Henderson Community Park Education and Ecological Restoration Program
Viewpoint at top of Vulture Ridge Trail, Henderson Hill
Photo credit:Toby Snelgrove
Henderson Park was dedicated to the community after selective logging and subdivision of a large property. The park, just over 10 hectares, includes a hiking trail that winds through restoration zones and breathtaking viewpoints. Uncommon plant species represented in the Coastal Douglas Fir zone and the Garry Oak and associated ecosystems are also found in the park.
The park's recreational values and ecological integrity were compromised by the recent disturbances: invasive plant species have blanketed the landscape. The most pervasive invasive is scotch broom; it impedes views from viewpoints, out-competes native plants, and worsens growing conditions for native plant species by altering soil nutrient composition. Our Broom Action Team has mobilized volunteers to remove invasive species. These efforts have been successful from both a restoration and an educational perspective. Mayne Island's high population of native and fallow deer also prevents regeneration of plant species susceptible to browse.
Phase 1 of the project (ended September 2008) involved establishing a scientific base for restoration and monitoring activities. MICS engaged experts to help inventory the park's flora and geological features, and develop a restoration plan. In the spring of 2010, we planned and installed a monitoring program and installed photo-monitoring locations designed for trained citizen scientists, thus ensuring the program's sustainability. Phase 2 of the project involved the construction of a deer exclosure in a portion of the park's Garry Oak habitat, where plantings of native wildflower and shrub species were carried out. The exclosure offers an example of the ecosystem's response when it is relieved of the impact of our island's overabundance of deer.
Uncommon plant species represented in the Coastal Douglas Fir zone and the Garry Oak and associated ecosystems are found throughout the park. These ecosystems are rare, and are the subject of broader regional conservation efforts. Henderson Community Park is one of the few parks that make up the 4% protected area of Mayne Island, the lowest in the Islands Trust area. Thus, it is an important venue for hands-on educational experiences regarding preservation of ecosystems that span private lands. The purpose of these educational and interpretive programs is to help residents and visitors appreciate the natural and recreational treasures of Mayne Island, and to increase awareness of the Garry Oak and associated ecosystems and their threats.
The project is guided by the Mayne Island Conservation and Sustainability Plan, thus helping MICS fullfil the overarching goals of preserving ecosystem function and biodiversity. This project is also supported by the community. MICS recently circulated a public survey: Twenty-two out of 29 respondents gave high importance to MICS' role in raising awareness of the island's natural environment and most comments cited education/leadership and conservation.
- MICS proposes to do the following to fulfill this goal to the end of 2011:
- Offer training workshops for volunteers and the public on best practices for invasive species removal and plant identification.
- Offer training on photo-point monitoring and the development of a citizen scientist driven monitoring program, thereby engaging locals long-term.
- Offer public workshops on identifying rare plant and animal species and protection of their habitat.
- Engage Mayne School and citizen scientists in ongoing restoration and monitoring at Henderson Park.
- Develop, organize, and deliver field trips and interpretive programs for Mayne School and the community.
- Organize regular speakers to offer park "walk & talks" and speak at seminars.
- Events will be advertised widely and will be designed to attract residents and visitors alike.
- Continue our monitoring program in the Park for the red-listed sharp-tailed snake.
- Show-case the Henderson Park Restoration project during the popular Saturday Farmers Markets (June-October).
- Invite decision-makers such as MLAs to tour the restoration activities.
- With the support of the Mayne Island Parks and Recreation Commission, develop interpretive brochures for a numbered nature walk along the trail and at restoration sites.
- The purposes of this educational and interpretive program will be to help residents and visitors appreciate the natural and recreational treasures of Mayne Island. It will increase awareness of the Garry Oak and associated ecosystems and threats to their existence. The result will be more informed inhabitants, and visitors that place a high value on conservation.
- Funding requests for 2011: TD Friends of the Environment, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, CRD Grants in Aid, Career Focus (Government of Canada).
Miriam, the MICS intern, began her appointment in March and worked to expand our restoration and educational activities in Henderson Park.
