A couple of hikes in BC Parks and one black bear meeting

This past week I had time to hike a couple of BC Parks (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/) which is celebrating it's 100th anniversary this year!

Check out photos of Gowlland Todd Provincial Park in Saanich, BC (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/gowlland_tod/), a beautiful day hike only 30 mins. from Victoria, BC in this album on Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/112857226317189416164/GowllandTodProvincialParkVictoriaBCMay22011?feat=directlink

For the more adventurous, check out Botanical Beach at Juan de Fuca Marine Park in Port Renfrew (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/juan_de_fuca/), a couple of hours drive from Victoria along the west coast of Vancouver Island. From the parking lot to the beach is only 30 mins. but you can follow the Juan de Fuca Marine trail for up to 47 kms and camp along the shoreline if you are up for it. This is where I met my black bear on a rocky point - just me, him and the ocean! I backed away and he wasn't aggressive, so all's well that end's well!

For a few photos of Botanical Beach and one hastily taken one of a black bear check out the album on Picasa at: https://picasaweb.google.com/112857226317189416164/BotanicalBeachMay2011?feat=directlink

You'll have to click on the link above to see the pic of my black bear experience...

Sand Dune Restoration at Pacific Rim National Park, Tofino, BC

I recently returned from a week in Tofino, BC volunteering at the restoration of the sand dunes at Wickaninnish Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park (http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/natcul/natcul4.aspx). The dune ecosystem is one of the rarest in BC - something less than a percent of it exists on the coast.

The dunes are being effected by European sand grass (Ammophila arenaria), an invasive species that traps the sand and prevents it from reaching the dunes.

Roots of the invasive grass can spread from beach to beach which is how it got from where it was introduced in California originally to stabilize the sand there. Without the changing and shifting dunes, plants like salal (Gaultheria shallon), kinnikinnick (Arcostaphylos uva-ursi) and other shrubs can spread, and eventually the forest encroaches, destroying the dunes. Several plant species only found in dunes are at risk including Pink Sand verbena (Abronia umbellata), thought to be extirpated in BC until a single plant was found and seedlings propagated from it (Pacific Rim National Park species website).

The restoration has been going on for about 3 years. It begins with mechanical removal of the invasive beach grass with a backhoe. The roots of the beach grass are sometimes over a metre long and the grass resprouts from the fragments left over from the backhoe removal (at a rate of about 30% regrowth).

The resprouted grass is removed by digging into the sand about 30 cm to find the root fragments and hand pulling it out. This technique results in only a 10% regrowth afterwards.

The Pacific Rim National Park is planning on planting Pink Sand verbena seedlings in the treatment area in an attempt to reintroduce this species to the dune ecosystem.

Along with volunteering I met up with some great people, learned a lot about the sand dune ecosystem, visited the Shorepine Bog ecosystem (pictured below) and rain forest walk, visited the recently renovated and upgraded Wickaninnish Interpretive Center, had a free campsite for the week at Green Point, and even did my first surfing lesson!

For info on upcoming grass pull opportunities at Pacific Rim National Park, check out their volunteers website: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/natcul/natcul4.aspx