The revamped portion of Bowker Creek adjacent to Oak Bay High gets an official launch Tuesday, March 1. The grand unveiling starts at 10 a.m. in the new outdoor classroom. There will be a ceremonial tree planting as well as a site tour of the newly restored area and speakers include MLA Honourable Peter Fassbender and Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen.
"The completion of this phase of our Bowker Creek project is a big step forward in restoring the health and ecology of an important urban watershed. It was made possible by the exemplary collaboration among local, provincial and federal governments in partnership with Oak Bay High, the school board and our community. We showed it can be done by all of us working together."
The creek restoration is one of 10 short-term actions in the Bowker Creek blueprint, which sets out a 100-years vision for restoring the health of this highly urbanized watershed. This is the $448,883.22 second phase of the Bowker Creek Initiative’s project to rejuvenate the waterway restoration project adjacent to the creek, through the CRD's Bowker Creek Initiative.
The reconstruction of about 120 metres of Bowker Creek included channel excavation, channel enhancements, bio-engineering bank stabilization, landscaping, planting, irrigation and the construction of community amenities including an outdoor classroom structure and viewing platform.
The first phase of project included extensive student and community engagement to develop a detailed design for the site. The project is funded by a UBCM Innovations Fund grant under the federal gas tax agreement to cover 100 per cent of the eligible costs of the approved project.