Field Trips to Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration Projects in Victoria

These field trips to active restoration projects in the Victoria are being held in conjunction with the 15th Annual GOERT Conference. This is an opportunity to see first-hand what people are doing and ask questions. Due to limited space on the field trips, participants must sign up on a first-come, first-served basis.

You must have purchased a ticket to the Conference in order to attend one of these field trips. Participants will receive an email with details on time and meeting place following registration.

Attendance is by donation.

1) Trial Island Restoration Project (9 am - 1 pm, by boat)

(limit of 20 participants; suggested donation of $25 per person)

Matt Fairbarns will lead a field trip to Trial Island, the site of one of the greatest concentrations of endangered species in Canada as well as extensive coastal meadows and rock bluffs. Much of the open areas on Trial Island were covered in Scotch Broom as recently as 2000, while many shrubby and forested areas were blanketed with ivy as recently as 2010. A 20-year invasive species management program has utterly changed the island landscape and native species now dominate almost everywhere. In mid October, many of the species at risk will be dormant or just starting to break dormancy but Matt will lead you through the various ecosystems present on the island, explain how they support species at risk, and show how they have been restored.

2) Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary (8:45 - noon)

(limit of 30 participants; suggested donation of $10 per person)

Jay Rastogi, Site Director, and Cara Gibson, Executive Director will lead short walking discussions around Christmas Hill. Jay has been working to restore the Garry Oak ecosystem on Christmas Hill for ten years. Cara stepped into her current role in 2020 and has focused on raising awareness and funding support to preserve this special habitat. During the field trip, Jay will talk about the place and the plants, as well as the people that have done the hands-on restoration over the nearly 50 years of the Nature Sanctuary Society’s operation. Cara will give a brief overview and then hold an open discussion about current successes and challenges with connecting urban communities with threatened ecosystems.

3) Restoration Tour of Uplands Park (1 - 4 pm)

(limit of 25 participants; suggested donation of $10 per person)

Uplands Park has one of the highest concentrations of rare plant species in the province and some of the best Garry Oak meadows and woodlands in the capital region. The first restoration work ever conducted was started by Girl Guides who began removing Scotch Broom in the 1990s. Restoration has expanded greatly since that time and is now guided by an 8-year management plan and involves the participation of community, the municipality and the provincial and federal governments. Wylie Thomas and Margaret Lidkea will lead the tour sharing information on the federally funded restoration project that has been underway since 2006. (A wait list will be maintained and if there is enough interest, a second trip will be planned in the AM)