Banish Burdock has ended for 2025!
What’s all this about | Sign me up! | Banish burdock, win prizes | Links
Common burdock may seem harmless at first glance, but this plant has a few tricks up its sleeve. Its large, shady leaves have a knack for smothering native plants and pushing them out of their homes. This sneaky takeover can lead to a worrying decrease in local biodiversity. But that’s not all—when Burdock’s leaves break down, they release chemicals into the soil, creating a hostile environment for other plants trying to grow. Once burdock moves in, it doesn’t play nice with the locals!
What’s all this about?
Burdock may be bad news… but you can help!
Each spring, ‘Banish Burdock’ volunteers adopt a section of the Whistler Valley trail or other public land to ‘adopt’. SSISC supplies all the equipment and training required – no experience necessary!
Through spring and summer, the volunteers periodically head to their section and remove the burdock present.
Committing to Banish Burdock means that you will be responsible for keeping a short segment of trail, or a small area of public land, free of Burdock for the length of the season (until the end of September). In doing so, you will help stop the spread of invasive species, keep our pets bur-free and get a little fresh air while you are at it!
As participants, you can form a team with your family, friends, roommates or co-workers, and help protect Whistler’s biodiversity.
Sign me up!
Our volunteers have made tremendous progress in battling burdock along the Valley Trail, but we are not done yet. Banish Burdock season runs from May – October each year. We invite you, the Whistler community, to sign up to Banish Burdock in May 2026. Come back to this page on May 2026!
Are you ‘hooked’? Make sure to sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when registrations open for 2026!
