Watershed Restoration
People care about nature in the city. Efforts to restore a biodiverse natural habitat are lead by the people who live in the watershed and are supported by the Friends of Bowker Creek and the CRD – Bowker Creek Initiative.
Community interest to restore the creek became part of a watershed-wide effort since 1996 and the formation of the Bowker Creek Initiative and Bowker Creek Blueprint. There are ongoing opportunities for riparian habitat restoration, creek cleanup, invasive plant removal, planting native plants along Bowker Creek and in raingardens in the watershed. To participate in FoBCS volunteer work projects, you must be a member of Friends of Bowker Creek Society. Please join the Friends of Bowker Creek Society or update your annual membership here.
If you are already a member of the Friends of Bowker Creek and are interested in volunteering to help with creek and watershed restoration, please read about volunteering and fill out the Volunteer Application form here. All volunteers are required to read the Volunteer Safety and Code of Conduct and sign the Volunteer Waiver prior to volunteering. Please review both documents below before signing up to volunteer.
Restoration Sites around Bowker Creek
There are several local ongoing restoration initiatives at sites along Bowker Creek led by community volunteer leaders.
Please contact the group leaders at email links provided and check the Events page as regularly scheduled dates may change.
Oak Bay High School Pathway
Come and meet up with friends and make new ones; enjoy a few hours of socializing and pulling invasive plants at the Oak Bay High School – Bowker Creek pathway.
Where: Behind Oak Bay High School along the Bowker Creek Pathway
When: 10am to 12pm on the second and fourth Sunday of each month
What to Bring: Your enthusiasm and dress for the weather as sessions happen rain or shine.
We Provide: Gloves and tools. However, if you prefer to use your own, please bring them along.
We look forward to having previous volunteers back and meeting new volunteers!
For information about the upcoming volunteer sessions at the Oak Bay High School pathway site, contact: oakbaypathway@bowkercreek.org
June: 14, 28
July: 12, 26
August: 9, 30
September: 13, 27
October: 4, 25
November: 8, 22
December: no sessions
Monteith Riparian Habitat Garden
This riparian restoration site is nestled alongside the south bank of Bowker Creek at Monteith Street in Oak Bay. The creek flows in pools over and around glaciated rock at this location. This site is an example of what persistent efforts can do to restore biodiverse habitat to the creek channel. Riparian restoration improves habitat for the FoBCS Chum Salmon Recovery Project to bring salmon back to Bowker Creek and provides habitat for insects and birds. There are regular volunteer sessions at the Bowker Creek Riparian Garden at Monteith, east of Firefighter Park in Oak Bay where Bowker Creek emerges from a culvert. There is a pathway along the south side of the creek where volunteers come to work on riparian restoration at the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, from 1-3 p.m., subject to last minute changes occasionally. For more information, contact: restoringmonteith@bowkercreek.org to find out about upcoming volunteer sessions.
Wetlands sites in Oak Bay
Join riparian habitat restoration sessions at the ‘Wetlands’ sites at the foot of Armstrong Avenue and at Monterey Avenue along Oak Bay’s Bowker Creek Park walkway as part of the Chum Salmon Recovery Program. This is seasonally-timed work done in the wet creekbed. Invasive plants are replaced with native plants to restore riparian habitat and enhance the biodiversity corridor.
Join the volunteers for the wetlands sites:
Trail Behind the Halls – Oak Bay
This site is known for bald eagles nesting in a Douglas-fir overlooking the Fire Hall recently in 2011 and 2017. The restoration work began by local Girl Guides in 2019 to clear the slope behind Bowker Hall and make a pollinator garden. Come and help remove invasives and restore native plants and biodiversity at this site. Local residents, John and Elizabeth, are cutting, digging, and removing invasive English ivy, holly, Himalayan blackberry and speargrass, allowing snowberry and Nootka rose native shrubs a chance to grow and spread.
Location: behind the Oak Bay Fire Department and 5th Garry Oak Scouts–Bowker Hall at 1703 Monterey Ave. Vehicle parking is available at Fire Fighter’s Park for easy access. The site is accessible by public transit and bike route. Walk around the Scouts’ hall to access the trail and tool shed.
Volunteer sessions are on Friday mornings, between 10-11 a.m. John and Elizabeth can show you what needs to be done and where to get the tools from a shed at the back of Bowker Hall. Loppers and clippers are provided. Bring your own work gloves.
This volunteer project is supported by Oak Bay Parks who haul away the cuttings for disposal.
Kings Community Nature Space
This Saanich Pulling Together group meets every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month from 10:00 a.m until noon at the Kings Community Nature Space alongside Bowker Creek between Kings Road and Haultain Street in the Camosun Community neighbourhood. Invasive English ivy, holly, daphne, and Himalayan blackberry are removed throughout the greenspace to allow native bracken fern, snowberry and trailing blackberry to take over instead.
Contact:
kingsnaturespace@bowkercreek.org to add your name to the contact list and find out about the upcoming volunteer sessions. We appreciate any effort you can offer to restore this community nature space.
Browning Park
Glenn Bartley, Ronna Woudstra and dedicated volunteers have made fantastic progress removing invasive plants, adding native plants and leaf mulch at the Browning Park riparian site, with support from the Saanich Pulling Together Volunteer Program. It is worth a visit to see the progress made and enjoy this open reach of Bowker Creek at Browning Park.
Power Hours are every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. For information on upcoming creek restoration work at Browning Park, email: browning@bowkercreek.org
Cedar Hill Park
Cedar Hill Park is in the Bowker Creek watershed and is a headwater source for Bowker Creek. The Friends of Cedar Hill Park have been active in maintaining the natural areas of the Park since 2006. Their work is done in the natural areas of the Park outside golf course boundaries under the Saanich Pulling Together Volunteer Program.
Join weekly invasive species removal at preplanned areas of the park, under the direction of Lead Steward, Jim Moores every Monday morning from 9:00 am until 12 noon.
Monday mornings from 9am to 12pm
Please go to the meeting point, or let them know if you would like to join the Friends of Cedar Hill Park via email.