We have installed deer fencing on a hillside where we cleared off broom. You can already see the difference in plants inside the deer fencing! Thanks for your help, BAT volunteers.
On April 9th the Mayne School's 4-8 class rode their bicycles and hiked Punches Alley to join Miriam and Leanna at Henderson Park. Miriam led a talk about Garry Oak ecosystems and colourfully described the types of flowers you would typically see in the spring. She also spoke about how the First Peoples cultivated camas as a food crop, maintaining the conditions for Garry Oak to thrive. The students participated in stewarding the park by planting trees in the restoration site. They will monitor the trees over time, charting their growth rate.
On May 3 the K-4 classes visited the park, where we talked about the Garry Oak trees and the wild flower Camas that were planted as part of the ecological restoration in the park. The group walked into the park where the children collected leaves to look at the different shapes and created a tree book by making crayon rubbings with leaves and bark. We finished off the day with a walk down towards the beach where we talked about First Nations' use of plants that grow along the trail. The weather was perfect and the kids were happy!
With the help of a couple of keen volunteers, we've completed the installation of our photo-point monitoring locations in Henderson Park: enabling us to take photos from the same location over time. This will help us document our ecological restoration activities (like tree planting and broom removal) and will show changes in the vegetation over time. This monitoring program will also help us determine what works best in the long-run so we can then concentrate our efforts on the more successful methods.
Seedlings planted in 2010 are well started having benefited from at least 2 full years of growth before being set out:
- Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
- Grand fir (Abies grandis)
- Western red cedar (Thuja plicata)
The planting sites were selected according to each tree species' preferences, for instance the cedars were placed in wetter/richer soils, the grand fir in drier/poorer soils, while the douglas fir can survive in the least favourable locations. A greater number of seedlings were set out when the poorer soils were involved as higher mortality might be expected on those sites.
Our photo point monitoring program continues in 2011 and Miriam Isaac Renton writes as follows:
"If you have recently been for a hike at Henderson Community Park to enjoy the summer weather, you might have noticed pieces of rebar with orange mushroom caps sticking out of the ground. There are actually about 40 pieces of re-bar scattered throughout the park, and if you happen to see one, please leave it where it is. These pieces of re-bar are "photo-points", which act as permanently marked locations to provide a point of reference so that the same photo can be reproduced year after year. These annual photos are part of the Conservancy's Henderson Photo-Point Monitoring program, which will document changes in the park. For example, the Conservancy has been working with volunteers to remove invasive species, plant native trees and install deer fencing in this ecologically significant area. The Photo-Point monitoring program is designed to track the success of these restoration efforts and to help us adapt our methods if necessary, ensuring that limited resources are used as efficiently as possible.
Now in its second year, there are already noticeable changes. See below for an example of "before" and "after" pictures of where the "Broom Action Team" has removed a patch of this nasty invasive shrub. (Keep up the good work, volunteers!)
If you would like to learn more about this monitoring program, please stop by our booth at the Saturday Farmer's Market, where you will be able to see the "Henderson Photo-Point Monitoring Manuals" on display. You might also want to get involved next year: one volunteer this year thought of her search for the photo-points in the park as a scavenger hunt. Keep your eyes on the calendar or talk with the Conservancy's Executive Director, Leanna Boyer, or the Conservancy's current president, Michael Dunn. In the meantime, enjoy the summer weather, and we'll see you next year!"
2011 will see the beginning of a third phase in the Henderson Community Park Education and Ecological Restoration Program. The Lead Coordinator for this stage of the Henderson Hill Community Park Restoration will be Chris Fretwell (bio posted below
coming soon) who worked throughout the second half of 2010 in an "Intern" position on both this project and our activities in
Shoreline Care. The park will be used as a demonstration site, where training workshops will be offered on a variety of topics. MICS hopes to engage community members as stewards of the park and of their own lands, through workshops on identification and protection of rare and sensitive species, best practices for invasive species removal, plant identification, and photo-point monitoring. The Mayne School will also take part in some of these activities, and this will also be the first the first year for a citizen scientist-driven monitoring program.
