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Announcements & Events

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AGM 2009: a ten-year celebration
September 30th, 2009

group

Some of GOERT’s founders and early recovery team members, from left: Mike Meagher, Marilyn Fuchs, Joel Ussery and Raj Prasad (photo by Neil Boyle)

GOERT turned 10 this year! We held a celebration the evening of September 30th, 2009 at the Pacific Forestry Centre. Almost 100 people attended, including many who were present at GOERT’s founding meeting in June 1999 and many who were recovery team members during GOERT’s first year. Marilyn Fuchs spoke about the early years and succeeded in getting people up to the front of the room to be recognized. Joel Ussery said a few words, and then Richard Hebda gave a rousing impromptu talk from crib notes written on a grocery receipt! (read more…)

Eco-friendly tote bags for sale at GOERT

Among-the-Oaks-tote

“Among the Oaks” tote

BC’s most eco-friendly tote bags made their debut on Sept 30 at our 10-year celebration/AGM and are now available to buy through our office. We have teamed up with local artist Jeffrey Boron to have two of his images printed on 100% Made in Canada totes. The bags are made of 100% post-consumer waste (re-milled cotton from clothing) and have a very low carbon footprint. All profits go to support GOERT.
The bags are large enough to carry groceries, art supplies, and even potted plants and are a stylish eco-friendly product that you can be proud to carry or give as a gift. The bag folds small for storage, and the handles are long enough to hang the bag from your car headrest.

Artist Jeffrey Boron

Artist Jeffrey Boron

Jeffrey Boron, a well-known professional artist, works in acrylic and oil, attempting to capture the play of light and colour on the natural world. Many of his smaller plein air pieces are painted among the hills and meadows of southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands that still retain remnant stands of Garry oaks. “As an artist I want my paintings to bring to the viewer a sense of the joy I feel when painting them, as well as highlighting the wonder and beauty of those small spots of nature that we live amongst but so often overlook in our busy lives.” Please have a look at his gallery of artwork suitable for home or office or his blog for his newest and smaller pieces. Jeffrey believes in the work we do and donates 25% of his art sales to GOERT.

Spring in the Oaks

“Spring in the Oaks” tote

We are developing a line of products specially chosen to reflect the beauty of Garry oak ecosystems. If you are an artist and would like to see your images on GOERT totes, or would like to suggest an artist, please contact us.

Design: choose from ‘Among the Oaks’ or ‘Spring in the Oaks’ artist print on one side with GOERT logo on reverse side
Size: 18″ W x 16″ H with 4″ gusset
Cost: $20 ($15 members)
To purchase: Pay online at www.goert.ca/gifts or contact us at finance@goert.ca or 250-383-3447.

Field trip with Cowichan Tribes students

Matt Fairbarns with students

Matt Fairbarns speaks to Cowichan Tribes students as Tim Ennis looks on

As part of our outreach to First Nations and local governments that have Garry oak-associated species at risk on their land, GOERT offered a field trip to Cowichan Tribes members and students last May. It was a follow-up to a classroom presentation that GOERT Outreach Specialist Carolyn Masson and Board Chair Matt Fairbarns had delivered earlier that spring.

Thanks to the great organizing skills of the Cowichan Tribes staff, about thirty Quamichan Middle School students grades 7-9 and about sixty youth and adult students from Cowichan Tribes schools (youth from Quw’utsun Hu-yi’xwule’ Skoulew’t-hw and adults from Yathuy’thut) attended. Everybody jumped into two school buses and arrived at Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve (owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, NCC) for a morning tour. We were greeted by NCC staff Tim Ennis, Irvin Banman, and Colin Ellder, who led groups to three sites. At each site there were additional facilitators waiting: Cowichan Tribes leaders Doug August, Ken Elliott & Fabian Tommy, along with Matt Fairbarns, who is a rare plant expert.

Ken Elliott

Cowichan Tribes leader Ken Elliott speaks to students about the native plants in the nursery

The three sites gave students hands-on experience of a Garry oak meadow, a native plant nursery, and the largest Garry oak tree in Canada. On the walk through the meadow, which was in full bloom, participants learned about camas, shootingstars, sea blush, western buttercup, spring-gold and a garter snake. At the nursery where native plants are being grown (including Endangered and Threatened plants like deltoid balsamroot, Howell’s triteleia, and yellow montane violet), Ken Elliott spoke about Cowichan Tribes uses of the plants, and one girl got to dig up a camas bulb from the garden bed with a yew digging stick.

