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Dan Horan

    BOWKER CREEK BLUEPRINT IS A BEACON OF INSPIRATION: “You need layers of champions. You need a champion in the community. You need a champion in the municipality. You need a champion to keep everybody aware and moving forward,” stated Adriane Pollard, Manager of Environmental Services with the District of Saanich


    “With the turnover in municipal staff, I have become the municipal champion for Bowker Creek. I remind colleagues of the municipal policies and that the Blueprint is a Council-endorsed document. Every time I review a development for environmental impacts, we identify that it is in the Bowker watershed, and we state what the Blueprint says about the subject reach. Also, whenever the municipality undertakes capital and maintenance projects, we make sure to refer to the Blueprint and state what it says,” stated Adriane Pollard.

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    BOWKER CREEK BLUEPRINT IS A BEACON OF INSPIRATION: “The outdoor classroom is a learning space. For my students, it is an extension of our classroom. It becomes more engaging for them because it is real,” stated Derek Shrubsole, science teacher at Oak Bay High School and member of the Friends of Bowker Creek


    “What I have now is an actual outdoor, naturalized learning space. I do not have to show a video or read a book to teach a lesson. We can go out and see it in person. The students can experience it. When you can take kids outside and engage them in that space, it becomes more engaging for them because it’s real. Before this project was done, there was really nothing around other than grass fields. We are really fortunate. We can do real science with them. Students want authenticity to what they are studying,” stated Derek Shrubsole.

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    BOWKER CREEK BLUEPRINT IS A BEACON OF INSPIRATION: “All these people are my teachers, and I am learning from all of them. Is this the intergenerational baton in action? Absolutely! You cannot just pick up the baton and not know where you are coming from. You need all that history,” stated Lindsey McCrank, the Capital Regional District’s Coordinator for the Bowker Creek Urban Watershed Renewal Initiative


    “When new members get involved in the BCI, they will be in the position to accept the intergenerational baton just as I did. I believe the Partnership document about the Blueprint history will be useful, as a legacy resource, in helping new members get up to speed. One has to keep moving forward, transfer the knowledge to new people, and blend their experience and thoughts. Every person who is involved will alter the course of our future actions. I am excited to see where the Blueprint will lead us in the next little while,” stated Lindsey McCrank.

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    BOWKER CREEK BLUEPRINT IS A BEACON OF INSPIRATION: “One of my passions is to bring nature into the city so that we do not have these two distinctive zones – this is where humans live and this is where nature lives. Those two things can come together. That is my vision for Bowker Creek and why I enjoy volunteering,” stated Brandon Williamson, Friends of Bower Creek, when describing the mission for restoration of a degraded urban stream


    “I grew up in Port Alberni, a small town and am a nature lover. But I have come to realize that I am a city person. And being both a city person and a nature person, well those two things are not irreconcilable. Over the past year, I have gained a passion for Bowker Creek and its restoration. I do understand that the work that needs to be done is a very long-term thing. I am committed and excited to volunteer over the long term to see out the vision,” stated Brandon Williamson.

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    BOWKER CREEK BLUEPRINT IS A BEACON OF INSPIRATION: “We are taking a new direction. We are saying that we can improve the health of Bowker. But there is still more pollution happening. We can see it happening. And so, we the Friends of Bowker Creek, are stepping it up,” stated Jessica Hartum, the Director who is leading a grass-roots water quality monitoring program


    “I am a water quality person and I believe that it is a steppingstone to everything else. Water quality is close to my heart. But I understand where we are in this world and that nobody is buying in for water quality alone. In my view, water quality is a lot bigger than just the salmon. But I do recognize that water quality and fish habitat are a package. Neither one is complete without the other one. We have to do both together. When I show community volunteers the insects that are in the water and what they mean, everyone has an Ah-Ha Moment,” stated Jessica Hartum.

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