The European Chafer Beetle is an invasive insect species first discovered in New Westminster in 2001. Since its initial discovery, it has spread throughout Metro Vancouver cities causing significant damage to lawns, fields, parks and other areas.

The best-case scenario for any disturbed site is the restoration of the native ecosystem using only native plant species; but is that achievable? In recent years, seed of native grass species has become more readily available allowing the option of sowing native grass and forb seed, as opposed to seed of introduced species, for restoration projects in British Columbia. There are challenges however to achieving this goal and there may be factors that make introduced species more feasible in certain situations.