Organized by Sea Change Marine Conservation Society and funded by the Ministry of Environment, CRD Arts Development Service and Evergreen Foundation, all three events commemorate the 100th anniversary of BC Parks.

While the food cooks, children can take part in a treasure hunt, check out a model of the Tod Creek watershed or make some crafts.  At 11 am there will be an ethno-botanical tour.  Bring your memories about the Inlet for inclusion in the Saanich Inlet and Peninsula Coastal Community Map project any time of day.  Sometime around noon the food will be ready, but not necessarily at the same time.  Anyone who inhales the aroma of salmon roasting and anticipates the flavour while the hot rocks in the pit finish the vegetables will not be likely to leave until they’ve eaten.

This is a chance to exchange ideas about how to use signs to inform people who visit this particular provincial park about some of its rich history. Local First Nations lived in the area and referred to the land around Tod Inlet as SNITCEL, (pronounced “sneak with”) which translates into Place of the Blue Grouse. They continue to practice their rights under the Douglas Treaty. Pioneers and Chinese workers lived in the area for over 50 years starting in the early 1900’s. So, there is plenty to share with visitors.

The afternoon will run informally and will include telling stories, discussion about signs, activities for children and community mapping. Canopy tents and the Nature Float will be on hand in case of rain.

Anyone who would like to bring root vegetables for cooking in the pit is requested to have them on site by 9 am.  Contact SeaChange Marine Conservation Society if you’d like to make an arrangement to drop pit cook foods off the day before the cook. Please help keep the collective footprint light by bringing your own dishes and drink, packing garbage and recyclables back out with you and keeping dogs on leash.

Parking is limited at the entrance on Wallace Drive just south of Benvenuto Avenue; so consider car-pooling, biking, or using BC Transit. The walk from the service gate on Wallace Drive down to Tod Inlet takes about 20 minutes. There is a BC Transit stop at Butchart Gardens.  From the bus stop, walk back to Benvenuto Ave, head downhill to the service gate and follow the service road down to Tod Inlet, about a 10 minute walk. For those with limited mobility, please contact SeaChange in advance to arrange for access.

For more information, please contact:
SeaChange Marine Conservation Society, 250-652-1662 or sverstegen@shaw.ca

Updates will be posted on this blog.

The dispaly varies, but there are always cool things to see and touch.

On Saturday Sept 24, 2011 from 10 am to 4 pm a jam packed celebration of the area around Tod Inlet will occur.  Ministry of Environment is celebrating 100 years of BC Parks and those who frequent Tod Inlet get to take the opportunity to deepen their connection to a favorite provincial park.  Those who have never been get to discover yet another wonderful place brimming with beauty, history and culture .  The schedule is still being finalized as of Monday Sept 15th but events include:

A display of  archeological beaks, bones and teeth in the morning.

Music by the Leslie Gentile Band

Hands on demonstration about ocean acidification and sea level rise from UVic grad students with the climate modeling lab.

A presentation on VENUS (Victoria Experimental network Under Sea) the underwater observatory in Saanich Inlet.

A display of items about Purple Martins, the swallow that managed to return from 5 pair to nearly a thousand thanks to those nest boxes humans installed.

Stories  W’Saanich people tell.

Tours of the place from a W’saanich perspective.

Stories of the area can be put on a web accessible map through community mapping.  Visit with the community mappers.

Kids activities like a scavenger hunt and craft making.

To find us, either walk in from the  Wallace Drive service gate located just south of Benvenuto Ave.  Give yourself 15 – 20 minutes to walk down a lovely forest along Tod Creek

Or take a bus to Butchart Gardens, ride your bike or hike and enter from the bottom of Benvenuto Ave at another service gate.  Give yourself about 10 minutes to walk in from this gate.  There is no parking on Benvenuto Ave at the bottom and Butchart Gardens is not available for parking.

Remember to leash you dog for this event.

More later!

Come visit us at the Tod Inlet Nature Float this summer!

This summer the Tod Inlet Nature float is staffed and open from 11-12 and 1-3 daily until August 28th. After the 28th the Nature Float will be open with reduced hours. This year the theme is climate change and there is a prize draw for visitors who make their way to Nature Float using less fossil fuel than usual, so remember the journey is half the fun! Prizes include a gift basket from Level Ground Trading Company; bike stuff from Brentwood Cycle and a collection of Field guides from SeaChange.

On August 26th and 27th from 1-3 Jen will bring community mapping to the Nature Float so come down with your stories about Tod Inlet and the Peninsula! Fun for kids and adults, check out what has been contributed to the map over the past year and add your own knowledge too!

We’ve been very busy lately at SeaChange… too busy to update the blog. Here are a few of the things we’ve been working on so far this summer: We’ve transplanted eelgrass in Coles Bay, been a speaker at the Rotary Club of Sidney and tabled a few summer markets. In between events we are constructing a new SeaChange Headquarters (surprisingly close to the old HQ), revamping the Tod Inlet Nature Float display and have hired a new employee to run outreach from the float! Very exciting!

