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The Friends of Cedar Hill Park gathered on October 29th, 2024 to introduce two members of the Society who have volunteered to maintain the bulletin board mounted on the deck at Barwick Lake located on the west side of the Park. We are fortunate to be able to present the work of Dr. Roy Shepherd, a well known forester, naturalist, neighbour and supporter of CHP. Roy passed away about 3 years ago leaving the FCHP Society with an amazing collection of photos and descriptions of over a hundred species of plants and trees around the Park. We continue to enjoy Roy’s legacy of advocacy for the Park and educational signage, notably the bird identification board at Kings Pond.

The FCHP welcome volunteers, Jan and Bill Larkin (shown 2nd and 3rd from the right) who are neighbours of the Park who are keeping the bulletin board updated with photos and descriptions of the species of flora to be found in the Park. Barb Latham and Susan Haddon (1st and 2nd on the left)  have copied and organized Dr. Shepherd’s work that will be accessible on our website. The Friends of CHP continue to work with Saanich’s Pulling Together Program to help maintain and restore the natural areas that encompass the Golf Course.

 

 

As reported in an earlier news post, Saanich reached an agreement to purchase this property this year and it is now preserved as a beautiful undisturbed Garry Oak ecosystem in Cedar Hill Park.  The new area is about one acre that combines beautifully with Saanich’s road allowance on Tattersall/James Heights. It’s truly an amazing, diverse and secluded extension to the Park. Well done Saanich!!

The Friends of Cedar Hill Park and Pulling Together volunteers work steadily around the Park every Monday morning moving from one area to the next removing invasive species, planting new trees and shrubs and generally cleaning up. We are supported by Saanich Parks’ staff in all our work.

We are delighted to have finally started work to clean up this new addition to the Park. We are cutting heavy ivy growth from the oak trees, and removing Black Berry, Daphne and Broom. This area is like many others in the Park with thick invasive ivy covering the ground. Ivy removal will demand considerable work in the future. Please drop us an email should you need more information or wish to volunteer.

 

Many living close to Cedar Hill Park, and familiar with natural areas around the Park, were very surprised when, in late 2019, subdivision application notices were posted on both Tracksell Avenue and Tattersall Road to publicize the intention of a property owner to develop about 1 acre of land right on the NW boundary of the Park.

There were some significant issue as the only access was through an undeveloped public right-of-way with a prominent rocky outcrop on Tattersall. Secondly, the subdivision property was straddling a rocky ridge most covered by large Garry Oak and mature Douglas Fir. Development would have entailed blasting the access road and huge disturbance and loss of mature trees to create lots suitable for housing.

So what happened? The immediate neighbourhood rallied and many wrote to Saanich’s Approving Officer to express their objections. It was a long wait but finally, in 2022 Saanich reached an agreement to purchase the property to be integrated into Cedar Hill Park. Well done Saanich!! Impact to neighbours and Cedar Hill Park has been avoided and the area is preserved as a beautiful undisturbed ecosystem.

Cedar Hill Park has attracted bird enthusiasts and photographers for many years and the Friends of Cedar Hill Park has been very fortunate to have two passionate people to conduct bird surveys. Our first Saanich bird expert was Liam Singh who completed seasonal bird counts from 2017 until 2021. Bird surveys in 2022 have been conducted by Caitlin Acquroff.

Two to four surveys are conducted each year since 2017 and they have recorded between 25 to 40 species and 900 to 1400 birds depending on the time of year. If you would like to know more about bird surveys in CHP please click here to review the Bird Survey page including the details survey results for 2020 to 2022.

The Ducks and Turtles in Kings Pond at the north end of Cedar Hill Park are a huge attraction for adults and children. Large volumes of duck food are bagged by parents for distribution to the heathy duck population. About 4 years ago, FCHP  members were donated a large log for the turtles to haul out and enjoy the sunshine. It was a huge success. People would track how many turtles and ducks were sitting on the log. Sadly, in the winter of 202o the log disappeared.

However, it was relocated in spring 2022 and moored back in the centre of Kings Pond by the turtle log team. The turtles are happy.

Many Park walkers and golfers are familiar with volunteers working in the Saanich Pulling Together Program on Monday mornings. The team is organized by Lead Stewards Jim Moores and Luis Netter and the improvement in the health of the trees, shrubs, plants and wildlife around the park has become increasing evident year by year. Progress has been the result of great collaboration with the Saanich Natural Areas team and Golf Course staff.

The number of people volunteering at the Monday event has gradually increased and in 2021, they contributed over 1600 hours of work. Most of this effort is to remove invasive Blackberry, Ivy, Broom, Daphne, and Holly that became widespread over past decades. As areas are cleared, Saanich Parks staff work with volunteers to plant indigenous varieties of trees and plants. It’s enormously satisfying to see Camas, Garry Oaks, Oregon Grape, and other indigenous species reestablished and thriving.

Want to join the team? Please click this link to learn more.

We are delighted to present our newly reorganized FCHP Society WordPress website to support the initiatives of the Society and to contribute to our collaboration with the Saanich Pulling Together Program and all other interested parties in our community.

We believe there’s a critical role for the community to take responsibility for the well-being of the Park in the long term. Together we can increase biodiversity, reduce dumping of garbage, clean up creeks and wetlands, remove invasive species, encourage responsible land use around the park, and advocate for preserving natural areas and green space.

Our website has been our primary means to communicate to all residents and stakeholders. We have publicized the regular volunteer events with Saanich Pulling Together, many projects to improve the Park, our appreciation to those who have collaborated, the history and beauty of the Park expressed through photography and content. We greatly appreciate the work of Luis Netter who has been our website administrator for many years. Please let us know if you have ideas and comments.

The Friends of Cedar Hill Park collaborated with Saanich Parks staff to find a design, to construct and install a total of 16 bird box. Eight boxes have been placed around the park and an additional 8 boxes are being installed within the golf course by Golf Course staff. These boxes have been built and located for Swallow and Wren nesting. The entrance holes are designed to discourage other birds like Sparrows from taking over the boxes.

Many thanks to Saanich staff member Darren Copley for help select the design, to Jane Browning and Dave Berry for their work to obtain materials and build the boxes, and to Jim Moores for his encouragement and coordination. Thanks also to members of Parks’ Natural Areas and Golf Course staff for all their efforts to find suitable locations and installing the boxes.

We understand that this initiative will contribute to Saanich Parks Audubon certification of the golf course.