We would like to ackowledge our partnership with the Saanich Pulling Together program. We are one of the teams of active Pulling Together volunteers in more than 55 different parks and natural areas.
Check it out here:
Horticulture Centre Of The Pacific
VISION STATEMENT
“We are an internationally recognized botanical garden and a respected centre of life-long learning, conservation and research.”
The Gardens at Horticulture Centre of the Pacific (HCP), home to the Pacific Horticulture College, presents a year-round garden experience that all can enjoy.
Located just twelve kilometres north of Downtown Victoria, British Columbia, you will find a public garden lovingly cared for by volunteers, staff and students. From our hands-on Children’s Garden to the largest outdoor Bonsai Garden in Canada, and the only outdoor bonsai Garden in Western Canada, you will find something to inspire at every visit.
We started to grow in 1979 and are proud to be a “gardeners garden”, connecting people with plants.
Being non profit we are able to exist and be successful through the kindness of others, not just through financial donations but in hands-on volunteer work throughout our garden.
Come for an afternoon stroll. Meet knowledgeable staff and volunteers who are always happy to be of assistance. Step into tranquility and out of the urban rush of your day.
Nov 5/ 2020: W̱SÁNEĆ Ethnobotany Trail at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific
Community Trees Matter Network
https://creativelyunited.org/community-trees-matter-network/
Trees Matter
Mature trees do exponentially more for us than the saplings you would replace them with. They store perhaps 200 to 300 times more carbon; they create much more oxygen; they have a far greater ability to cool the air and create much more shade. They buffer more noise. They filter and divert more storm water. They do all this for free. Our street trees alone save the city nearly $3 million a year, performing these services.
Mature trees are truly priceless. They are not replaceable in our lifetime. They take decades to grow. Let’s stop throwing away these valuable assets, this rich legacy from our forebears.
Trees are the most cost-effective way to reduce carbon dioxide, and do so much more for us besides.
Study after study shows trees benefit us in many ways, both physically and mentally. Just being able to see trees from a hospital window reduced hospital stays. Workers who can see trees have reduced stress and fewer sick days. One researcher said the greatest benefits would come from “a tree by every doorstep”… Instead we are fast heading in the opposite direction: no trees in sight.
One statistic to illustrate: two mature trees generate enough oxygen for one person to breathe with for a year, and remove 4.3 pounds of air pollutants while producing this oxygen.
– Trees are an essential part of our response to the climate-change emergency. We need to invest in them.
– Trees store carbon. Mature trees store a lot more carbon than replacement saplings do. Let’s keep the mature trees, and plant more.
– We support new staffing to fully implement Victoria’s Urban Forest Master Plan. Included in that would be a progressive update of the dated Tree Preservation Bylaw. No more delays due to limited funds or understaffing!
– We need to spend a lot more money to increase tree-planting in order to maintain and increase our tree canopy. It has been steadily declining for years.
– Whether or not we embrace densification, we must plan ways to retain mature trees throughout our city. Studies have found they improve people’s mental and physical health in many ways.
– Victoria’s street trees save the city nearly $3 million a year in ‘eco-services’ like preventing flooding, cooling streets and buildings, and reducing wind, among other things.
– We urge the city to budget for buying well-treed properties (like 1201 Fort Street) when they come on the market, as one way to retain mature trees into the future. Funding from other levels of government should also be explored.
our urban forest has been underfunded for too long, but has the potential to be a huge ally in our climate action strategies
– studies show trees can benefit community members’ physical and mental health
– trees save cities money. The US Forest Service says every dollar invested in planting and caring for trees saves $2 to $5 or more, in energy savings and storm water mitigation among other things.
Yet the international focus on fossil fuels has overshadowed the most powerful and cost-efficient carbon-capture technology the world has yet seen: forests. Recent scientific research confirms that forests and other “natural climate solutions” are absolutely essential in mitigating climate change, thanks to their carbon sequestering and storage capabilities. In fact, natural climate solutions can help us achieve 37 percent of our climate target, even though they currently receive only 2.5 percent of public climate financing.