At the big Garry oak tree, Doug August spoke about his ancestry and the importance of knowing the native plants of the area including the medicinal plants, and he spoke about the traditional practices of digging camas, and the way the people used to travel from village to village via the waterways. He taught participants how to say the Hul’qumi’num word for ‘camas’.

Doug August

Cowichan Tribes leader Doug August greeted students at the big oak

Everyone enjoyed lunch on the grounds. The Quamichan students went back to the big tree and sat down under it while they ate. After some difficulty gathering back into the two school buses, the participants were off to Somenos Garry Oak Protected Area for the afternoon. Again they broke into three groups and headed off in different directions to walk through the meadow and down along the creek, discussing native plants and invasive species. They gathered together to say good-bye at the end of the day and hope to make it an annual event.

Matt and Tim interpret Garry oak meadow for participants

Matt and Tim interpret a Garry oak meadow for participants

Many thanks to the funders of this worthwhile workshop: The Real Estate Foundation of BC, Vancity, Parks Canada, and the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. And thanks to all who participated!

Get those oaks growing!

Garry oak acorns (photo by Marilyn Fuchs)

Garry oak acorns (photo by Marilyn Fuchs)

Every few years, Garry oak trees produce a bumper crop of acorns in what is called a ‘mast year’. Rob Hagel has been inundated with donated acorns at Pacific Forestry Centre and is growing hundreds of seedlings for projects and giveaways. As a matter of fact, he’s considering holding an Acorn Planting Party!

Because there is a chronic lack of seedlings available for re-planting projects, GOERT is encouraging local governments and nurseries to start growing their own oaks (if they haven’t already) to take advantage of this bumper crop.

Additional Garry oak habitat on Mt. Tzuhalem will be protected

July 29, 2009 – Success! The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has been successful in its fundraising campaign to save an important piece of Mt Tzuhalem in the Cowichan Valley. The 100-acre (40-hectare) Chase Woods contains globally-endangered Garry oak woodlands, dramatic cliffs from which peregrine falcons soar, and is crowned by the cross that perches above the bay. NCC was successful in raising the required funds by the July 24th deadline and will soon make an official announcement that the Chase Woods land has been protected.

Garry oak with stonecrop

Garry oak with stonecrop (photo courtesy of NCC)

The property supports seven globally-imperilled ecosystems and sustains centuries-old western yew, Douglas-fir, Garry oak, lodgepole pine and arbutus. Chase Woods connects to the Mt Tzuhalem Ecological Reserve via the forested slopes of Providence Farm and is home to the federally-threatened white-top aster.

“I have spent half my working life keeping it like a park,” says David Chase, who bought the property in 1955 and has decided to pass it on as he approaches his one-hundredth year. “I’m out of gas, so it’s time for someone else to take care of the land.”

Some Garry oak habitat is already protected on Mt. Tzuhalem in the Mt. Tzuhalem Ecological Reserve.

For more information
Read more and see downloadable map at the NCC website.
Phone 1-888-404-8428 or email bcoffice@natureconservancy.ca.

Oak seedling survival & growth

Laura Blume will defend her master’s thesis, “Garry Oak Restoration in Central Washington: Planting Technique Evaluation and Preliminary Target Identification through Stand Characterization,” at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington in Seattle on Friday June 5th at 11:00 AM.

Laura’s research has centered around the survival and growth of Oregon white oak (Garry oak) seedlings in the experimental restoration site at the Swauk Valley Ranch in Kittitas County. This is the first effort of its kind to restore native oak East of the Cascades. By documenting the response of oak seedlings to various treament variables, Laura is establishing guidelines for restoration of this important dry forest community in other parts of the ecoregion.

Laura presented at GOERT’s research colloquium in 2008. See the abstract here on p. 8.

Newest Publications

We’re pleased to introduce two of our newest publications:

Recovery Strategies for Review

Provincial Recovery Strategies
Recovery strategies for two Garry oak species, an endangered butterfly and an endangered moss, are now available for viewing at the new BC Ministry of Environment Recovery Planning website. New strategies prepared as advice to the province of BC, such as the two below, are posted to the BC MOE website once they have been finalized, and are available to the public for review and to the federal government for adoption and posting on the federal SARA public registry.

Go to the BC MOE Recovery Planning website and scroll down to ‘Provincial Recovery Strategies’ to find:

“Recovery Strategy for Greenish Blue, insulanus subspecies (Plebejus saepiolus insulanus) in British Columbia.” The document was prepared by GOERT’s Invertebrates at Risk RIG.

“Recovery Strategy for rigid apple moss (Bartramia stricta Bridel) in British Columbia.” The recovery strategy was prepared by the British Columbia Bryophyte Recovery Team and the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team.

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