axe The Tax Starting At 8:00am. Sneak Preview Of Sort And Sizes Childrens Toys Of All Shapes And Colours © Bicycles * Wagons © Springasaurus And Trikes Swing Sets » Swimming And Camping Supplies * Snowblowers « Lawnmowers * Barbecues And Tanks © Garden Sheds * Lawn Tools © Fall Fertilizer * Patio And Pool Furniture * Hockey Sticks * Computer GEG Ware ® Housewares ® Home Flair * Car Care SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY YOU! Complimentary ticket draw for a free parking lot prize!