2020 Notices

Fall 2020 Update

1. Little Qualicum River Estuary
   A In November 2020, the third phase of the work to improve the estuary ecosystem was undertaken.
   
   Over 30  (socially distanced) volunteers carried out the work of planting native trees, shrubs and grasses along the shores of the estuary as part of a long term project to re-vegetate the area. Click here for an overview of the Little Qualicum River Estuary project.
   
   Next steps include working with other stakeholders, (RDN, Ducks Unlimited, the BCCF, and Guardians of the Mid-Island Estuaries) to  to develop a five year plan. 

2. Measuring Water Flows in Beach and Grandon Creeks
   In the summer of 2020, a “level logger” was installed in Beach Creek at the Heritage Forest. This will provide hourly data and be downloaded annually and shared with key stakeholders, like the Town and the RDN. The data will provide a better understanding of the risks facing wild fish as they rear and come back to spawn in the streams.  A similar logger was installed in Grandon Creek several years ago. For more information, see Beach Creek and Grandon Creek.

3. Tackling Invasive Plants in Grandon Creek
   In July, a crew of volunteers went after three aggressive invasive plants that are invading Grandon Creek, including Himalayan Blackberries, Lamium and English Ivy. Find out more here.

4. Fall Water Monitoring - Little Qualicum, Grandon & Beach Watersheds
   For the tenth year in a row the Qualicum Beach Streamkeepers joined the Regional District of Nanaimo and its "Community Watershed Monitoring Network" to collect data regarding the health of our rivers and streams. Due to active logging operations, we were only able to do one of the usual five "fall flush"  visits to the Upper Cameron River site.
   
   New volunteers are always welcome to join us and it provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the source of the Qualicum Beach water supply. Click here for further information on our water monitoring activities.
   
   Further information on the "Community Watershed Monitoring Network" is available at their RDN website. (https://www.rdn.bc.ca/community-watershed-monitoring.

5. Seaside Nature Park and Faye Smith Pavilion
   We have added more plantings, weeded, and continued to work on finishing off the key elements of the site. The final addition will be the installation of carvings to the Pavilion, created by Jesse Recalma, of the Qualicum First Nation. We expect this to be complete in November 2020.  Watch our website for more information, and by all means stop by the site !!

Thanks to all our volunteers for your continuing participation and support.

David James, President