Planting in Shelly Creek Park
Press Release: November 4, 2015 from MVIHES
Shelly Creek, a small tributary of the Englishman River, is getting some well-deserved attention these days.
A riparian restoration workshop and planting blitz held recently was the latest in a number of projects Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (MVIHES) has initiated on this creek in the past few years.
At the workshop, Dave Clough, Fisheries Biologist, Richard Wahlgren, owner of Streamside Native Plants and Peter Law, MVIHES Board member gave interesting presentations on the “what”, the “how” and the “why” of stream habitat restoration and the role of the riparian zone in maintaining stream health. Those who could also attend the planting blitz went out with the professionals to get some hands-on experience by planting some 200 native shrubs at two locations in the Shelly Creek Park – a linear park trail which runs between Hamilton Avenue and the E & N Railway tracks. Many of Saturday’s volunteers were residents who live and enjoy walking in the area. The plants were purchased with funding with a grant from the Parksville-Qualicum Community Foundation.
MVIHES Project Coordinator, Faye Smith, explained that Shelly Creek, is particularly deserving of restoration attention because it produces so many coho salmon.
“Our monitoring of the pond at Martindale Road shows that it is a highly valuable nursery for coho fry and smolts,” said Smith, “however that area is at risk of being overwhelmed with sediments coming from the upper watershed as our water quality monitoring with the RDN and MOE has confirmed.”
- Faye Smith -
A grant from DFO's Recreational Fisheries Community Partnership Program along with funding from other partners has started to address some of the issues that are so degrading the stream habitat. "We'll be here for the long haul," said Smith. Thanks to the financial support of the Province of British Columbia the group will continue to engage stewards with further work in Shelly Creek and the Englishman River through the Watershed Health and You Program.
