We are thrilled to kick off year two of the three year project Communities Protect Freshwater Together: Riparian Restoration in the Kootenay Region. The purpose of the project is to is to engage and inspire the local community to help protect freshwater quality through the restoration of critical water bodies and adjacent riparian habitat within three sites in the Central Kootenay region of British Columbia. Keep reading to find out what we have been up to at each site in the Spring of 2023 and stay tuned for volunteer opportunities in the fall of 2023!
Harrop Proctor Wetland
Congratulations and a huge thank you to the grade 5,6 & 7 students of Redfish Elementary school who assisted in the Harrop Wetland Enhancement Project. On May 11, they planted native alder, dogwood and cedar to restore the wetland habitat for western toad, painted turtle, blue heron and other at-risk species. Whilst at the wetland the students also learned about invasive species and removed some Canada thistle. Special thank you to the Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society who are leading the project and helped run the native planting station.
Hunter Siding Wetland
We are so grateful for our volunteers! On June 9 we had some fantastic helpers with us up at the beautiful Hunter siding wetland restoration site near Hills at the top of Slocan Lake. Thanks to all of the great people who showed up today and removed a huge amount of thistle, helping native plants survival and success. Every effort made on a local level can piece together to help with the larger issues we face as a global community. Even as little as remembering to #PlayCleanGo can be a great help in reducing invasive species spread among your favorite recreational sites and trails! Special thanks to our friends at the Slocan Lake Stewardship Society for the help in running this event and for their ongoing work at the restoration site.
Jubliee Wetland
Many hands make light work. Thanks to an amazing effort from students at Rossland Summit School the Jubilee Wetland Restoration got a helping set of hands. On June 14 two classes helped CKISS to identify and remove invasive plants such as pulling canada thistle and solarization of creeping buttercup. We also set up a planting bed with some native golden rod, Douglas maple, poplar and asters that will be transplanted in the fall of 2023. Since we were working at a known invasive plant site, we made sure to #WorkCleanGo to reduce further spreading of invasives.
This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change.
Ce projet a été realisé avec l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada agissant par l’entremise du ministère federal de l’Environnement et du Changement climatique.
Additional support has been provided by Columbia Basin Trust and the Government of B.C.
