B.C. Wildlife Federation Wetland Education Program

 Posted January 2006

By Lisa Helmer, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s “StreamTalk”, Fall 2005

Sooke's Glenairley Centre for Earth and Spirit wanted to create an organic vegetable garden on the land it leases from the Sisters of St. Ann. But in recent years, there has been a severe water shortage on southern Vancouver Island. The solution? BC Wildlife Federation's Wetlands Institute event built them a wetland in just six days.

The event is held every other year in a different host community around the province. Professionals working in the environmental field from around North America come to learn and to work. From July 3rd to 9th, this year's participants and instructors teamed up to create a new wetland. Their instructor was Tom Biebighauser, a wildlife biologist with the USDA Forest Service in Kentucky and author of A Guide to Creating Vernal Ponds. Tom showed participants how to design and build while taking a wide range of topographical and hydrological features into account.

The half-acre wetland was constructed in an open field. A pond, 11 feet at its deepest point, was excavated. It is held back by a dam that leads to a spillway emptying into Sooke Harbour. Native vegetation was planted around the edges to provide shade and nutrient input. Wetland plants, many of which possess valuable pollution filtration properties, will be allowed to flourish, thus improving water quality.

Two other projects, with the participation of the local community, were completed during the Institute: Ayum Creek Regional Park Estuary Restoration, and Cowichan Estuary Wapato: Harvesting for Health.

With the construction of the wetland, Glenairley is ensured a year-round flow of water, a reliable source of irrigation for vegetable crops, and much-needed wildlife habitat. The project provides an educational example of the value of wetlands for agriculture in terms of storing spring runoff water and providing nutrients. Other farmers will see that it makes economic sense to build and maintain a wetland.

The Wetlands Institute, along with the Puddle Project and Wetlandkeepers, is an initiative of the BC Wildlife Federation's Wetland Education Program.

For more information, visit the B.C. Wildlife Federation’s website by clicking here