Report: On May 28, 2025, leader Wayne Buck led a group of five field naturalists through the F.W.R. Dickson Wilderness Area. Here, a month prior, the GRCA had conducted a prescribed burn in the tallgrass prairie area. The burn was meant to knock back invasive plants and tree species that had invaded the area and to encourage the growth of native tallgrass species. A significant part of southern part of Waterloo Region was historically covered with tallgrass prairie plants.
Our little group walked the trails observing several early summer phenomena – flowering running strawberry bush, a delightful (starry?) bristle moss, early carrion flower (which evoked the name and wit of Larry Lamb), new shagbark hickory foliage, wild sarsaparilla, the not-so-familiar – even to Wayne – Maryland sanicle (Sanicula marilandica), and tall hairy agrimony (Agrimonia gryposepala) which this author thought was cinquefoil but as Wayne pointed out had additional leaves. We reached the burned area to find regeneration was coming along well, with plenty of asters and various grasses re-emerging in the verdant meadow.
