BroomBusters
Cut Broom in Bloom
Vancouver Island & BC Mainland's Grassroots
Scotch Broom
Containment Campaign

BroomBusting 2008
The broom flowers are going to seed. Except for finishing a few small areas here and there, we are finished cutting for the year. We don't want to spread the seeds, so we stop cutting. Please notify us by email of piles of broom that we may not know about. The Ministry of Transportation is beginning to chip up the piles in the RDN. Chipping allows the plant nutrients to go back into the soil. Many many many thanks to all those who helped and contributed in so many ways.

Join Broombusters! Information will be posted soon if you choose to do so on-line.
Our yearly meeting will take place in July. All members are invited.
joanne@glasswing.com

Donations
are needed and used with gratitude. Click here.
THANK YOU!

BroomBusting 2009 Plans - Join us! Get Your Community Involved
Broombusters are already making plans for 2009. There will be chapters of Broombuster on the mainland in the Vancouver area. There are also those who have expressed interest in Nanaimo, Victoria, Countenay, others. All it takes in one committed person who can help organize and attend a few community cuts in their own area. The benefits of doing your broom campaign under the umbrella of Broombusters are many: Broombusters has already done the research, and will help organize publicity, pick up or chip up, tools, etc. The Broombusters website can be used by your community for posting events. We are already working with the Ministry of Transportation and several town governments. But most of all, we encourage each other in what appears to be a daunting task. Many hands make light work! Each community is independent and has its own personal character. Please email Joanne@glasswing.com.



Listen to Broombusters Radio Spots
30 sec radio spot:
An interview with Captain Walter Grant - the man who brought 3 Broom Seeds to Vancouver Island in 1850
10 Second Spot:
Captain Walter Grant
10 Second Spot:
The Captain with guest appearance - and sombody. Maybe a mermaid.

What can you do? Cut broom whenever you can, or join community cuts. You can also help with organization and publicity, make a donation to fund Broombusters. We have tools for each community which you can borrow to cut broom anywhere. Be a Two-Hour-per-year Broom Walker, a Rover, a Road Guardian, or a Broom Brownie. (See below.) Everyone is appreciated! If you would like to help, please get in touch with us! It's fun - and very important. Where would you like to cut broom? How can we help you? Is your community cutting broom? It's not hard to get started. Contact Broombusters: joanne@glasswing.com. 250-752-4816

Broombusters is a very fun, dynamic, informal grassroots movement inspiring individuals and communities to control the spread of Scotch broom, and to reclaim and proclaim "Broom Free" Areas. All you need to do to join us is to cut down broom. There is plenty to go around! However, if you would like to learn more, and work with others, get in touch with us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Volunteers saving a young forest from Broom.


Broom plant cut over a year ago. Nothing is growing.
Sometimes in a heavily infested area, large old broom will put toxin in the soil.
So much for the theory "Broom is a nurse plant."


Springwood Middle School-Earth Day 2008

HOW TO CUT BROOM IN BLOOM:
It's easy. Use loppers. Or pruning saws. Cut to the ground.
In late spring, cut broom down to or below the ground level.
The plant has just put all of its energy into producing flowers. If cut while in bloom, and exposed to summer’s dry heat, the drought-stressed broom will usually die. Perhaps kick a little dirt over the stem at ground level, to fool the plant into thinking that it is in the shade. If you see the plants resprouting later, cut again. Do not pull up plants or disturb soil when soil is dry, as that encourages the sprouting of new seeds.
• If you have to make a choice, go after single plants & small infestation to prevent its spread.
• If the broom is huge, cut off as many of the branches as you can. If the broom is small and not blooming, you can return and cut it next year when it blooms. MOST IMPORTANT: Don't let the broom go to seed! Cut before mid-June
See Ministry of Forests and Range Publication on Broom: www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/publications/00204/


Donations & Membership

Active Communities:

Qualicum Beach
Errington - Coombs
Nanoose
Bowser
Parksville
Port Alberni


Adopt-A-Highway


These communities have expressed interest in joining Broombusters in 2009. Vancouver, Sechelt, Nanaimo, Courtenay, Comox, Victoria, Sooke, & your hometown?

