In the third of their summer Watershed Walk series, Comox Valley Nature and Comox Valley Conservation Strategy are offering a free, guided public walk in the Rosewall Creek forest and watershed on Saturday August 18th starting at the park trailhead at 10:15 am.
Set aside as part of the provincial park system, the Rosewall Creek watershed is an ecologically important mid-size East Vancouver Island river just 3 km south of Fanny Bay. Historically a very productive salmon river, it is now home to an important fish hatchery and a bottled-water business, which co-exist with the rich biodiversity of the provincial park. The walk will highlight some of the key riparian (stream-side) processes that occur in low-gradient coastal streams.
Interested participants are asked to meet at either the Old Church on Harmston Street in Courtenay at 9:30 am, or at the Rosewall Creek Provincial Park parking lot at 10:15 am. The walk will take us up out of the park to a falls, a distance of about 3.5 km. The complete walk should take about 3 to 3.5 hours. This is a level established trail up to the falls area where the trail then requires some climbing or scrambling to access a second optional viewpoint. The walk is suitable for able hikers of all ages but participants should bring good walking shoes, water and a snack.
The walk will be guided by biologists Loys Maingon (RPBio), President of Comox Valley Nature, and Kerry Dawson, Education Coordinator of the Comox Valley Conservation Strategy. It will cover aspects of the local flora and fauna of the Rosewall Creek watershed as well as a discussion of the important role of establishing a biodiversity network in the Comox Valley.
For more information please contact Loys Maingon at 250-331-0143. For more information on CVCS visit the website at www.cvconservationstrategy.org or contact Kerry Dawson at (250) 339-1029.
