On Friday, July 27th at 11:30 am two youth from the Youth and Ecological Restoration Program (YER) (www.youthecology.ca) will lead a guided tour of Melda’s Marsh in Seal Bay Park. This is one of the most important Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) recreational parks and comparable to Stanley Park in Vancouver.
With funding provided by Ministry of Children and Family Development, YER is partnering with CVRD (www.comoxvalleyrd.ca), Community Services Branch to conduct ecological inventory of Melda’s Marsh. The marsh was named after well known local environmental activist, Melda Buchanan, who passed away in 2004. She helped create this park, posted many of the wooden signs found throughout the forest and would be delighted to know her legacy was being handed down to a younger generation.
CVRD is funding professional biologist Ian Moul to supervise the research, teach current scientific data collection methods to the youth and write a report to document the results. On the tour, the youth will educate the public on the knowledge they have gained about Melda’s Marsh. K’omoks First Nations call this forest Xwee Xwhy Luq “a place of serenity and beauty”.
The tour will be about an hour in length and the trail has easy walking access. To find Seal Bay Park go up Ryan Road, turn left on Anderton Road, left on Waveland Road, and then left on Bates Road to the park entrance. Follow the links on the CVRD website for a map and brochure. FMI contact Wendy Kotilla at 250-336-8487 or wkotilla@shaw.ca.