Jan 4th
A very rainy day. Robin MacKenzie joined us. Kitty and I made up the team. The creek was high, flooding the trail in the usual spot. After walking around and showing what we had done to Robin, we settled in to clearing the plastic tape and downed horsetail from the rest of the hardhack. Much of it is standing up now. We will see how it fares. The two large cedar trees are tilting farther. We will give Saanich another week to get to them before we attempt the job ourselves. [3 people/ 1 hour]
Very high water levels today. 
Photo taken from the west side of the bridge on Goward Road, over the creek where the above water gauge is. 
A little further along Goward Road, looking at the east-side of the park. The Alder trees on the right are on the creek bank. Straight ahead you can see the water has come over the bank and into the park. 
Standing on Site 1 of our plantings, east-side, the creek is into the park by quite a bit. 
Jan 11th
A day that threatened wind and rain but delivered neither while we were there. Lori, Kitty and I took a walk around both sides of the park. Saanich has tied up the tipping cedars very well. The hardhack is starting to stand upright as it reaches for the light. We couldn’t resist doing a little weeding as we went. More cardboard to smother more Reed Canary Grass would be a good idea. [3 people, 1 hour]
Storm damage to the willow picnic area, cordoned off by Saanich. 
High water after all the rain. 
Mary & Kitty clearing off the water gauge. 
Not the highest lately. 
Hardhack.
Jan 18th
Lori and Michael dropped off a bunch of cardboard. We removed the staples and tape and spread it on the reed canary grass below the trail in the hardhack. It was a bit hard to do because we didn’t particularly want to smother any other plants. We spread mulch on some of the cardboard. In the meantime Audrey and Lori were pulling blackberries and replacing the sign on the big fir. Audrey, Kathleen, Lori, Kitty and Mary. [5 people for 2 hours]
Beautiful sky over Prospect Lake. 
This photo and the next are taken from the west-side of the park, 
from the land-side of the creek. This shows how much water is over-flowing the banks. 
Audrey enjoys something here. 
water levels 
Saanich has supported the cedar trees that sloughed over. 
Cardboard for smothering the Reed Canary grass. 
We have to first remove all tape and staples. 
Jan 25th
A busy day in the park. The PSF sign was tipped over. Lori made a few phone calls and people turned up to right it. In the meantime Lori used her truck with Audrey guiding her to pull a Saanich truck out of the mud while Kitty and I were scraping up the last of the mulch and spreading it on the cardboard around the hardhack. (4 people 1 ½ hours)
Arrived today to find the “Salmon Habitat” sign vadalized. Police kindly came out to have a look, get some photos, and a file has been started. Plus a Saanich worker was able to right the sign immediately. 
Very small sprouts of Skunk cabbage showing 
Found a small plant, root-bound, underneath the mulch. Planted with hopes. 
Today’s team: Mary, Kitty & Audrey [and myself, the photographer].
Feb 1st
Only Lori and Mary were able to make it this morning. We spent the time looking over the site to see how the whispers of spring were making themselves felt. We decided we could take some of the fallen alder branches to continue our “fence” cum small bird and animal habitat between the trees along Goward Road. Still pretty wet. [2 people ¾ hour]
Hydrology: water levels are photographed every Monday. 
See our “Hydrology” page for details. 
Clear to see here: where the cardboard has been layed around the hardhack and then mulched. The right side of the photo here awaits the same treatment. 
Snowdrops: native to Europe and the Middle East, introduced here. 
Pulling Together has delivered mulch.
Feb 8th
Time to do serious planning in prep for a visit from Katie and Rick Hatch. We agree the main thing is maintenance. They have booked us in for March 11. [4 people for 1 hour]
Not great photos [cell phone]: Common Merganser 
disturbed. 
This might be a good place to build a rock streambed, diverting the water from the parking lot. 
Today’s team: Kitty, Audrey, Mary, Kathleen & Lori 
The watergauge is often cluttered with stream vegitation. 
Daffodils pushing through. 
Doing a site assessment for Pulling Together.
Feb 15th
No work in the park today due to snow.
Feb 22nd
Slightly damp but we all turned out with relief. So nice to be out of the house and doing. We had a wander on the west side noting some damage that we will have to repair when the water goes down. The large alder with the tunneling under the roots is gone. Over on the east side we cleared the streams of little rock dams that looked like children having fun. Then we got to clearing the branches from the old alders and taking them to build up the “fences” along Goward. Then we got into pulling blackberries from among the rescued roses. And more general tidying around. Lori, Kitty, Audrey, Kathleen and Mary [5 people for 2 hours]
High waters, west-side of Tod Creek. 
Assessing water damage 
and plans for restoration work. 
Kathleen on the other side of the creek. 
Water gauge 
reading. 
Using fallen branches 
to create a fence structure, which demarcates the park and protects the birds. 
