While City of York Council is responsible for managing the park as a whole, the charity works alongside the authority to maintain areas, run community events and promote biodiversity.
Gaines explained that the sedge plants which had been damaged were part of work to create a hedge to “deal with the Canada Geese problem” at the park.
Across the country, the birds often “leave quite a lot of poo behind and lots of people complain about this”, she said.
“We’re looking at a lot of methods to try and make areas of the park less hospitable for them.
“So, trying to create a hedge in this area should mean there would be less poo gathering in the paths.”
After the damage was reported on Tuesday, three regular volunteers retrieved most of the plants from the lake and re-planted them, Gaines said.
“We are missing a few – and we don’t know if they’ll survive,” she added.
“We know what we’re doing is a good thing and we know most of the people appreciate it, so we keep going and we stay positive.”
