Site Description
Name of the site: Brooksdale Environmental Centre, A Rocha Canada
Address: Lower Mainland | Surrey
Size: 18 acres
Type of crops: Over 60 types of vegetables; plum, apple and hazelnut trees; sheep, chickens and currently one llama
Number of people employed: 3 full time farmers live on site; 30 employees
Managed property: since November 2010
After we built the new pond it was used as habitat by fish species so quickly, especially the Salish sucker. That exceeded our expectations.
~Christy Juteau
Stewardship project partners:
Little Campbell Watershed Society
Friends of Semiahmoo Bay Society
South Coast Conservation Program
Invasive Species Council of BC
Langley Environmental Partners Society
City of Surrey’s Salmon Habitat Restoration Program (SHaRP)
Metro Vancouver Parks
Project Overview:
In the last year the group has continued its stewardship work via riparian plantings, invasive species management and a bioengineering workshop with local expert Dave Polster. The workshop brought in 12 participants to the group’s land to learn how to build a wattle fence out of live cuttings of willow and cottonwood.
The group also began using a new technique to manage Himalayan Blackberry, recommended by Dave Polster. Rather than removing the plants and the roots entirely, they instead leave the roots intact and cut up the plants into small pieces. They leave the cuttings on the soil and return 2 to 3 times throughout the growing season to cut up new growth. This technique weakens the blackberries sufficiently that new native plants can be put in the next year and take hold. As well as being easier than other methods, leaving the roots in also has the advantage of protecting the soil and preventing erosion, especially on steep slopes.
Key new projects:
- Continued improvement of riparian zone including planting 1600 m2 of native species
- Bioengineering work via a workshop leading to 100 m of riverside improvements using wattle fencing and live cuttings of willow and cottonwood
- Ongoing removal and management of invasive species, including a new technique to manage blackberries
Champions
Christy Juteau is the Stewardship Coordinator of A Rocha. As a Christian group, A Rocha’s members love the creator and they see it as part of their mission to care for what he has created. They envision transforming people and places to a healthier community.
Jesse Wildeman is the Environmental Restoration Specialist at the Centre. The group’s 18 acres are divided into approximately equal areas of 1) sustainable agriculture, 2) riparian and forested habitat and 3) community use areas and housing.
Motivation
Challenges
Outcomes
Monitoring