[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.27.4″]<\/p>\n
The Headwaters of Bowker Creek are located on the western side of the University of Victoria\u2019s campus, just outside of Ring Road. The area encompasses 5.7 ha (14 acres), surrounding UVic landmarks such as the Fraser building and University Club (Harrop-Archibald, 2007). Bowker Creek, which flows southeast from the headwaters, follows an 8km path entering the ocean in the municipality of Oak Bay, close to the Oak Bay Marina (CRD, 2003). Today, the creek is very highly urbanized as only 2.5km of the creek\u2019s 8km channel runs above ground, with the remaining being diverted through pipes and culverts (CRD, 2003). Being one of the largest watersheds in the region, university staff have worked to revitalize this urbanized area through creek clean ups and riparian restoration projects (Harrop-Archibald, 2007). <\/span><\/p>\n Before European settlers began to alter the landscape, Bowker Creek had many tributaries and marshlands that flowed through it with a predominantly Black Cottonwood overstory in riparian areas with Douglas Fir and Garry Oak providing the tree canopy in the surrounding areas. Both coho and chum salmon once spawned in the creek and was an important food source for the Lekwungen people who knew \u2018Mary Tod\u2019 Island (which lies near the mouth of Bowker Creek) as Kohweechella, or \u2018where there are many fish\u2019 when translated.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4019\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-15-at-3.01.44-PM.png” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image” _builder_version=”4.6.1″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4019\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-11-at-1.10.58-AM.png” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.6.1″]<\/p>\n The ERC connected with the Bowker Creek Initiative in 2017. Since then, a number of volunteers have come together to remove invasive species from the site. The ERVN\u00a0<\/span>has been working at Bowker Creek the last 1.5 years. Invasive ivy has been removed from\u00a0<\/span>patches along the Alumni Chip Trail; and holy, daphne, and tree-climbing ivy have been\u00a0<\/span>removed from portions of the forest near the trail. <\/span>One of these invasive pulls was planned in collaboration with the Greater Victoria Green Team (GVGT) for World Wildlife Day, which brought 74 volunteers total. <\/span><\/p>\n This January the group worked off-trail near the bridge in a site that could\u00a0<\/span>offer a longer-term project.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Headwaters of Bowker Creek are located on the western side of the University of Victoria\u2019s campus, just outside of Ring Road. The area encompasses 5.7 ha (14 acres), surrounding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7036,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" The Bowker Creek Headwaters is located on the western side of the University of Victoria\u2019s campus, just outside of Ring Road. The area encompasses 5.7 ha (14 acres), surrounding UVic landmarks such as the Fraser building and University Club (Harrop-Archibald, 2007). Bowker Creek, which flows southeast from the headwaters, follows an 8km path entering the ocean in the municipality of Oak Bay, close to the Oak Bay Marina (CRD, 2003). Today, the creek is very highly urbanized as only 2.5km of the creek\u2019s 8km channel runs above ground, with the remaining being diverted through pipes and culverts (CRD, 2003). Being one of the largest watersheds in the region, university staff have worked to revitalize this urbanized area through creek clean ups and riparian restoration projects (Harrop-Archibald, 2007).\u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> The ERVN connected with the Bowker Creek Initiative in 2017.\u00a0<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-94","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7036"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1032,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94\/revisions\/1032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/nature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}