Ecologically emPowering Inclusive Communities
EPIC Learning Centre (EPIC) is a community-created, nature-based K- 3/4 (DL) centre in Victoria, BC.
EPIC is a new site partnership with Power to Be on Prospect Lake, the traditional land of the Songhees, Esquimalt, Malahat and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
Learning at EPIC is deeply rooted in the natural world and our goal is to build a multi-generational, diverse learning community.
For a look at the website, go to: https://epiclearningcentre.org
Nov 19/ 2021
Teachers Catie Bainbridge and Megan Grupe participated in a watershed tour, hosted by Mary and Lori.
After all the flooding in BC, today we have sun for the watershed tour. We met Catie and Megan at Whitehead Park, where we will come back to in turn, as we start the tour at the watershed headwaters. 
Water gauge readings. 
Catie, Mary and Megan, walking the trail to Trevlac Pond, part of Calvert Park in Saanich. 
Then a look at Maltby Lake, and more of the headwaters of Tod Creek Watershed.
The 5 hectare spring-fed lake drains through a large wetland, Philippa Lake, which drains into Bleathman Creek and then flows into Prospect Lake.
Carmel Thomson kindly gave us a tour; her delightful pup, Beau, entertained us. 
We viewed Maltby Lake from a hill behind the usual meeting place lakeside, as the trail is below water level. 
This precious ecosystem is home to hundreds of species, including freshwater jellyfish, freshwater sponge, Great Horned Owls, Pygmy Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, Purple Martins, rare Western Painted turtles, and more. 
Next, we returned to Whitehead Park, to show Catie and Megan where Prospect Lake drains into Tod Creek. 
We could walk the trails but clearly still flooded. 
Ran into Pat Carfra, who kindly hosted our first meeting with Catie and Megan at her house recently. 
We were able to share a lot of the progress FTCW has made at the park, removing so many invasive plants and replacing with native plants such as Hardhack shown here. 
Behind the Red Barn, on West Saanich Road, we viewed Tod Flats. 
At the heart of the watershed , Tod Flats is a 75 acre wetland, historically a natural floodplain haven for wildlife, especially waterfowl. Work is currently being done to return it to a healthy fish habitat. 
Our last stop was Gowlland Tod Provincial Park. 
Here the history of the fish ladder is explained by Mary. The fishway is equipped with counting and camera technology to record the seasonal activity of fish moving up and down the stream, described in this sign. 
The Butchart Fishway provides a route around the old concrete dam. 