Forests’ power to store carbon dioxide through the simple process of tree growth is staggering: one tree can store an average of about 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in one year. Recent research shows intact forests are capable of storing the equivalent of the carbon dioxide emissions of entire countries such as Peru and Colombia.
https://poliswaterproject.org
Saanich Inlet Protection Society
http://saanichinletprotection.org
| Photo: Mar Martinez |
| Helping protect Saanich Inlet since 1989 |
Bird Studies Canada
Bird Studies Canada is our country’s leading science-based bird conservation organization. Our mission is to conserve wild birds of Canada through sound science, on-the-ground actions, innovative partnerships, public engagement, and science-based advocacy.
http://www.birdscanada.org/index.jsp?lang=EN
The Friends of Maltby Lake Watershed Society
The purpose of The Friends of Maltby Lake Watershed Society are:
- to conserve the riparian, Garry Oak and coastal Douglas Fir ecosystems, the sensitive flora and fauna therein and the watershed ecosystems draining into and from, Maltby Lake
- to educate, inform and connect the public and relevant stakeholders to the importance of this delicate ecological and cultural landscape, and
- to represent the larger community of people who have a vested interest in preserving the sensitivity of the watershed and cultural heritage of the watershed.
Green Teams of Canada was inspired by the Lower Mainland Green Team volunteers and was founded in October 2013. We restore, conserve and enhance our natural environment by engaging volunteers in educational hands-on activities.
Our mission:
To organize and run hands-on activities
educating volunteers about local parks and ecosystems,
local food production
and environmental conservation.
GTC staff work with municipal, regional, and provincial government professionals along with various organizations (e.g. charities, societies, non-profits, watershed groups, stewardship groups) to conduct habitat restoration activities. Volunteers are taught about local ecology, natural history, and ecosystem restoration techniques through a hands-on experiential approach.
Activities will include the following: Identify and remove invasive plants; Plant native plants and trees; & Remove litter.
By working together, GTC staff, partners, and volunteers will help restore habitat, increase biodiversity, assist stressed and endangered habitats, and create a lasting community legacy for years to come.
We also collaborate from time to time with local non-profit farms to connect people with where their food comes from and teach them about small scale urban agriculture. Activities include: Preparing vegetable beds & Harvesting vegetables.
http://www.meetup.com/Greater-Victoria-Green-Team
Habitat Acquisition Trust helps people understand and care for natural environments in the Capital region. We are a non-profit, local land trust.
HAT works to protect ecosystems and habitat permanently. We do this in three ways:
- land acquisition through purchase or donation;
- conservation covenants;
- education & stewardship.
HAT accepts donations of property, purchases land, and helps landowners establish permanent legal restrictions to protect natural habitats. HAT works in partnership with governments and other non-profit organizations to achieve our goals. We also work with communities, schools, and individual landowners to enhance habitat protection on private land – making everyone part of the solution!
The Nature Conservancy of Canada
A natural legacy through partnership
VISION
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) protects areas of natural diversity for their intrinsic value and for the benefit of our children and those after them.
MISSION
The Nature Conservancy of Canada will lead, innovate and use creativity in the conservation of Canada’s natural heritage.
We will secure important natural areas through their purchase, donation or other mechanisms, and then manage these properties for the long term.
VALUES
The Earth’s biological diversity is being lost at a rate that impoverishes our quality of life and threatens our future.
NCC’s work is guided by the belief that our society will be judged by what it creates in the present and what it conserves for the future.
Wherever we work across Canada, we share and apply the following values:
- We are guided by the best available conservation science.
- We work in a non-confrontational manner.
- We manage lands and waters for their natural values.
- We respect and promote nature’s own processes.
- We recognize the need for people to sustain themselves and live productively while conserving our country’s natural habitats and species.
http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/
Peninsula Streams Society
Conserving the watersheds of the Saanich Peninsula
Peninsula Streams Society helps coordinate stream restoration and habitat conservation on the Saanich Peninsula, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Our goal is to achieve healthy aquatic habitat that supports self-sustaining populations of native species in both freshwater and marine environments. We accomplish this objective through research, restoration, innovative projects, public education and private land stewardship.