Sarah's palm holds two sandlance at Island View Beach. Photo: Todd Carnahan

Lewis' dune ethnobotany walk. Photo: Todd Carnahan

On July 11th SeaChange facilitated an Eelgrass Mapping Event hosted by the Habitat Acquisition Trust. Nikki gave a talk about the importance of eelgrass for BC’s wild salmon and then the mapping began. Participants in HAT’s Good Neighbours day also went on a dune ethnobotany walk and saw a birds of prey demonstration.

That same weekend Jenn took community mapping to the Organic Islands Festival. Two wonderful volunteers, Jacob and Kimia also helped out on each of the days. We collected a few interesting stories and many beautiful children’s drawings of their favourite places on the Peninsula. From this event came a couple of interesting interviews so check out the map for new stories!

Two kids in true festival balloon regalia add their contributions to the map

Jen drawing a favourite place with a young mapper

Start 9 am; End 1 pm or when we have filled the trucks available with debris.

We just got word of funding support from CRD in this effort. 
 
We will be cutting this abandoned hull up at the mouth of Tod Inlet and removing the pieces to the landfill. We’ll be doing the work in an environmentally sensitive way.
 
For anyone frustrated by the number of abandoned boats and debris on the shoreline around Brentwood Bay, this weekend we get to do a bit about it.  Thanks to volunteers, the initiative of a resident and some funds from CRD, we will be removing a capsized hull from the shore at the foot of Mark Lane in Willis Point.  We will  also be disassembling and removing the old SeaChange work float and retiring it’s mooring buoy.  As time and resources allow, we will take advantage of low tide to remove other debris in the vicinity.
 
Please RSVP so we can avoid too many vehicles parked on Mark Lane, work out how to get materials on site in an orderly way and set up boat transit from Brentwood.  A combination of rented power tools and generator will be on hand.  If you would like  to supplement the resources or prefer to use your own tools, following is a list of what we’ll be using: (old) tarps, boards,  reciprocating saws, power cords, a generator, assorted sledges or hammers and trucks available for a dump run.  Please let me know what you’d like to bring.  Gloves and bags will be provided. 
 
Questions?  E-mail to sverstegen@shaw.ca or phone SIPS via Pumpty Dumpty 250-480-9292.
Please circulate this announcement!  Any power tools should be accompanied by the appropriate safety gear (safety glasses, ear protection, etc.)
Many thanks!
 
Cheers,
Sarah Verstegen
SeaChange Marine Conservation Society
250-652-1662

Our Community Map

Hi!

Please take a look our community map. Don’t just look at it, sign-in and add new stories!

Follow this link: http://mapping.uvic.ca/coastal/

And send any questions to Jen at: coastalcommunitymap@gmail.com

January/February 2010

Professional Development Workshop

February 19, 2010

Lansdowne Middle School

9:00-2:30

Fear, Facing the Future, and the Future of Environmental Education

Rick Kool, Ed D School of Environment & Sustainability, Royal Roads University

Community Mapping in Local Watersheds – A Hands-On Adventure

Ken Josephson, Designer & Cartographer, Dept. of Geography, University of Victoria

Watershed Modeling, Plankton-watching and Sitting Still

Nikki Wright, EcoRowing Coordinator

Inside the Classroom: Weaving Themes of Environmental Learning

Sherri Norbury, Educator, Glanford Middle School

Watershed Walking with Students – EE in Motion

Kristy Kilpatrick, Educator, Lansdowne Middle School

Free!      Take home resources will be available. Bring a bag lunch and your walking shoes.

We are part of, and dependent upon, Earth’s existing balanced living and non-living systems. It is our imperative tenet and every educator’s job to see it, believe it, value it, model it and share it.

Join us in our efforts to restore and conserve Tod inlet. Winter is time to plant native species!

When: Saturday 13 and 20 February 2010.  From 9:30 am until 2:00 p.m

Where: Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Tod Inlet

What do you need: Dress for the weather (boots,rain gear, warm clothes),  any personal tools you prefer to use and your enthusiasm. We will provide tools, gloves, food and drinks

Community mapping events

- Rotary Club of Royal Oak
  March 1st, 12 noon

- Friends of Tod Creek
  March 3rd, 7:30-8:30 pm

- Arbutus Ridge
  March 18th, 2pm

Eelgrass transplanting

Eelgrass meadows were once abundant in many estuaries later used for log storage. After being shaded out by the logs overhead, the meadows disappeared.

Eelgrass meadows act as a nursery for many marine species – invertebrates,birds and fish. Eighty percent of commercial fish use eelgrass at some point in their lives for shelter or to find food or. The emerald green shoots help stabilize the bottom and  slow coastal erosion.

The federal Fisheries Act  protects eelgrass meadows (Zostera marina) with a “no net loss” policy. Restoring eelgrass when possible increases the habitat for all the species that depend on it. We restore it by transplanting shoots from a native bed to the transplant area. SCUBA divers are needed for harvesting and planting the shoots. People on shore are needed for fastening the shoots to washers used to keep the shoots  from floating away. Boats and boat operators complete  the mix.

When: April or May 2010

Where: McKenzie Bight (Saanich Inlet), Squamish and Half Moon Bay.

What do you need: No experience needed. Dress for the weather please.

Snacks will be provided.