A decade into the 100-year plan to restore Bowker Creek, it’s time to update the blueprint, and the Capital Regional District is seeking input from all sides.
As a partnership between local governments and community partners, the Bowker Creek Initiative is inviting residents to learn about the Bowker Creek Blueprint updates underway and share feedback.
The Bowker Creek Initiative was established in 2004, bringing together communities, governments, businesses, and institutions to craft the plan to restore the creek, creating the blueprint that outlines a 100-year plan.
Bowker Creek and its watershed span several communities, with headwaters beginning on the Saanich side of the University of Victoria campus, flowing to the ocean in Oak Bay.
Considerable progress has been achieved in the decade since the blueprint's development. Meanwhile, new information, studies, and plans have emerged that the update aims to capture while engaging with the public, partners and First Nations.
The updated blueprint will guide Bowker Creek Initiative member municipalities (Saanich, Bay and Victoria), the Greater Victoria School District, the Capital Regional District, the community and other land stewards as they work to manage and restore the watershed and creek corridor.
Several sessions are set for the coming month, starting with an in-person open house at Na'tsa'maht, Camosun College Landsdowne campus, 3100 Foul Bay Rd. on Tuesday, June 10 from 3 to 7 p.m.
An online session runs June 12 at 7 p.m. at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_75sa3mTzQ4Sn3Qj9vjnQQQ
A pair of walking watershed tours with the Friends of Bowker Creek showcase the lower and upper watersheds. The first is a 1.5-km route upstream along the creek connecting parks and trails from Oak Bay into Southeast Saanich and Victoria on Sunday, June 15, at 10:30 a.m. to noon. Register online at www.eventbrite.ca/.
The upper watershed walk on Tuesday, June 17, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. covers a similar length route north up the Shelbourne Valley into Browning Park and along the Bowker Creek Greenway.
Register online at eventbrite.ca. Learn more about the initiative and participate in the online survey at getinvolved.crd.bc.ca/bowker-creek-initiative.
Learn more about the Bowker Creek Initiative at www.bowkercreekinitiative.ca.
