Completed Restoration Projects

2024
  • ​March (spring break) invasive removal with 11 volunteers (Reach 3)
  • August 15 invasive removal with 7 volunteers (Morningside Park)

2023 2022 2021 2020 2019​ 2018
  • May 28 - École Hammond Bay grade 7 graduation project, invasive species removal with 14 volunteers and 28 students (Reach 2)
  • November 10 - Morningside Park Riparian Enhancement Project (Reach 2), added large woody debris (logs and stumps) with support from Dave Clough, City of Nanaimo and Milner Trucking, and 15 adult volunteers and 20 young people (Nature Kids Nanaimo members)
  • November 24 - 5 volunteers used shovels and wheelbarrows to move topsoil and mulch around burms and LWD to prepare for tree planting (Reach 2)
  • December 8 - 3 volunteers planted Douglas fir plugs around burms and large woody debris (LWD) (Reach 2)
2017​ ​​​2016
  • November 12 - Hammond Bay beach to Morningside Drive (Reach 1) - planted 150 plants in riparian area with 6 volunteers and 6 Dover Bay Eco-club members

Capacity Building

  • Streamkeepers Workshop, presented by Dave Clough, sponsored by the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust (April 2017)
  • Riparian Restoration Workshop, presented by Dave Polster, hosted by WCVI Aquatic and DFO (March 2018)
  • Wetlandkeepers Workshop, presented by BC Wildlife Federation, supported by City of Nanaimo (May 2018)
  • Wetlandkeepers Workshop, sponsored by the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust (June 2021)

Urban Salmon Habitat Protocol (USHP) Survey

Water Quality Monitoring

Flow Monitoring

started August 2019, ongoing
Supported by the Province (Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources, Water Protection Branch), and the BC Conservation Foundation (BCCF)
Description of flow monitoring on Walley Creek.

Smolt Trapping

October 2021
Picture
Stickleback in Walley Creek behind Piper's Pub
Picture
2 cutthroat trout where the creek flows past the RDN GNPCC

Outreach and Education

City of Nanaimo Rivers Day event, Bowen park - annual event, September (discontinued 2020)
​
​School Education
  • Spring 2017, 2018, 2019 - annual presentation to École Hammond Bay students before invasive species removal work party
  • March 2017 - visit to Montessori school on Jinglepot Road about streamkeeping and riparian restoration
  • September 2017 - NatureKids Junior Streamkeepers course with Dave Clough
  • November 2020 - Morningside Park tree planting with Nanaimo Science and Sustainability Society
  • February - June 2021 Salamander monitoring, with École Hammond Bay grade 5 class

Wildlife Camera

September - November 2017
With consultation from biologist Elke Wind, we set up wildlife cameras behind Piper's Pub (Reach 4) to see how animals are using the area.

Future Opportunities

Prevent Illegal Dumping
Continue to Enhance Salmon Habitat
  • remove invasives
  • plant native plants for shade, biodiversity, and slope stability
  • add large, woody debris (LWD) to increase riparian complexity and improve habitat
  • add gravel and boulders to improve spawning habitat
Continued School Engagement (École Hammond Bay and Frank Ney Elementary)
  • riparian planting
  • invasive plant removal
  • fish monitoring
  • water quality monitoring
  • removal of log jams (this can only occur during the in-stream permitted work window from Aug 15 – Sept 15)
  • benthic invertebrate sampling
  • continued salamander habitat monitoring and enhancement
  • teaching/learning basics of stream health
​
Protect Riparian Corridor and Wetlands
Wetlandkeepers
​
​Letter asking for Mayor and Council to protect the ecologically sensitive area behind Piper's Pub (February 2023)
walley_creek_streamkeepers_letter_feb_2023__1_.pdf
File Size: 38 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Maintain Base Flows and Prevent Flash Flooding
Flow Monitoring
Community Flow Monitoring Network, Vancouver Island pilot program
(BCCF and Ministry of Water, Land & Resource Stewardship)

​Key Recommendations from the RDN CWMN Data Analysis (2011 - 2020) report
  • Ecoscape Environmental (report authors) recommend establishing a long-term benthic monitoring program to further evaluate changes in creeks over time. Benthic sampling must occur in riffle habitat, but otherwise site selection should overlap CWMN sites, so that both datasets can be utilized. RDN should prioritize creeks for the benthic monitoring program considering key creeks that flow through a variety of land uses (e.g., agricultural, industrial, residential), the inclusion of sampling locations that are located near areas of proposed growth, as well as considerations of CWMN sites that have been identified as Sites of Concern. The City of Surrey has undertaken this type of program since the 1980s, and it has been informative to evaluate the effects of land use changes on stream health (Plewes and Olson-Russello, 2020). Their program integrates a Benthic Index of Biological Integrity (B-IBI) as a measure of biological condition. This index has been calibrated for northwestern coastal areas (e.g., Seattle and Vancouver) and it is sensitive to changes in human disturbances, but has limited inter-annual variability (Page et al., 2008).
  • Targeted public education could be offered for areas where stormwater impacts are probable. This could involve an info mailer, adding a stenciled fish symbol to stormwater grates that report to fish-bearing streams, incentives for rain gardens, etc.
  • Perform an analysis of where rain gardens would provide the greatest benefit to reduce the amount of stormwater from impervious surfaces such as roofs and parking lots. Rain gardens are an easy way to reduce the stormwater inputs to surrounding waterbodies and provide an aesthetically appealing garden that helps conserve water. Rain gardens at the municipal scale can include swales. Swales can gather and slow the infiltration of stormwater to the surrounding area. Additionally, swales can be used to direct water to rain gardens or other gardens. Rain gardens at commercial and industrial properties are also viable and can be used to adsorb or redirect runoff from large parking lots.
  • Support physical assessments and stream mapping, to expand upon existing Fisheries and Oceans Canada Sensitive Habitat Inventory and Mapping (SHIM), to determine and document locations of erosion, point sources of contamination (i.e., outfalls) and priority restoration sites. This mapping is also useful for determining the quantity and quality of fish habitat and it provides a useful tool for effective long-term adaptive management. Streams should be prioritized for this mapping based on the highest level of surrounding disturbance/land uses and value of the watercourses as fish habitat.
  • The provincial Riparian Areas Protection Regulation (RAPR) applies to industrial and residential development on properties within 30 m of a watercourse. Development applications via RAPR can present opportunities for riparian restoration. RDN should work with the Province to understand where riparian restoration works are occurring/proposed and how that restoration may be reflected in future CWMN sampling.
(For the complete list of recommendations and context see a description of our work in the RDN's Community Watershed Monitoring Network.)