Articles About Broom:
Broom Handout 2008

Why Concern over Broom?
The
Six Secret Facts

How to Cut Broom




What can we do about Scotch Broom?

Cut Broom in Bloom (April - Early June)
Before the flowers turn into seeds.

• ELIMINATE NEW INFESTATIONS. When you see a light / new infestation of scotch broom, along the highway, paths & fields, take the time to cut it down. At least cut down the flowering branches. Aim to eliminate the spread. This is a "first aid" strategy, but it is a great start.

• CUT DOWN ALL YELLOW FLOWERS so that they can not turn into seeds. Each scotch broom plant can produce 2,000 to 3,500 seed pods - which burst open in July & August, shooting seeds into adjacent soil. If you cut them while in bloom - no seeds!

• Talk to neighbors and representatives. No one can solve this problem alone. Make an effort to make your road or neighborhood broom free. IT CAN BE DONE!


Recommendations from the BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks:

“The First step of successful management will be to prevent the establishment of invasive species in (new areas.)”

Scotch broom should be removed in spring before its seed pods begin to open. Removal at this time will stop the addition of new seeds to the soil and may have the advantage of killing drought-stressed plants. Broom cut during wetter months can survive to resprout next season. If the soil is moist and stems are small, broom plants can be easily pulled from the ground by hand. Larger plants should be cut below the root crown.”

The Broom Life Cycle - April through June is the best time for broom removal.
To stop the spread of an invasive species, we need to understand its life cycle. The roots of the broom plant are weakest when it is flowering - so that is when we want to cut it down. If we wait, and cut the broom after the seed pods are brown and mature, the seed pods will explode and spread all over (July - August.) Spreading the seeds will only worsen the problem. Immature seed pods can ripen on a broom plant can ripen even after the plant has been cut, which limits our cutting season even more. Therefore, broom removal is recommended in April, May and early June - when the flowers are in full bloom, and before the seed pods have begun to form. The plants are also easy to see and identify at that time.
If you want to cut broom after seed pods are formed or forming, the branches will need to be burned - which we can't do in the heat of summer. If you really want to remove broom after it has seeded, pile it on top of itself, in an already infested area, and then, burn in the fall, after some rains. The infested area will need to be monitored for new plants. However, as long as you alway cut yellow blooming broom each year, eventually you will get rid of it. Stay with it!
If cut during wet seasons (Dec - April), respouting is likely. You can use a woody weed removal tool . How to Cut Broom.

Broombusters 2008 Community Action Plan. Where do you fit in?

• Broom-Walkers.
Members of the 2-hours-a-year broombusting club.
It’s amazing what you can do in two hours. Just go walking down any road that you love, with loppers in hand. Have fun, and thank you for participating! Cut your own property, or the road you live on, or help your neighbors.
• Community Cuts.
Between April 15 and June 8, there will be scheduled community cuts, from Nanaimo to Port Alberni to Courtenay. Everyon is welcome.
• Road Guardians.
Choose a little piece of a road - and keep it clear of broom. Everything helps. If lots of people pick up pieces, whole roads will become clear!
• Rovers.
Broom cutting is addictive. It’s easy, fun and the rewards are immediate. And it’s amazing how much you and some loppers can do in an hour or two. Huge bushes fall with a single cut! So, avid Broombusters can become Rovers.
• Broom Brownies.
What a great surprise to drive down a road see that someone has been cutting broom there- and we'll never know who it was! Blessings on the Broom Brownies!

CUT ANYTIME ROADS
- The Ministry of Transportation and local towns choose roads that residents can cut on anytime. After the cutting season (beginning of June), the piles will be chipped or picked up. If you want this service, it must be arranged with Broombusters before cutting! Let's see if your town or Regional District is interested.


Broombusters Logo by George Harm. Flowering photos from invasive.com. Thank you

Scotch Broom costs Oregon $47 million
“Some people may look at the golden hillsides resulting from Scotch broom and think it’s a pretty wildflower that belongs here. That’s the farthest thing from the truth. Scotch broom costs the state of Oregon about $47 million each year by its impact on natural resources, particularly on timber production.” Oregon Dept of Agriculture