Meeting Notes
Friends of Tod Creek Watershed meet the first Wednesday of every second month.
You are welcome to join us.
Mission: To protect and enhance the integrity and biodiversity of the Tod Creek Watershed.
To view notes from previous meetings, use the “Meeting Notes” Archive links on the right panel.
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5 January, 2011
Posted on February 2, 2011 by mary
Next meeting: Wednesday, 2nd March at Haig-Brown/Bowker’s, 237 Meadowbrook Road.
Present: Graham Walker, Bernie Bowker, Pat Carfra, Sherron MacPherson, Frances Hunter, Audrey Barnes, Winona Pugh, Mary Haig-Brown
1. Adoption of Agenda m/s Bernie/Audrey
2. Adoption of Meeting Notes from 3rd November, 2010 m/s Audrey/Pat
3. Updates:
a) Survey re boats on Prospect Lake – Rick and Donna have decided not to pursue this. Through discussion we agreed we would like to collect data about boat use and local resident’s desires for the lake. Graham agreed to draft a questionnaire to be circulated to residents living on and near the lake to determine this. We will also consider polling users of the boat launch on Echo Drive and at Whitehead Park sometime in the summer.
b) Heritage Society – Have had an information gathering meeting with Bruce Davies, the curator of Craigdarroch Castle. They have also begun gathering information through interviews. Several other names of people to interview were suggested.
c) Septic Savy Workshop – attendance was low perhaps due to the first snow fall, but excellent information was well received by those who did attend. I was reminded that effluent should stay in the tank as long as possible in order for the bacteria to break down solids before they go to the drain field. No more doing two loads of laundry in one day.
d) Butchart’s fishway – Pat will talk to Barry Britnell to see if he can urge it along.
4. Projects:
a) Tod Creek Flats – Grant application score so far 0/4. Deborah Curran and Mary will make a presentation to the Peninsula Agriculture Commission next Thursday.
b) Killarney Creek Fan – Winona will ask HAT to come and have a look at the area with view to a possible conservation covenant. She will also ask for ideas on yellow iris removal or control.
c) Meadowbrook Reservoir – Engineer Mike Thompson is drawing up plans for a repair to dam. Ian Bruce and Francesca Loro of Peninsula Streams, a heavy equipment operator (Spider backhoe) Walt, Mike Thompson, Bernie and Mary will be going up to the reservoir on Saturday to measure depths and slope of toe of dam, work out logistics and make cost estimates. These will be used in a PSF grant application due Feb. 15th.
d) Whitehead Park – work area is underwater. We look forward to getting back to work later in the season.
e) Eastlake – We had an excellent turnout of 22 people for the Ivy Pull in November. There is more ivy to pull and we need to replant the area we have cleared. Mary and Sherron will work on a Walmart-Evergreen grant application to support this work. Marian McCoy has agreed to help with this. We may include Whitehead Park in the area for replanting.
5. New Business:
a) Lori is concerned about coconuts falling on people’s heads, but since this is in Hawaii we decided it was outside our watershed and therefore outside our mission.
b) Celebration of Whitehead Park playground opening. We would like to hold a celebration of the park and our restoration work for Earth week in April. We could apply to Saanich for a matching grant to go with our $250 from the Invasive Plant Council for our work on Eastlake. We could have interpretive walks, Pen Streams watershed model, invasive plant info etc. Sherron to start process going. Mary and Sherron to work on next steps. Anyone who would like to help, please let one of us know.
6. Walks: Next walk is another visit to Mary Lake. Saturday, 15th January at 10:00. Meet at Whitehead Park at 9:15 to car pool.
7. Next meeting: Wednesday, 2nd March at Haig-Brown/Bowker’s, 237 Meadowbrook Road.
