This is the first in a series of stories we’ll share over the coming year in honour of the ELC’s approaching 25th anniversary. We’ll take this time to reflect on milestones and appreciate work done in the past that is making a difference today. These stories demonstrate what we all inherently know: actions we take today reverberate long into the future.
Habitat Acquisition Trust (HAT) staff and volunteers organized a successful fundraising drive in the 1990s to purchase the Ayum Creek land at Sooke Basin. ELC Legal Director Calvin Sandborn was a founding director of HAT and worked on the Ayum Creek campaign.
“This was an important parcel of land because it provided critical fish habitat and formed the final link in the continuous Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt that stretches from Saanich Inlet to Sooke Basin,” says Calvin.
Now part of a Capital Regional District park reserve, Ayum Creek flows through mixed forest and riparian habitat. Even in December, there is plenty of evidence scattered about to show how fish feed the forest (and, apparently, local bears.)
The ELC has worked on protecting the Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt as far back as 1996 when we provided information on watershed planning and municipal law issues.
