2025-May-14
Champion of the Bay 2024 - Kathryn Davis, Honey Harbour Association
Kathryn Davis’s initial concern for an aggressive weed on her beach led her to become Honey Harbour’s tireless leader in eradicating phragmites. Kathryn was instrumental in educating her community on the danger of invasive phragmites and spent many summers going dock-to-dock to raise awareness and hours in the water cutting phragmites. Her efforts to help develop a student ambassador program with Georgian Bay Forever (GBF) helped structure the way we manage phragmites throughout Georgian Bay.
How did you first get started tackling invasive phragmites?
Kathryn with a stalk of phragmites during a community cut
We have a lovely little beach, and in 2010, I started to notice this weed that just kept getting bigger and bigger. I cut it down and tried to pull it out and it just kept growing back stronger. At a Cottage Life Show, I went to the Parks Canada booth, and they were able to identify the weed as phragmites, an invasive aquatic reed.
In 2014, I ran into Colin Dobell and he was the first person that taught me about phragmites. I joined him on his first cut in Honey Harbour with GBF. As I became increasingly aware of the potential impact of phragmites, a friend of mine who was on the board of the Honey Harbour Association recommended I get involved and join the board.
I started small and initially received board approval for $100 for the first year to purchase hand cutters and some brown garbage bags. There is a main channel that many of us go through that had a large stand of phragmites that was expanding. I decided to start there. I reached out to neighbours, spoke at our association meetings and sent out a couple of bulletins to round up a bunch of volunteers. David Sweetnam, from GBF, came to our first cut and showed us how to properly cut below the water. This first community cut was in 2015.
From there, our eradication efforts just blossomed. Together, we came up with the idea of starting a summer student ambassador program focused on education. People would recognize that they had these weeds, but nobody really knew what they were or how invasive they were.
How did your efforts evolve over time?
In 2016, in collaboration with Georgian Bay Forever, we hired our first two summer students. During this first year, in addition to cutting, we focused heavily on mapping, education and developing a plan to prioritize and identify the large stands of phragmites that needed extra help.
By 2017, we had two summer students working in the Honey Harbour area, GBF had six students working across Georgian Bay and we had developed partnerships with the Township of Georgian Bay and more local businesses.
Additionally, we received financial support from the Honey Harbour Association and the Federation of Ontario Cottagers (FOCA).
Our yearly progression looked like this:
- Fourpatches treated in 2015
- 40 patches treated in 2016
- 71 patches treated in 2017
- 40,000 kg of phragmites removed from Honey Harbour and 23% of the sites eradicated by 2018
What do you think helped contribute to your success?
During the first two years, in particular, I was out there in waders cutting and bagging, working really hard, so I think people saw that I wasn’t just talking, I was actively working, and I think that really helped grow support.
What made you want to remove phragmites beyond your own property?
I already had the experience with it on my property and understood first-hand how bad the situation could become if we didn’t do something about it. It’s not enough just to do your own property because if it’s across the channel and the seeds are flying over to your house, it’s coming back!
What were some of your most meaningful experiences from this work?
Probably the community engagement. I received great support from the community and was so lucky to have such a supportive Board. I remember one time I was getting in the boat to go to a community cut, and I saw a woman waving at me from across the channel. I thought oh, she’s just saying hi. I went over, and she was with her daughter-in-law, and she said well, of course we’re coming! I had no clue they were even contemplating it. So yes, community engagement and bringing people together for a common goal.
Is there anyone you would like to thank?
I would like to say a special thanks to Colin Dobell for his inspiration and wealth of information, the Honey Harbour Association board formerly led by Mayor Peter Koetsier and the team at Georgian Bay Forever as we navigated the journey together.
I received so much support from GBF, they were happy and willing to help and educate. David Sweetnam and Heather Sargeant were both amazing. That was my resource, they gave me the scientific backing.