Earth Day 2008, April 26, Bowen Park 11, am-4:30pm

Bowen Park has been transformed. A brand-new stream flows through the forest. Built by DFO last year, as a natural fishway it allows fish access to the Millstone River, bypassing all the falls. It works!

Last year coho swam up the channel to spawn in the river, and some of them spawned in the channel itself. If you haven't seen the new stream, you have never lived. The Goldstream is lame by comparison. On Saturday, April 26th, you will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this modern miracle. If you want to come down and see the stream, there will be a conducted tour at 11:30 am.

 After four months of intensive planning, the Earth Day Committee is hosting Earth Day Nanaimo 2008. It was no small task, but we have set up for a fun event, with music, stuff for kids, and most important of all (to me), a tree-planting tournament. We have purchased 150 native plants, and we need to get them into the ground, to protect and enhance the new stream. We are doing an ivy removal exercise, to liberate the native trees from the tyranny of this invasive parasite. We will provide the tools but if you want to bring a pair of snips to cut ivy, please do.

 For kids, there will be a fishing expedition, using fry traps and nets, to see what is there. The kids can go wading in the creek, using special buckets to see the life beneath the surface. Budding biologists will be supplied with waders and nets to do their own exploration.  The flowers are in bloom, so you will see White fawn lilies hiding in the forest.

P.S. the White fawn lilies are still out at Piper's Lagoon.