Our third stop of the Kootenay Trip brought us to the mountain town of Rossland, B.C. The BCWF has had the pleasure of being part of several restoration projects that have occurred in the Rossland area, and partnering once again with the Rossland Society for Environmental Action and Rossland Summit School. One of the ongoing projects that the BCWF has supported is the restoration of wetland habitat at King George VI Provincial Park. After a day of getting participants up to speed with a baseline knowledge of wetlands, we arrived at the King George Restoration Site on a sunny morning. Here, local landscape designer and Wetland’s Institute alumnus Eva Cameron led the group through the site as she was heavily involved with the project. While stepping over keenly placed logs and trudging up mounds of soil, participants learned a brief history of the area and were introduced to the intensity of the restoration process.
With a quick stop to pull some invasive knapweed, the group left King George and ventured over to the Jubilee Park wetlands. Situated directly behind the Rossland Summit School, this wetland has become an outdoor learning lab with an endless supply of curriculum led by Rossland Summit School teacher, Laura Jackman. Laura has been bringing students to the Jubilee wetland on a weekly basis, rain or shine, over the last few years and is using this alternative classroom format to foster curiosity in a new generation of wetland stewards.
The group had the pleasure of aiding Laura and Eva with some much-needed maintenance at the wetland, including clearing overgrown ponds of cattails, unclogging waterways, enhancing the fencing, removing invasive species, and planting native tree and shrub species in designated areas. Many hands made light work and the group was rewarded with a variety of delicious fresh baked goods from Rossland’s own Hooper’s Bakery. With smiles all around, the BCWF bid farewell to a new group of wetland stewards to continue their Wetlandkeepers journey to Armstrong & Spallumcheen.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our workshops, we hope you had as much fun as we did! Want to join a workshop? Visit bcwf.bc.ca/wetlands-program to find upcoming stewardship and learning opportunities.
Click here to see more of our photos from Rossland!
The B.C. Wildlife Federation operates on the unceded ancestral, traditional and contemporary territories of the Semiahmoo, sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie), S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (W̱SÁNEĆ), Kwantlen, Stz’uminus, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group Nations.
This workshop was held free of charge for participants, and would not have been possible without the generous financial support of the following contributors/ Ce projet a été réalisé avec l’appui financier de:
BCWF Bog Blog 