The purposes of Peninsula Streams Society are:
- To develop, organize and participate in environmental projects and programs on the Saanich Peninsula and surrounding areas that will:
- monitor, preserve and restore flora and fauna
- monitor, preserve and restore rivers, creeks and watersheds, marine environments and near-shore environments
- conserve, re-use and reduce water and waste
- improve the urban and rural/agricultural environments
- To educate and increase the understanding of the public, environmental organizations, government and the press about environmental preservation and restoration and their importance, by offering workshops, seminars, training and lectures.
- To conduct research relating to the environment and disseminate the results of such research.
Prospect Lake District Community Association
A proactive, volunteer run community group, the Prospect Lake District Community Association has been operating since 1956 as a registered charity, dedicated to building and conserving the community. Originally set up to promote sports and community, the association evolves as our communitiy’s needs evolve. Come out be part of shaping how we keep creating connections and care for our neighborhood.
Connect with your neighbours and keep up with issues affecting Prospect Lake District community. Join us at monthly meetings and, or one of our many social events throughout the year. We have many opportunities for participants and volunteers to join in.
SEACHANGE MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY
Conservation, Restoration and Education on the West Coast
About Us
SeaChange Marine Conservation Society, established as a charitable non – profit in 1998, educates children and the public about marine and watershed ecology through hands-on interactive outdoor programs. We also conserve and restore marine nearshore eelgrass habitats in BC in partnership with coastal communities, from Boundary Bay to Haida Gwaii.
SeaChange is actively leading restoration work in SNIDCEL (pronounced sneed-kwith), also known as Tod Inlet, doing both terrestrial and marine restoration. SNIDCEL volunteer days, educational programs and ethnobotanical tours are very popular with local schools, organizations and residents alike.
We are effecting change by engaging and involving communities in direct actions that bring hope close to home.
Our Goals:
- To educate the public regarding the effects of human population on marine ecosystems.
- To conduct education workshops for schools and the public on marine conservation issues.
- To organize expeditions for on-site interpretation of ecosystems for the public.
- To cooperate with other environmental groups to promote systemic change in the ways we make use of marine resources.
- To participate with other like-minded organizations to create marine sanctuaries, collect data, organize workshops and conferences on the importance of rehabilitating and sustaining marine biodiversity.
- To reverse the continual degradation of marine ecosystems through restoration, rehabilitation and/or conservation activities.
- To offer an ethnobotanical perspective of local ecosystems
- To integrate terrestrial and marine conservation and restoration in the ongoing work at SNIDCEL
SEACHANGE PROJECTS
MARINE RESTORATION
TERRESTRIAL RESTORATION
NATIVE PLANT PROPAGATION
ETHNOBOTANICAL TOURS
EELGRASS MAPPING
COMMUNITY MAPPING
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
The Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary consists of two distinct areas;
-
marshy lowlands surrounding Swan Lake
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rocky, oak-forested highlands of Christmas Hill
Swan Lake
The marsh around Swan Lake provides good habitat for many birds and small animals, including muskrat, river otter and mink. They make their homes in the rock walls, marsh grasses and cattails beside the lake. Swan Lake’s water comes from a large watershed to the north and the east, which includes Blenkinsop Lake. The water drains west from the lake into the Colquitz River and drains into the Pacific Ocean at Portage Inlet.
Christmas Hill
The highland environment of Christmas Hill is in marked contrast to the lowlands of Swan Lake. The glacially moulded rock faces, the vernal (seasonal) pond and the majestic view from the hilltop are of special interest to visitors. The meadows surrounding Christmas Hill bloom with a sea of wildflowers in the spring. The Swan Lake and Christmas Hill sections are connected by a trail corridor. A 2.5-kilometre loop trail, that includes two wharves and a floating walkway, provide access to the lake area.