Those looking to get their hands dirty to celebrate Earth Day, are invited to a spring wildflower tour and an invasive pull at Oak Haven Park.
“We will be coming together as a community to help remove invasive plant species from the park’s rare and endangered Garry oak ecosystem,” said Mayor Ryan Windsor. “To kick off this special day, Central Saanich Parks staff will lead an informative spring wildflower tour through the park.”
"Local volunteer stewardship groups such as the Friends of Oak Haven Park have a powerful role to play in helping to protect these important ecosystems, which today are highly threatened by invasive species,” said Max Mitchell, Habitat Restoration Coordinator of Habitat Acquisition Trust. “We hope you can join us in our efforts to restore these very special oak meadows!”
This free event is a great way to build connections to one another, the land, and its natural inhabitants. No experience is necessary and refreshments, tools, and training will be provided by HAT and Central Saanich. Bringing water and gardening gloves is encouraged.
The event takes place Sunday, April 21, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Please RSVP online by visiting hat.bc.ca/volunteer. There is a small parking lot on Benvenuto with additional street parking at the second entrance on Garden Gate Drive.
Volunteers will gather in the park where the trails from Benvenuto and Garden Gate meet. The trails are fairly steep but the meeting spot is relatively flat. If would like to enjoy the company of visiting in the park and also have limited physical capacity, this is a great spot to set up a chair and share in the refreshments as volunteers build the pile of invasive plants they remove.
The joint collaborative event is hosted by Habitat Acquisition Trust, the newly formed Friends of Oak Haven Park and the District of Central Saanich. The SENĆOŦEN name for the area is SṈIDȻEȽ ŦIŦEL SṈÁNET, which roughly translates to SṈIDȻEȽ (place of the blue grouse) hill/mountain. These oak meadow ecosystems would not be here were it not for the relationship between the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples and the land.