The hope is that this Squamish restoration will serve as an example for transforming other communities' defunct golf courses back to nature.
The Squamish Chief joined a public tour of the Garibaldi Springs Ecological Reserve on Saturday, June 24.
The tour was led by Cathy Armstrong from The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC), Mike Nelson from Cascade Environmental, and Kevin Shoemaker from Polygon Developments Ltd. The reserve is located behind the Executive Suites Hotel and Resort in northern Squamish and is approximately 90 acres in size
The reserve is a joint agreement between TLC, the District of Squamish and Polygon Developments Ltd., which is developing townhomes and duplexes on four parcels of the land while also restoring habitat in accordance with the District, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and the province for at least the next five years.
Shoemaker estimated about 20 to 25 acres of the original 120-acre golf course will be new homes. The development will start on the north side near Dowad Drive and head south, but they will need to do the restoration work first.
Armstrong said this could serve as a “model” for other such restorations of courses.
Nelson explained to the group that about 60,000 plants would be going into the area, which begins in the fall. On the higher elevations of land, cedars and spruces will go in with plants like skunk cabbage going in at lower elevations.
A trail will be developed in the area for walking. Work to take out invasive plant species is underway. Participants on the tour were lucky enough to see some of the western toadlets migrating.
Nelson also told the group that a pond that is near the south end of the area will eventually be nearly filled. He explained this is due to the high temperature of the pond, which has been harming the fish and raising the temperature of a nearby creek.
Some of the restoration work includes the “removal of existing [or] older culverts and bridges, decommissioning some previous cart paths [or] trails, new riparian plantings, creation of new wetlands and upland plantings,” according to the District’s website.
The tour from TLC is part of its 2023 “Passport to Nature” event series, which are family-friendly nature-based events to learn more about the ecosystem and protected areas by TLC. Some events are virtual and some are in person.
The Garibaldi Springs Ecological Reserve is one of two reserves that the TLC monitors and protects in Squamish. The other is about 17 acres of the Mamquam Blind Channel region.