The workshops will be complemented with regular speaker sessions and "walk and talk" events in the park, and MICS will also continue to monitor the park for the red-listed sharp- tailed snake, and to showcase the project at the Farmers Market. We hope to improve awareness of the restoration activities and the park's rare ecosystems. If the Conservancy's program is fully funded, we will install interpretive signage and publish brochures, as well as inviting decision-makers to tour the restoration activities.This third phase of the project has received funding from TD Friends of the Environment, and we are still waiting for word from other potential funders. Requests have been made to the Habitat Trust Foundation, CRD Grants in Aid, and Career Focus (Government of Canada).
The Garry Oak Ecosystem is renowned for its beauty (especially wildflower displays in spring), its cultural significance, and its biodiversity. It's one of Canada's most biodiverse, but also most fragile and endangered, ecosystems. We are very lucky to have such a gem right here in our backyard.
- The Garry Oak tree is British Columbia's only native oak
- It was named in honour of Nicholas Garry - an early deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company
- The Arbutus, Canada's only evergreen broad-leaf tree is commonly found in the Park
- 140 trees have been planted and protected with chicken wire and stucco mesh deer browse fences
- In 2010 three volunteer have put in more than 40 hours into restoration efforts sometimes with the assistance Mayne School's 4 to 8 classes
MICS has been working with the Mayne Island Parks and Recreation Commission since 1997, when Henderson Park came into being (after a generous donation of land to the community).
Our "Broom Action Team" (BAT) has cleared huge swaths of broom from the park and we're already seeing native plants come back (look closely for the tiny "Blue-eyed Mary" flower in April). They've also cleared broom from a viewpoint along the Vulture Trail. Enjoy the view from the newly installed bench!
Michael Dunn retired from the Canadian Wildlife Service as senior habitat conservation coordinator for the Pacific Region (May 07) where he led marine conservation programs for the region. Michael has led science-based and interdisciplinary teams on many bird conservation issues, and was the CWS lead for the creation of the proposed Scott Islands Marine Wildlife Area. He has experience and knowledge on shorezone and eelgrass mapping and classification, the development of stewardship programs and the creation of communications products. Michael has been a naturalist and community educator for 35 years
Miriam Isaac-Renton has long been interested in conservation and enjoys sharing her knowledge: one of her first awards was a high school award, rewarding her involvement in environmental issues and for helping to raise community awareness. She pursued her interests by completing a B.Sc. in Natural Resources Conservation from the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia. After graduating in 2008, she worked as a field research assistant in the Gulf Islands, helping to identify plant species and conduct surveys in patches of the endangered Garry Oak and associated ecosystems.
Mayne Island Conservancy Society has been fortunate in receiving interest and support from the following agencies and foundations:
- Trees for Tomorrow
- Capital Region District Grant in Aid
- Mayne Island Parks and Recreation Commission
- Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation
- The Silver Maynes
- Youth Eco Internship Program
- TD Friends of the Environment
We thank them for their funding; as well, we thank individual donors interested in the natural heritage of Mayne Island for their gifts
- April through September - Broom bashers, planters and help wth monitoring the restoration area
People interested can contact Michael Dunn by sending an e-mail to
pres@conservancyonmayne.com or by calling 5745
Enthusistic broom bashers can turn out every week with loppers in hand. (On the other hand, do we have loppers for you!!) Phone
Peter Askin at 2199 for time and location of the weekly session - usually somewhere on Henderson Hill.
August will be a time for activities in Henderson Community Park, including putting up deer protection for arbutus seedlings, and removing scotch broom. If you would like to help out with these activities please contact Chris Fretwell at 539-5168, or by email at c_frets@hotmail.com.
Henderson Broom Set to be Bashed
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The B.A.T.'s Been Through Here!
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Deer Exclusion Zone Established
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Michael in the Zone - with Markers
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Encouraging New Growth!
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You can find many more photographs and illustrations of our projects in action by visiting our Gallery pages
