Common Carp are an invasive species that have nearly destroyed plant cover in Cootes Paradise. Related to the goldfish, carp feed along the bottom of the marsh, uprooting plants along the way. It is estimated that carp are responsible for loss of 85 percent of the plant cover in Cootes Paradise.

Today the Royal Botanical Gardens’ (RBG) Fishway has drastically reduced the number of carp entering the marsh and re-vegetation of the marsh is underway by RBG staff.  BARC’s Marsh Volunteer Planting Program brings community volunteers into the marsh to assist the RBG with replanting of native species.