Grant: College & Community Social Innovation Fund

Phragmites australis (P. australis), a tall perennial grass also known as the common reed or Phragmites, or “Canada’s worst invasive plant”, is highly prevalent and considered a threat to Canada’s wetlands, as it aggressively takes over by killing or hindering the growth of native vegetation. P. australis can be seen in community parks, in ditches along roadways and highways, and infringing on agriculture fields. The plant spreads through forming dense patches that impact habitat quality, especially for fish and birds. For conservation authorities, community groups, and environmental organizations such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), battling the spread of P. australis has become an unwanted focus of their activities. Conservation projects now have the added expense and challenge of removing the invasive plant from areas of interest, which may already face other conservation challenges and remediation needs. This additional challenge is increasing project budgets and extending project timelines. To appropriately manage invasive plant species in a sustainable and efficient manner, early detection and rapid response is critical. Not having the ability to quickly map, identify, classify, and capture the distribution of P. australis is a significant challenge facing wetland conservationists and policy makers. Traditional detection methods involve physically accessing the site and finding and identifying the correct species. There is a growing need for cost-effective tools to identify, map, and monitor invasive plants, as well as developing standardized methods to facilitate a coordinated response across organizations in Ontario and across Canada. In this collaborative project led by Fleming College, researchers will leverage machine vision algorithms and remote sensing data to develop a platform to use drones to automatically identify and document the presence of P. australis and catalog the location. The project seeks to overcome the limitations of traditional manual methods used to manage invasive species by offering a solution for rapid and comprehensive monitoring. Ultimately, it is expected that this project's outcomes will provide NCC’s and DUC’s conservationists and resource managers with valuable tools for effectively combating the spread of invasive plants and preserving the biodiversity and ecological integrity of wetland habitats in Ontario, and across Canada.