The City of Nanaimo partnered with more than 25 students from Dover Bay Eco Club and Vancouver Island University Community Care Club on Nov. 19 for a work party at Neck Point Park to remove invasive plants and restore native vegetation.
A few days later, 37 volunteers from Departure Bay Eco School, Departure Bay Neighbourhood Association, other community members, city staff and members of the local Streamkeepers and Island Water Fly Fishers braved the elements to plant 150 riparian plants along the creek bank as part of the 2016 Departure Creek Habitat Assessment project in partnership with the City of Nanaimo and with funding from the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Regional District of Nanaimo.
“It’s great to see the interest our youth and community groups have in environmental stewardship and helping to take care of the beautiful parks and green spaces we have in Nanaimo,” said Deborah Beck, recreation coordinator for the City of Nanaimo , in a press release.
These work parties, an initiative through the City of Nanaimo Partners in Parks Program, help to improve the environment in Neck Point and Woodstream Park.
By removing invasive plants, the hope is to enhance and restore the landscape in the park to a more diverse ecosystem. By planting along the creek side, the root systems will stabilize the bank and create a more viable spawning environment.