Garry Oak Ecosystem Tools

The Stewardship Centre for BC supports the conservation and management of Garry Oak Ecosystems in BC and has provided resources to host and provide access to the resources provided on these pages.  The tools for the management of these ecosystems are divided into 4 main categories and the resources for each category is available via the icons below and through the links on the menu to the right under the Tools menu.

• Garry Oak Ecosystem Tools Background and Source

  The Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team (GOERT) was formed in 1999 to coordinate efforts to protect and restore endangered Garry oak and associated ecosystems and the species at risk that inhabit them.  GOERT created a diverse and comprehensive library of resources over the near twenty years of their existence.  This library on the Stewardship Centre for BC site has been created to ensure that these valuable resources continue to be available for the protection and restoration of Garry Oak ecosystems.

  GOERT developed a number of Recovery Implementation Groups who worked to create and complete the science-based information necessary for ecosystem and species recovery, minimize ongoing site and species losses, and motivate public and private protection and stewardship activities.  Recovery Implementation Groups or RIGS worked to:

  • Map and classify plant communities
  • Raise the protection level of priority sites through covenants, stewardship, and acquisition
  • Restore Garry oak habitat through invasive species removal and propagation of native plants
  • Assess the population of species at risk, writing status reports, recovery strategies and recovery action plans for them
  • Guide research to further our understanding of Garry oak and associated ecosystems
  • Engage others through outreach

  

  Irvin Banman leads a tour at Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve (photo by Chris Junck)

  As a result of these efforts. an extensive and impressive series of projects and associated resources and reports were generated.  Many of these resources have been included in the resource or publication section of these pages.  The resources that are available on this site are categorized in the same categories of the original GOERT site: (1) Gardeners and restoration practitioners (2) Developers and (3) Government.

• A Few Key Resources

  The Garry Oak Gardener’s Handbook: Nurturing Native Plant Habitat in Garry Oak Communities (GOERT, 2011)  (4.7MB PDF)

  Best Management Practices for Garry Oak and Associated Ecosystems (GOERT, 2012) (2MB PDF)

  Guidelines for Mulching in Garry Oak and Associated Ecosystems (GOERT, 2012) (PDF)

  Towards a Recovery Strategy for Garry Oak and Associated Ecosystems in Canada: Ecological Assessment & Literature Review (Environment Canada, 2001) (PDF)

  Recovery Strategy for Garry Oak and Associated Ecosystems and their Associated Species at Risk in Canada, 2001–2006 (GOERT, 2002 Draft) (PDF)

  GOERT backgrounder for multi-species recovery strategies (GOERT, 2006) (PDF)