Ivan Watson writes about the history of Bowker Creek in the summer 2026 edition of ‘Tweed’ magazine:
Since 1996, the Friends of Bowker Creek Society has become a leading steward, educational resource and advocate for this vital urban watershed. Restoration efforts, in collaboration with local governments, have included the removal of invasive species, the creation of rain gardens to filter runoff, and community initiatives like the Chum Salmon Recovery project, which aims to re-establish a sustainable salmon run in a portion of the creek near Firefighters Park.
Further, the article says:
Ian Graeme, founder and society co-chair, views these efforts as a generational commitment to healing the creek, enhancing community stewardship of a shared natural asset, and improving the quality of life throughout the watershed.
“When we first started, a lot of people didn’t even know about the creek because so much of it was underground and invisible,” he says. “One of our first priorities was to bring the municipalities together along with the regional district to develop a watershed plan to identify the main problems, goals and initial actions. That was 20 years ago and now we have a steering committee called the Bowker Creek Initiative that works to move the watershed plan forward.”
In recent years, a large section of the creek was remediated during the construction of the new Oak Bay High School and the district of Saanich purchased the Kings Community Nature Space to augment the health of the overall watershed.
While progress has been made, there is so much more to do to restore the creek to its former glory. “It’s got huge potential. We’re promoting the idea of a wildlife and recreational corridor with interconnected public amenities, from the creek mouth by the Salish Sea all the way up to the upper watershed,” Ian says. “With a little creativity, you could even make the linkage to the Lochside Trail and create this fantastic, walking, hiking and cycling system of connected public parks.”
Read the whole article here:
‘Tweed’ magazine – Summer 2026 / Bowker Creek – A Vital Stream of Life