In October 2023, we stopped to visit the beautiful Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve near Duncan, BC. The Preserve was created in 1999 when the Nature Conservancy of Canada purchased land that was slated for development in order to protect one of the few remaining intact Garry oak meadow ecosystems on Vancouver Island.
Once common throughout southeastern Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands, the spread of urban and agricultural development and introduction of invasive plant species has reduced the Garry oak meadow ecosystem to less than five percent of their original extent. More than a hundred insect, reptile, bird, and plant species at risk depend on the remaining fragments of Garry oak meadow ecosystem.
Public access to the conservation area is limited, but there is an accessible boardwalk and viewing platform along Maple Bay Road a few minutes east of Duncan.
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Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve |
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Garry Oak Meadow Walkway |
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Garry Oak Meadow Viewing Platform |
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Garry Oak Meadow |
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Garry Oak Meadow |
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Cowichan Garry Oak Meadow |
For more information, please visit the Nature Conservancy of Canada web site, and consider making a donation to this very worthwhile organization:
Nature Conservancy of Canada - Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve
