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A Vancouver woman is upset by the city’s decision to use an herbicide on an invasive plant growing near her favourite wild blackberry patch, but the city says it is trying to kill an invasive species that can damage property and infrastructure.

Cynthia Nugent was looking forward to making blackberry jam Wednesday when she saw signs. In an effort to eradicate Japanese knotweed, a company contracted by the City of Vancouver had sprayed plants in the Arbutus Greenway with diluted glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weed-killer Roundup.

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The Vancouver children’s book illustrator said she feels like one of summer’s “great joys” — as well as a free source of fruit — has been taken from her.

“Picking was such a lovely thing to do. It seems terrible to lose it,” she said Friday.

Nugent plans to avoid the area, but she’s concerned about people who may not be aware of the spraying. Signs notifying the public of the herbicide’s application will remain up for 48 hours before being removed.