Welcome!
Read on to find out about the activities of the Bowker Creek Initiative (BCI).
Interpretive Signs for the Watershed
In 2019 the BCI replaced the four aging signs in the watershed. Now there are 6 new signs throughout the watershed, from the headwaters at University of Victoria through Saanich and Victoria to near the mouth of the creek in Oak Bay. Read more and view the signs.
Oak Bay High School Bowker Creek Restoration Project
The physical reconstruction of the creek channel was completed in 2015, creating a meandering channel with riffles, small islands and lots of native riparian vegetation on the creek bank. Oak Bay High School students now have an outdoor classroom, and the community has a beautiful naturalized greenway to use.
You can help!
Friends of Bowker Creek Society is looking for volunteers to help weed and tidy up the restoration site near Oak Bay High. They are meeting monthly in 2020 on the following dates:
- Saturday April 25: 1 - 4pm, in conjunction with the annual Rubber Ducky Race
- Sunday May 31: 1 - 4pm
- Sunday June 28: 1 - 4pm
Meet at the creek restoration site behind the Oak Bay rec centre tennis bubble. Please bring boots, gloves and pruners if you have them, otherwise just bring yourself! Light refreshments provided.
Collaboration with Green Team and Oak Bay High
In 2017 the Greater Victoria Green Team and two classes from Oak Bay High School teamed up with BCI volunteers to plant 258 plants in the restoration site. Read the report here and view the photos. Oak Bay News did a story on the event as well.
Restoration at Monteith St in Oak Bay
Bowker Creek flows through municipal lands on Monteith St with a community allotment garden on the north bank, and a native plant garden across the creek. Read more about the transformation of this site.
Living Lab Project at Bowker Creek
The Living Lab Project is a collaboration between UVic, the Songhees Nation, and local secondary schools to provide students and community with the knowledge and resources needed to support the development of an environmental stewardship program within traditional Lekwungen territory. In June 2017, Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth participants visited the restored Bowker Creek site at Oak Bay High School to learn about creek restoration, and how to assess water quality and biodiversity. Read more >>
Bowker Creek Blueprint
Find out more about the 100 year plan to restore the Bowker Creek watershed.