A Meadow Restored: The Gabriola Land and Trails Trust works to save a unique ecosystem
Channel: Life on Gabriola TV
Date: 12/03/2024

As the Gabriola Land & Trails Trust (GaLTT) enters its 20th year, Life on Gabriola TV takes a look at one of the organization’s many ambitious projects on the island.

Interviewer Helen Shilladay meets up with Lou Skinner, GaLTT’s Community Engagement officer, and Sarah Kopjar, a Board member, on location at Drumbeg Provincial Park, where the group’s habitat restoration project has been ongoing since 2018. As Skinner and Kopjar explain, its purpose is to remove invasive plant species, primarily Scotch Broom, so that native species which have been crowded out by the tough brush can return.

After the Broom has been removed, GaLTT helps the process along by planting native seed and “plugs” (young plants) in the remediated areas. The native plants are particular to the Gary Oak ecosystem, a unique one stretching from southwest British Columbia to the central coastal area of California. 

Formally founded in 2004, GaLTT’s history actually stretches back to the 1990s, when extensive clear cutting of forest occurred on Gabriola Island. According to the group’s website, the logging “profoundly shocked our community and we became acutely aware of the lack of public land, trail access, and preserved ecosystems on Gabriola Island.”

The group has also cultivated an extensive trail system on the island, sometimes reclaiming existing trails and in other cases negotiating with property owners to create new ones on private lands. They were also instrumental in creating what is known locally as “the 707,” a large area in the middle of the island named for its original size of 707 acres, where a trail system with accompanying signage has been established in a naturally regenerating forest.

GaLTT plans a 20th-anniversary celebration later in the year. To learn more about their work and become involved, visit https://galtt.ca.

Life on Gabriola TV is generously sponsored by:
The Gabriola Arts Council https://artsgabriola.ca
The Haven, Gabriola Island https://haven.ca