In January 2000, following the success of the previous year’s smaller-scale pilot project, the Gardens implemented an innovative wetland restoration project in lower Grindstone Creek. 

Used Christmas trees, collected by local municipalities, were used to create a natural barrier, re-creating the historic shoreline of lower Grindstone Creek. Small fish grates along the barrier help maintain the natural flow of water and movement of native wetland organisms. The barrier also protects the creek bed and vegetation behind it from water erosion and carp.

As part of the 1999 pilot project, volunteers planted more than 6,000 emergent plants behind the barrier to help stimulate re-growth. Within one growing season, 100 percent of the pilot project’s exclosure flourished with planted and naturally sprouting native plants.

In January 2001, the Christmas tree barrier project entered its final phase in Sunfish Pond, which lies adjacent to the mouth of Grindstone Creek. 

Over time, the Christmas trees will naturally biodegrade, leaving a build-up of sediment as a shoreline, protecting the re-growth of wetland vegetation.

Through this project, 13 hectares (32 acres) of wetland habitat will be created in the Grindstone Creek floodplain. The new habitat will provide ideal conditions for abundant new plant growth that will attract wetland wildlife and create suitable spawning and nursery ground for native fish.


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