The Bowker Creek community gathered to celebrate the restoration of the creek and introduce a new vision for the stream’s future.
Organized by the Friends of Bowker Creek Society, the event featured live music by The Bald Eagles, ice cream, crafts, a scavenger hunt, and educational displays from local partners, taking place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 22, near Lansdowne Middle School South Campus.
Oak Bay residents and beyond came to learn about the restoration efforts and how the proposed Bowker Creek Biodiversity Corridor aims to improve urban ecosystems while benefiting the surrounding neighbourhoods.
“One of the reasons we hold this event today is that the last Sunday of September is World Rivers Day,” said Eldan Goldenberg, water quality lead for the organization. “We want to call attention to not only the work we do but also the creek itself.”
Designed to merge urban growth with ecological health, the corridor aims to create a greenway of urban forest to provide habitats for wildlife, improve water quality, and protect communities from winter flooding.
“If we can give the creek even a little bit more space where it could meander… we could create a lot of new habitats (for wildlife and plants) and improve water quality by slowing the water down and also reducing flooding for everybody downstream,” said Goldenberg.
Organizers also emphasized the corridor's ability to reduce the urban “heat island” effect by providing shade and cooler spaces, which would help counteract rising temperatures during the summer months.
As part of local climate change solutions, the society outlined its plans to widen sections of the creek, daylight culverts, and create floodplains. These actions were designed to mitigate flooding during increasingly extreme rain events.
Find out more about the event and the Friends of Bowker Creek Society at https://bowkercreek.org/events/biodiversityday/
