A controlled burn at Malcolmson Eco Park in St. Catharines went off basically without a hitch on Monday, said the project’s burn chief Greg Eckhardt.

He said it was “one of the best controlled burns” the park has seen, with little wind interference.

Patches of park grassland were ignited by torch and controlled to spread across the park using rakes.

The controlled burn is done in an effort to cut back invasive species including common buckthorn, Manitoba maple, poplar and sumac. In the photos above, the thick stems sticking out of the ground are the targeted species. Ideally, the flames will damage the base of these plants.

Claire Theijsmeijer, co-chair of Friends of Malcolmson Eco Park, said the burn does not harm wildlife such as rodents and coyotes since it is a slow moving burn. She said wildlife flees long before the flames become a threat.

Friends of Malcolmson Eco Park and volunteers including Niagara College students helped out with the burn, which was completed around 11:30 a.m. and monitored throughout the day.

Check out last week’s story about the burn here.

(Photos by Richard Harley/Jer Houghton)