On a still August morning, with heavy rain finally soaked into the ground and the air hanging heavy over Barrhaven, a City of Ottawa parks maintenance crew wound its way along the gravel pathways surrounding the Gregory Casey Stormwater Management Facility.
The forecast called for sunshine and little wind — ideal conditions for the job ahead.
Armed with herbicide sprayers and maps marking problem areas, the crew scanned the fields and drainage corridors for one of Ottawa’s most persistent and potentially dangerous invasive species: wild parsnip.
At first glance, the towering plant’s clusters of small yellow flowers can appear almost ornamental against a late-summer landscape. But behind that deceptively cheerful appearance lies a plant capable of causing painful burns, severe blistering and long-term skin sensitivity when its toxic sap comes into contact with exposed skin and is activated by sunlight.
For more than a decade, Ottawa has been fighting to keep the invasive species under control.
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