Comox Valley Nature

The Comox Valley, as most of Vancouver Island is fast seeing its Garry oak heritage disappear. Victoria has taken steps to reverse this trend by developing programmes to restore native Garry Oak ecosystems.

In order to foster this initiative Comox Valley Nature is pleased to host at their next meeting on Sun. Apr. 16, James and Kristen Miskelly, who are offering restoration courses through Royal Roads University in May.

Together, Kristen and James operate Saanich Native Plants, a native plant nursery and consulting business that they hope will assist others in conserving and enhancing natural habitat on Vancouver Island.

Garry oak ecosystems like the ones in BC are found from the Courtenay area all the way to Oregon’s Willamette Valley. They were once a prominent feature of the Comox Valley. These ecosystems include woodlands, savannah, open prairie, and rocky hillsides. They are among the most endangered habitats in BC, Washington, and Oregon and support a distinctive suite of plants and animals.

What makes Garry oak ecosystems so special and threatened? What can we learn from successful restoration projects locally and afar?

Kristen and James Miskelly have travelled throughout the range of Garry oak ecosystems. Join them for an overview of these stunning meadowlands and learn what makes the habitats of the Comox Valley unique and distinctive and what we can do to help them.

Kristen Miskelly is a biologist who specializes in the restoration and botany of southeastern Vancouver Island ecosystems. Kristen also helps coordinate the Haliburton Biodiversity project, a volunteer-run wetland and meadow restoration project at Haliburton Farm and teaches courses in botany, ecological restoration, and naturescaping.

James Miskelly is a conservation biologist with expertise in plants, insects, and Garry Oak ecosystems. He works in various capacities in stewardship and restoration and is a research associate in entomology at the Royal BC Museum.

The lecture is on Sunday, April 16 and will start after introductions at 7pm in the Rotary Room of the Filberg Seniors Centre 411 Anderton, Courtenay.

Lecture is free, though a $4 contribution from non-members is appreciated. New memberships are always welcomed.

Comox Valley Nature would like to introduce Charly Caproff. Unique is one way to describe her. Captivated by the mysterious subterranean realm beneath our feet, Charly became an advocate for karst, a scarcely heard of but ecologically important ecosystem in coastal and northern BC. Her campaign to protect karst led to a contract with Sierra Club BC as a Karst Consultant and Event Planner.

Once the ‘face’ of Simon Fraser University’s newest credential, the Bachelor of Environment, Charly is now the Water Literacy Coordinator for Fraser Riverkeeper (FRK), an organization founded by the late Doug Chapman, veteran environmental lawyer for the Sierra Legal Defense Fund (now known as Ecojustice). FRK is a registered Canadian charity that uses law, research, citizen engagement and digital media to protect a swimmable, drinkable, fishable future Charly’s resolve to protect water developed in the passageways she once explored, carved by the raw power of water over millennia.

Watching surface water seemingly disappear into the face of a mountainside made her realize that all natural systems are inherently connected and should be managed using an ecosystem-based approach. Her goal is to create water literate hubs throughout BC of people who share a sense of pride and obligation to protect their waterbodies.

For Charly’s presentation, she poses 3 questions: Where does water go when I flush the toilet? Where does my drinking water come from? Is my favourite beach safe for swimming? These questions and more will be addressed during her interactive presentations crafted to the specific interests and concerns of community members. Charly provides communities with the localized knowledge and digital tools in order to help answer our important water questions, while creating the next generation of water leaders.

This lecture, entitled: “Explore Your Watershed with Fraser Riverkeeper” will take place at the Florence Filberg Seniors Centre at 7 pm (sharp) March 19, 2017.