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Walking through #GarryOak #meadows & wetland marshes are to the right. Small #footpath to stroll. Still some purple #camas out.

En route home & will be uploading more photos, shortly. We had the whole park to ourselves - only wildlife sharing spaces today 😊

#QuicksBottom #Wsanec #SaanichParks #WalkInThePark #GetOutside #Nature #VancouverIsland #YYJparks #VictoriaBC #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #PNW #NatureTrail

#nature #pnw #meadows #camas #victoriabc #vancouverisland #vanisle #pacificnorthwest #wsanec #getoutside #garryoak #footpath #quicksbottom #saanichparks #walkinthepark #yyjparks #NatureTrail
in reply to PhoenixSerenity

PhoenixSerenity
PhoenixSerenity
• •

First #IndianPlums spotted.
The #berries eaten in small quantities - fresh, cooked or dried. Some #BritishColumbia #FirstNations made a purgative tonic out of the bark. Their crushed leaves smell like cucumbers.

Good soil-binding qualities on moist sites. Possible #BioEngineering species (Washington State Department of Ecology, 1993).

#OemleriaCerasiformis #NativePlants #WildFoods #osoberry #chokecherry #QuicksBottom #Nature #VancouverIsland #VictoriaBC #VanIsle #PNW #PlantIdentification

Indian plum, young berries - orange colour.
Indian plum, young berries - orange colour.
#nature #firstnations #pnw #BritishColumbia #nativeplants #victoriabc #vancouverisland #vanisle #plantidentification #quicksbottom #indianplums #berries #bioengineering #wildfoods #osoberry #chokecherry #oemleriacerasiformis
This entry was edited (1 month ago)
in reply to PhoenixSerenity

PhoenixSerenity
PhoenixSerenity
• •

The #horses that live right beside the park. I always love to see them, on every walk at this local park.

I love horses & was a competitive para-equestrian for several years. I competed in both para-equestrian competitions & non-disabled equestrian competitions - in dressage & in pole bending & barrel racing. I rode mostly English but had Western training too.

#Saanich #QuicksBottom #equine

#horses #saanich #quicksbottom #equine
This entry was edited (1 month ago)
in reply to PhoenixSerenity

PhoenixSerenity
PhoenixSerenity
• •

Killed this #InvasiveSlug because it's a big #threat to our native banana slugs & to our ecosystems here. I hate killing any living creature but these #slugs breed faster & in higher numbers than our native banana slugs. They're a huge threat to our garry oak habitats here. They graze on many at risk & endangered plants too.

#BlackSlugs aka chocolate slugs are self-fertilizing. They can produce up to 150 eggs. They can quickly reproduce and become too numerous to effectively control. Kill them.

#threat #invasiveslug #slugs #blackslugs
in reply to PhoenixSerenity

PhoenixSerenity
PhoenixSerenity
• •

Some of the #footpath #NatureTrails we walked on today 😊 It was sure nice to see no other humans in the park. We enjoyed a lot of nature delights, loved all the birds calling & singing, saw a squirrel & muskrat in creek areas & had a lovely time together ❤️

#QuicksBottom #Wsanec #SaanichParks #WalkInThePark #GetOutside #Nature #VancouverIsland #YYJparks #VictoriaBC #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #PNW #NatureTrail

Mom walking on nature trail with her hands held across her back. A stand of three, 3rd growth cedar trees is on the right of trail.
Boardwalk leading out to nature trail. Lots of full foliage trees surrounding.
Small footpath, with trees, shrubs & plants surrounding both sides, leading into natural tunneled trail.
A footpath through the forest
#nature #pnw #naturetrails #victoriabc #vancouverisland #vanisle #pacificnorthwest #wsanec #getoutside #footpath #quicksbottom #saanichparks #walkinthepark #yyjparks #NatureTrail
in reply to PhoenixSerenity

Janis La Couvée
Janis La Couvée
• •
those are such precious spots - when I used to walk there from Tillicum Mall I hardly ever saw anyone
in reply to Janis La Couvée

PhoenixSerenity
PhoenixSerenity
• •
I rarely ever see anyone else when walking around this park. I used to like sitting up in the bird blind, waiting to spot wildlife & enjoying water/snacks break, but path to it was too overgrown for us to safely access it.
in reply to PhoenixSerenity

Janis La Couvée
Janis La Couvée
• •
it's too bad when they leave these semi-wild places without maintenance. After all, it is one of Saanich's parks.
in reply to Janis La Couvée

PhoenixSerenity
PhoenixSerenity
• •
They now expect citizen stewards to do a lot of the maintenance work in Saanich Parks. Which isn't right because our tax monies are supposed to pay for parks staff to do most of that work. I am a local volunteer steward & our tasks have increased. Our taxes went up so they should do their jobs more & stop offloading on volunteer citizens.
in reply to PhoenixSerenity

Janis La Couvée
Janis La Couvée
• •
also the problem with relying on volunteers is that the volunteer base is getting older, and it is becoming harder and harder to entice younger people to get involved. I don't understand why.
in reply to Janis La Couvée

PhoenixSerenity
PhoenixSerenity
• •
You brought up the ageing of longtime volunteer nature stewards issue that I was chatting about with some fellow volunteers over the weekend. One problem we've identified is lack of PR/public reach outs to recruit younger folks. I'm working with a few nature stewards to try to develop better online & offline PR recruitment drives. We need a lot more volunteers!
in reply to PhoenixSerenity

Janis La Couvée
Janis La Couvée
• •
many organizations are at risk of folding and some have already due to the inability to recruit younger people to the work. I don't understand the obstacles. Most of us started doing this work when we ourselves were in our 30s and 40s, and busy with work, volunteer work/church and family. We were "busy" and had responsibilities but made time. What has changed?
in reply to Janis La Couvée

PhoenixSerenity
PhoenixSerenity
• •
There's a lot more hopelessness & 'we have no real future' feelings that many younger folks have expressed to me in past 5 years. I believe that has affected recruitment too.
in reply to PhoenixSerenity

Janis La Couvée
Janis La Couvée
• •
also - our "overlords" want us hopeless. Having hope is an act of resistance. It says, I will live to fight another day. Whatever our small act is. Some acts are glorious. Some are mundane. But together these small acts create waves across the world. Activism can mean saying "hi" to a neighbour, in a world that increasingly favours discord.
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