10/13/2026
$25,000 Secured for Invasive Species Management in Orangeville!
At my first Sustainable Orangeville committee meeting after joining Council in 2022, I asked a question:
“What is the biggest threat to our local environment?”
One of the answers was invasive species, particularly Phragmites.
That conversation put the issue on my radar.
I began speaking with people who had already been working on the problem for years, including Lynn Sinclair-Smith and the dedicated volunteers at the Friendship Gardens at Headwaters Health Care Centre.
Lynn and her volunteers have spent years caring for the hospital gardens. They have also been tackling invasive Phragmites growing on the hillside beside the gardens, working with the Town to access materials to help with its removal.
Karen Morrison and the Headwater Streams Committee in Mono have also been involved in watershed stewardship and restoration for years.
I was the new kid on the block! These were people who had been doing the work long before I joined Council.
Then, a new member joined Sustainable Orangeville who brought professional expertise in invasive species management from another municipality.
That rekindled the conversation.
With specialized knowledge on our committee and technical information from Ontario Nature, we were able to examine the problem more closely.
My next question was: What can Orangeville do about it?
In August 2025, I brought forward a motion calling for a coordinated, townwide approach to invasive species management.
The first step? Mapping.
We need to know where invasive species are growing, how extensively they have spread and which areas should be prioritized.
Without baseline data, how can we measure whether our efforts are working?
The motion also called for a phased management strategy, rather than addressing individual locations as problems arise.
And now, some good news!
Orangeville has secured $25,000 in outside funding through the Invasive Species Centre, in partnership with Credit Valley Conservation!
Through our participation in the West GTA Phragmites Management Area, we have an opportunity to work with regional partners to map invasive Phragmites and develop a coordinated approach to managing it.
This funding will help establish the information needed to prioritize future work, pursue additional funding and measure our progress.
Why should residents care?
Invasive Phragmites (Phragmites australis subsp. australis), also known as European common reed, is an aggressive invasive plant that spreads rapidly through wetlands, ditches and natural areas. It displaces native vegetation, damages wildlife habitat and can interfere with drainage and stormwater infrastructure.
You’ve probably seen it growing along our roadsides and wetlands. It forms dense stands with large, feathery plumes.
Orangeville has experienced flooding, and we know the damage can be expensive.
Flooding affects homes, businesses, roads and municipal infrastructure. Those costs are borne by property owners, insurers and taxpayers.
Our wetlands are an important part of managing that risk.
Healthy wetlands absorb and store excess rainfall, slow runoff and reduce pressure on our stormwater systems.
Research from the University of Waterloo found that preserving wetlands could reduce the financial cost of flooding by up to 38% in the urban area studied.
That doesn’t mean removing Phragmites will produce the same savings in Orangeville. It demonstrates the financial value of protecting functioning wetlands.
We cannot prevent every flood, but we can work to reduce its impact and the financial damage it causes.
Protecting natural systems, maintaining stormwater infrastructure and addressing problems before they become more expensive are all part of responsible municipal planning.
And by securing outside funding, we can begin this work without placing the entire cost on Orangeville property taxpayers.
There’s another important part of this story.
The value of expertise on municipal committees.
Orangeville is a relatively small municipality. We cannot reasonably employ specialists in every field.
That’s why I believe committee appointments deserve careful consideration.
What professional knowledge can someone contribute? What gaps in municipal expertise can they help fill? How can their experience benefit residents?
Whether it’s environmental science, engineering, finance, planning or accessibility, having knowledgeable people at the table helps us ask better questions and make more informed decisions.
Committee appointments should be about what people can contribute to the Town, not simply who they know.
In this case, expertise from Sustainable Orangeville and Ontario Nature, combined with the experience of local volunteers, helped inform a municipal policy proposal.
That proposal led to a Council motion, and the Town’s partnerships have now helped secure funding to begin the work.
There are several skills involved in getting to this point: recognizing a problem, listening to people with expertise, understanding the science, asking the right questions, developing a practical policy response, working with staff and regional partners, and identifying funding opportunities.
These are all important parts of municipal governance.
Why does this matter for Orangeville’s future?
We sit at the headwaters of the Credit River. What happens here affects the health of the watershed downstream.
We have an opportunity to take a coordinated approach to invasive species management that protects our local environment while contributing to broader watershed restoration.
I want to recognize Lynn Sinclair-Smith and the volunteers at the Friendship Gardens, Karen Morrison and the Headwater Streams Committee, the members of Sustainable Orangeville, Ontario Nature, Town staff, Credit Valley Conservation, the Invasive Species Centre and our regional partners.
Their knowledge, experience and years of work deserve recognition.
I didn’t discover this problem, and I didn’t start the work.
But I listened to the people who understood it, asked what our municipality could do, and brought forward a motion to help establish a coordinated, townwide approach.
What began with a question in 2022 has progressed through conversations with residents, technical research, a Council motion, regional partnerships and now $25,000 in outside funding.
There is still plenty of work ahead. Mapping is the beginning, not the solution itself.
But it gives us the information needed to make informed decisions, prioritize future investments and measure results.
The long-term goal is to protect our natural systems, reduce risks to municipal infrastructure and limit the financial impact of flooding and other environmental challenges.
That’s how we build a more resilient Orangeville while being responsible with taxpayers’ money.
Credit Valley Conservation Invasive Species Centre