Note the pile of wood chips for the trails.
March 1st
Hydro line clearing had left us a big pile of chips. Perfect. In two teams of two we spread them on the trails, using our two wheelbarrows. Audrey and Lori did the central trail and Kitty and Mary did the trail in from Goward Road. We were proud of the results getting ready for spring. [4 people, 1 ½ hours]
Water is receding a bit from the previous weeks. 
Water gauge 
reading. 
Making good use of the wood chips 
along all the trails 
Wood chips gone.
March 8
Mostly getting ready for visit from Katie and Rick Hatch on Thursday. We noted trees that need staking, did some weeding, wondered about getting the Reed Canary Grass from among the other plants. Maintenance is the flavour of the month. [4 people 1 hour]
Geese walking the trails. 
Audrey and Kathleen arriving for work. 
Water gauge level. 
Mary from a distance. 
Trails looking tended. 
Removing invasives. 
Keta, our mascot, walking with his person.
March 11th: Restoration Action Plan tour with Katie Turner & Rick Hatch of Saanich
Meeting with Katie and Rick. On east side it is mostly maintenance. Asked for a few more cedars and some staking. On the west side we asked for some skunk cabbage and a couple of pines and a solution to the water that drains through the parking lot and across the grass. Probably a dry stream bed which would mean we will have to plan for some shrubs in the part nest to the road because the mower would not be able to get across the “stream”. [6 people for 1 ½ hours plus 2 Saanich staff]
Audrey, Kitty, Mary, Lori & Pat arrive for the Restoration Plan assessment. 
Mum & toddler walking the east-side trails. 
Rick Hatch, left; Katie Turner in yellow vest, second from the right. 
Katie will help us with longer lasting plant labels. 
But here we found our violets poking through the soil. 
Goward Road, still shared with horses. 
Winona & friend arrive. 
Wrapping up our assessment of WHP east-side. 
We really appreciate our rural roads, and lowered speed limits, 
as does this beauty. 
First Fawn lily coming up. 
WHP west-side with a couple of Hawthorne trees the worse for wear in wet soil; Saanich will right them, and stake them up with braces. 
Sap draining from Sapsucker holes. 
A small spring on the west-side is running through the parking lot; a meandering creek bed will be created here. 
Stream as viewed from the east-side, looking across Tod Creek.
March 15th
An excellent day. Robin and ??? from Saanich brought the 6 cedar trees we asked for as well a wire and posts in order to stake some tipping trees. Lori, Kitty, Audrey and I planted some trees and assisted in the staking. We also put more mulch on the reed canary grass, some with cardboard underneath and some without. A busy and productive day. 4 people for 1 ½ hours plus 2 Saanich Staff]
Mary & Kitty approach as Audrey watches, 
our water gauge, which we monitor every Monday. 
Saanich brought Cedar trees, 
that we are planting both east & west-side of the park. 
Brad making good post holes for our larger tree supports. 
Robin & Brad from Saanich. 
March 22
A very satisfying day. We completed covering the paths with chips as well as generally tidying up. It is so handy to have two wheelbarrows. Lori and I and Kathleen and Kitty made two teams with the wheelbarrows to get the job done. Meanwhile Audrey was on the west side removing some fencing that trees had outgrown and protecting others. [5 people for 1 ½ hours]
The plum trees blooming, standing on the west side looking across the creek. 
Skunk cabbage working to bloom. 
Wood chipping all the trails. 
Plum tree blooms. 
The Crew: Kitty, Audrey, Mary, Kathleen, and Lori photographing.
March 29
Admired Audrey’s work of last week. There is still a lot of water sitting on the land. It is, after all, still a flood plain on both sides of the creek. Audrey worked on the last (?) of the blackberries by the big tree. Kitty, Lori and I cleaned up more of the branches and other detritus on the rest of the site. We have almost used up the chips and thought we could mix the remaining bit with the mulch for later. First thing next week. Winona brought some cardboard by and we will spread in on the RCG. [4 people 1 ½ hours]
Skunk cabbage on the west side. 
Tall Oregon-grape flowering [Mahonia aquifolium]. 
Before pruning the Hardhack [Spiraea douglasii]. 
Red-flowering Currant [Ribes sanguineum]. 
June-plum [Oemleria cerasiformis]. 
After pruning the Hardhack. 
Audrey, Kitty, Mary and Lori photographing.
April 5
Skunk cabbage [Lysichiton americanum] blooming on the west-side, a volunteer! 
East-side Skunk cabbage gettiing bigger. 
Kitty with today’s plantings 
Salmon berry bloom [Rubus spectabilis]. 
Tall Oregan-grape flowering. 
Plum tree bloom. 
Today’s team: Kathleen, Kitty, Mary and Lori photographing. 
Traveller. 
Double-headed White Fawn lily [Erythronium oregonum].