ECOSYSTEM is a natural unit consisting of plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all the non-living physical factors of the environment

What do Ecosystems do? -Provide fundamental life-support

services upon which human civilization depends

(pollination, various foods, wood, erosion prevention, clean water + air, etc)

Garry Oak Ecosystem

Range of Garry Oak Ecosystem

Range of Garry Oak Ecosystem

Ecological Importance Subcomponent of the Coastal Douglas Fir

Ecosystem

More plant species than any other ecosystem in Canada

118 plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, and butterflies

Plants: Flowers

Shooting Star Chocolate Lily

White Fawn LilyBlue Camas

Plants: Shrubs

Snowberry Wild Rose or Nootka Rose

Ocean Spray

Trees

Garry Oak Arbutus

Douglas fir

Birds

Western Meadowlark (likely extirpated)

Vesper Sparrow (Rare)

Lewis’s Woodpecker (extirpated)Other Birds:

Owls, Sparrows, Hummingbirds, Hawks,Warblers, Towhees, Swallows

Mammals, Reptiles & Amphibians

Alligator LizardBlack-tailed Deer

Sharp-tailed Snake “At Risk”

“At Risk” means danger of disappearing from wild

approximately 100 species in G.O.E. Numerous extirpated species

Species “At Risk”

Sharp-Tailed Snake Large MarbledButterfly Western Bluebird

On the Decline

In BC today, Garry Oak meadows occupy only 1% to 5% of their former area

1800s

1997

Area 1800 (Cover in hectares)

1997 (Cover in hectares)

Victoria 1,460 21

Oak Bay 850 25

Saanich 3,473 192

C. Saanich 740 7

Sidney 30 0

N. Saanich 1,040 1

Esquimalt 470 20

Colwood 320 16

Langford 370 105

View Royal 270 39

Metchosin 1,180 49

Indian Reserves

240 37

Total 10,443 512

Why the Decline?

#1 Threat: Development

Other Threats: Invasive species

Scotch Broom English Ivy Himalayan Blackberry

Why the Decline?

Other Threats: Fire Suppression

-Natural and Man-made fire has been restricted

-Without natural fire bushes and then trees grow and out compete Garry Oaks and other pant species

Succession:the series of changes in an ecological community that occur over time after a disturbance

Cultural Importance: First Nations

-Used fire to help maintain meadows-Encouraged bulb foods to grow-Encouraged deer to browse

Cultural Importance: Blue Camas-Main food source for Coast Salish peoples(pit-cooked to break down insulin into fructose)-Responded very well to fire -Main trade item with other First Nations-Taken on journeys and planted

When Chief Factor James Douglas saw six square miles of open camas meadows surrounding Victoria (then called Camosack), the search for the site of the new Hudson’s Bay Company fort was over.

The verdant grasslands were a spectacular sight in spring. Millions of butterflies--at least 40 abundant species--filled the air. Native grasses and clover grew tall and lush. Colourful blue camas mixed with golden paintbrush, white fawn lilies, chocolate lilies, lupins, buttercups and violets.

“The place itself appears a perfect ‘Eden’ in the midst of the dreary wilderness of the North,” Douglas enthused to his friend James Hargrave. “One might be pardoned for supposing it had dropped from the clouds into its present position.”

British newcomers wrongly assumed the open meadows they “discovered” were “natural” and unused. They viewed unfenced, unploughed and unseeded land as “waste,” available for “civilized” use.

In fact, Coast Salish ancestors of the Songhees First Nation (Lekwungen) had cultivated and maintained the shrub-free grasslands for centuries. They worked to enhance the growth of camas, their staple root crop, and other edible native plants.

Cultural Importance: First Nations

-Volunteer for Broom clearing

-Sign a conservation covenant or stewardship agreement with a land trust

-Remove invasive species from your property and use native plants

-Protect existing Garry Oak trees

-Restrict the use of pesticides and herbicides

-Treasure the natural and wild areas in our yards and parks

What can you do to help?