Nursery work at the edge of Climate Change
Stqeeye’ native Plant Nursery cooperation with Ken’s Native Plants in Cowichan has resulted in a win-win for restoration at Xwaaqw’um. By partnering, Stqeeye’ has been able to support Indigenous business and grow native plants for restoration work on Salt Spring in the most water conscious way possible.
Ken’s native plant nursery sits elegantly inside the Cowichan estuary right beside the Cowichan Hatchery. Both these enterprises rely on constant fresh water, and the estuary has been a reliable spot to access this water deep from under the river bottom. Ken and his brother both run the two enterprises on their father’s land, and Junior operates in partnership with DFO to hatch millions of fish for release.
Ken and Colleen are a husband and wife dynamo who have run this nursery for 15 years. Ken says the demand for tours and environmental monitoring has grown so much in the last decade that his role became a mixed one of public engagement and working for large developments. While the plants patiently waited, Ken has been pulled in a million directions for the last few years. A light bulb went off for Stqeeye’ Co-Manager Sulsameethl, and she approached Ken about possibly growing plants for the Xwaaqw’um restoration. The news came at just the right time for their family.
“The Creator told me to just keep on going, Ken, to keep on the good work. I couldn’t always see the way forward, but now with you (Stqeeye’) at our backs, I can see that there is a way forward. It makes all the hard work and all the long day’s worthwhile to be able to pass on this knowledge now, and know that the good work will continue.”
Ken and Colleen have noticed concerning trend. “In fifteen years, I have seen it get drier and drier with each passing year. In fifteen years, we have experienced the climate change. This year is the second year in a row that the estuary tributaries have dried up well before the fish are ready to leave their shady banks. The little fry need the weeks in the shade feeding on the abundant food that the low land can provide. But this year it dried up in early July, well before they are ready to go into the larger channels.”
This worrying trend is just another reason to work harder and faster for the Elliot and Joseph family. If the plants dry out before they can be planted in restoration work, then the work of another year will be lost. The urgency to get the forest growing again, and to help save the fish is palpable when anyone speaks to Ken about it.
For Stqeeye’ the priorities are clear, and the way forward is brightly illuminated – go this way! We must replant the missing wetland plant species as soon as we can, before the precious water is whisked away off the land by artifacts of the agricultural fervor that swept the south coast in the 1860’s. We must prepare the land for these incredible summer temperatures that are predicted to become hotter and hotter with each year.
The three nursery staff are growing 10,000 plants this season, and have space and plans to do another 20,000 cuttings over the winter. As always, they would like to expand and improve their facility, and have ideas to increase productivity. Hiring more hands would be ideal, so Stqeeye’ is always on the look out for more grant funds to keep this important part of the project going. To make a donation to the nursery, please find our contribute button on the top of every page.
Huy tseep q’u
