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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FRIENDS OF TOD CREEK WATERSHED
MEETING NOTES
20TH JUNE,2012
Mission: To protect and enhance the integrity and biodiversity of the Tod Creek Watershed.
Regrets: Sherron MacPherson, Pat Carfra, Lori James Derry
- Adoption of Agenda
- Adoption of 7th March Meeting Notes
- a) Finances – Current bank balance as 31st May: $1736.30.
Saanich Matching Grant cheque to be deposited: $ 500.00
Total: $2236.30
b) Expenses outstanding: First Aid Kit approx. $72.00
QEP Sara Stallard for West side Whitehead $500.00
c) Grants applied for:
TD Friends of the Environment: $2125
Canon: $5000
Sherron is retiring as treasurer. Joanne Delage has agreed to take this on.
- Announcements:
a)Hartland Happening Sunday, June 24, 2012, 10:30 am – 3:30 pm
Come for a look behind the scenes at our award-winning landfill and check out educational displays, take a guided tour and kids can play with mini-machines in the giant sandbox. Hot dogs, hamburgers and juice will be provided.
To register and save your spot on a free tour of Hartland landfill email hartland@crd.bc.ca or call 250.474.9613.
Accepting donations for United Way.
For more information visit: www.crd.bc.ca/hartlandhappening
b) Our Backyard is a publication of the Environmental Services section of Saanich Planning. It is available on the Saanich website and as a hard copy. Mary has written an article about plans for this summer’s work at Whitehead Park for the upcoming edition.
c) Canada Goose survey finished. We will hear results when they are tabulated. No geese were seen by Winona and Sherron on Prospect Lake on count days for the past 13 months although we have seen some on other days. Mary and Audrey have had plenty to count at Tod Creek Flats especially in the winter months.
d) Peninsula Streams 10th Anniversary July 14th . See poster attached and also Volunteer jobs available. Please check to see what you can offer. We will have a table display. That will be a good place to get volunteers for our summer work parties. Mary will call and book us a table.
e) Echo Learning Hive is a website designed to help teachers find environmental opportunities for students and for interested people to find volunteer opportunities. Go to http://ecolearninghive.org/ and click on “Connect with Eco Education Organizations” to find the listing for Friends of Tod Creek Watershed.
There is also a call for places that children doing Environmental summer camps can volunteer. Winona will call Jenny to see if we can help.
- Projects:
a) Turtle logs: Winona and Mary are meeting with Christian Englstoft from HAT Thursday morning to see about placing basking logs for Western Painted Turtles at suitable places in Prospect Lake. These logs make monitoring of populations easier. We will look at Winona’s place and also near Joanne Delage’s place to see if Christian thinks they are suitable sites.
b) Butchart’s Fishway and Tod Creek as salmon habitat. Lin Callow, a restoration biologist working with Peninsula Streams, reported on progress being made with DFO biologist Margaret Wright and DFO Community Advisor Erica Blake to assess Tod Creek history and habitat for Coho and Sea run Cutthroat. This information will be used to justify a fishway over Butchart’s dam and also to begin work on the hydrology for restoration of the creek through the Tod Creek Flats property. We would like to have monitoring stations in place before the low flow period this summer in order to assess water quality. Some data loggers are available from DFO and possibly some funding to test for nutrient levels. Lin is searching for a volunteer hydrologist to help set this up.
Lin and Mary are meeting with Ron De Pol Thursday afternoon to talk about his valuable work done earlier to restore the creek.
c) Whitehead Park
East side: We are weeding and checking plantings. Probably do some replacement planting in the fall. We are pleased with our progress. The new path is mulched to prevent compaction and there are plant labels on many of the native plants. Work on the “stream” will be done soon by Saanich Storm and Wastewater Department. The next phase of restoration will be done later.
West side: The big project this summer is removal of Yellow Flag Iris (YFI) from the west (playground) side of the Park. With the help of Saanich Parks Department we are planning to clear and then dig the Yellow Flag Iris which is taking over the riparian area. We will start at the south (upstream) edge of the park and remove ivy and blackberry as well as the YFI. We have engaged Sara Stallard, a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP), to obtain permissions from DFO and MoE and to guide us through this work. We will have to hold several work parties during the summer as the iris roots must be dug by hand. Dates to be announced shortly.
6.Heritage Society Winona reprted the book is almost done. There has been so much information gathered that the society is already talking of doing a second, larger book. The society invites everyone to: Prospect Lake Heritage Society
Annual General Meeting
Sunday June 24, 2:00 -4:00 pm
Tour the private collection of over 20 restored buggies wagons and artifacts
HI –LO Farms, 6963 West Saanich Road
Photo courtesy of Doris Wakelyn
The meeting will begin with the tour and members will meet for the AGM in the heritage barn while families and friends may continue to view the collection. Please pass this invitation on to those who may be interested in seeing the farm and collection
Refreshments will be served
- Other business:
Winona: It is time to do a secci disc reading to check the turbitity of Prospect Lake. This is arranged through BC Lake Stewardship Society. The annual reading will be taken between June 23rd and July 15th. Winona and Mary will do Prospect Lake. Woody will do Maltby Lake.
Woody is trying again to have multiple public accesses to Maltby Lake eliminated when the subdivision of the property goes through. Some letters were received by Bruce Hacking of Saanich Planning earlier, but several were not in the file. Because 35% of the property belongs to TLC there will always be a way to access the lake. Multiple accesses will damage the integrity of this lake which is in a pristine state due to the fact that it has been private with limited access for many years. Woody is working with Eric Bonham of the BC Lake Stewardship Society and will go to PLDCA for support before taking his case to Mayor and Council.
- Next meeting: Wednesday, 12th September at Audrey Barnes’ 140 Kiowa Place.
