History of the Ethnobotanical Garden

Creating the Rainy Lake Ethnobotanical Garden

NPS

History of the Ethnobotanical Garden
In 2008, because, exotic, or “non-native” plants had taken over the area outside of the Rainy Lake visitor center, park staff decided to restore the native vegetation. Invasive reed canary grass, Canada thistle, bull thistle, and hemp nettle had out-competed most of the native plants with only some native shrubs and trees remaining.

Beside simply restoring native plants, the park decided to convert the site to an ethnobotanical garden. Ethnobotanical refers to the importance of native plants to human cultures. The native plants in the new garden would be linked to how they sustained life for the indigenous Ojibwe people. For hundreds of years, the Ojibwe have lived in Southern Canada and the Upper Midwest, moving into the area that is now Voyageurs National Park by the early 1700s. Historically, they lived off the land, relying on natural resources for survival. Plants have been and still are very important to the Ojibwe and have been used for food, building materials, medicine, and ceremonial purposes.

From 2008-2010, plant technicians established test plots to determine which mechanical or chemical methods were most successful in treating reed canary grass, the most abundant and most difficult invasive to control. Besides treating the area with herbicide, the technicians found that by covering reed canary grass with landscape fabric to prevent sunlight from reaching the grass it could be “choked out”.

After additional herbicide treatments, in the fall of 2010, park staff, volunteers from the Voyageurs Conservancy and a local Boy Scout Troop began to construct the Ojibwe Summer Encampment area, build trails, and plant native plants. They also covered any bare soil with landscape fabric to eradicate any remaining exotic plants and prevent their seeds from germinating in that bare soil. The following spring students from Littlefork-Big Falls School planted trees donated by the by the Koochiching Soil and Water Conservation District. Students from International Falls High School constructed the frame for the waaginogaan using fresh aspen samplings, dug the fire pit, and assisted with more planting.

In September 2011, one year after it was placed, the landscape fabric was removed from the garden and Voyageurs Conservancy volunteers added more trees and plants to the garden. The volunteers also completed the Ojibwe encampment site by covering the waaginogaan with birch bark and constructing a drying rack and tripod. A mesh deer fence was placed around the perimeter, the park’s maintenance crew finished the trail system, and installed garden waysides, brochure boxes, and benches.

During the summer of 2012 park rangers gave the first formal interpretive garden tours six days a week. Only routine maintenance, such as watering, weeding, and spot spraying exotics, was performed and the fence remained to prevent deer browsing on newly planted vegetation.

The next summer the park expanded interpretive materials by developing a garden brochure and adding 23 plant markers that list the common name, Ojibwe name, Ojibwe pronunciation, the traditional Ojibwe use for each plant and a sketch of the plant. These materials provided visitors with information to engage in a self-guided tour.

2013 also marked the first year that two summer seasonal volunteers were brought in as full-time garden caretakers. The volunteers' duties included: general trail clearing and maintenance, exotic species removal, limited planting of native species, watering during dry spells, and providing daily interpretive tours.

Connecting children (and others young at heart) to the garden, Voyageurs unveiled the Garden Explorer Junior Ranger program in 2015. An activity booklet guides Explorers through the garden as they learn about native and invasive plants, Ojibwe culture, and ethnobotany. After completing the activities participants earn Garden Explorer badges and the mission to share their knowledge with others.

During the historic flood of 2022, Rainy Lake rose high enough to submerge parts of the ethnobotanical garden, destroying several native plants and trees. Once the waters receded the hardier reed canary grass again outcompeted the stressed native plants to take over the garden. In 2023 the Great Lakes Invasive Plant Management Team of the National Park Service began treating the infestation. Over the next few years, the park will continue eradicating the invasives then begin replanting native species.

Natural vegetation is dynamic and does not stay in neat, tidy locations. However, when invasive species disrupt the ecosystem, the park intervenes enough to restore the native vegetation.