Mission Creek Introduction

I live in the hills of upper Rutland close to the mission creek entrance off of Hollywood road. The mission creek trail system became my little oasis where I would retreat to get away from school or home. The mission creek always made me feel like I was on the west coast of Canada instead of in the Okanagan region. The mission creek and the surrounding areas close to the river are extremely fascinating ecological zones.  The Okanagan is filled with tall dry mountains filled with wineries and orchards that all over looks the iconic Okanagan Lake that runs the Okanagan. The Okanagan area is dry and filled with different types of sage and bunch grass that cover the surrounding mountainsides. The upper part to the mission river feels much more like a costal climate area then the dry typical Okanagan landscape. You are submerged in dense trees that over hang the trail and the river. The vegetation still has colour and has not been dried out from the warm climate. The river starts above in the Greystoke mountain range at Mission Lake (Mission Creek Greenway 2009:1). It then flows all the way down to the Okanagan Lake running through many communities in Kelowna. I spent most of time exploring from the entrance off Hollywood road up words towards the Greystoke mountain peaks. I felt the different environmental area of Mission Creek would be a perfect place to start my research project. I started by exploring in the woods next to the trail that runs along the river. I explored beyond the trail and climbed along the riverbank several kilometers up the river. The river and surroundings are filled with so many unique different zones and species. I spent the next month visiting different ecological spots along the river that I wanted to observe and learn more about.

Mission Creek Map

The main entrance is off of Hollywood road. Then I worked my way from that entrance towards the Greystoke mountain range.

This is a map I drew. It is a little more detailed and shows you exactly where everything is.

Low Bush Blueberry Plant and Snake Berry’s

I identified two common berries that I had seen many times before. The first was the blueberry plant that was growing very close to the ground off the trail. Ever since I was a kid I would try to eat the berries I could find close to my house and I learned quickly which ones were good and which were not. The low bush blueberry plant is a bush I see a lot while I am out hiking and exploring in the woods. They are not as tasty as the ones you get from the grocery store but they are still very good. The next berry I found was a small patch of snake berries. They were rapped around a tree growing up the trunk of it. The berry is poisonous and if you eat enough it can kill you. Some animals can eat the berry but they do not like the sour taste. I have seen this berry a lot in thick patches of woods before and new that I should not try it as a snack. (Bert Wilson 2012)

Western Redcedar

I found this tree in the wet area of the mission creek. I did not know that we had this plant in Kelowna but I knew what it was from all the time I had spent on Vancouver Island. Usually on the island the trees are a lot taller and a lot bigger. I remember as a kid trying to climb them. The western redcedar I found was a lot smaller. The trunk of the tree was just starting and it was not much taller then myself. I found out that the redcedar is known for growing in wetland areas like the one I found in mission creek. The trees are very well known for growing in areas that do not get much sunlight. The branches that came off the tree are what I like the most; they are like little fingers with small needles on each one. (British Columbia 2006)

Black Cotton Wood Tree

I found a bunch of black cotton wood trees hanging over the trail and over the river. The one tree I studied was an older one that had been weathered by our climate and was growing in a hillside next to the river. The occasional bird could be seen sitting on the branches. The roots grew right into the bank that was next to the river. The tree was amazing because it offered shade and cover for not only us humans while walking but animals as well. This is just one of the trees that I saw while along the river. I also saw some ponderosa pine trees that were scattered on the more elevated banks of the river.

Sage Grass

Close to where the trail ends there were a couple large fields that were covered in sage. The fields stretched up small hillsides and they looked untouched. The sage grew all over the field. It was an amazing thing to see so much sage and bunch grass that hasn’t been destroyed by us humans. It is awesome to still see large areas that are filled with plants that are native to Kelowna. We do not see many sage grass fields anymore due to the amount development that has occurred over the Okanagan Landscape. (Don Gayton 2010)

Mallard Ducks

I first spotted the ducks in the wet area next to mission creek. There were a couple of them that were just trying to feed on small species in the pond. They had a couple small ponds that they would spend most of their time in. As I walked down the river there were a couple of small mallards with a mother mallard that were in the deeper part of the river just swimming around. I watched the ducks for a little bit and saw them nibbling on small plants that were growing in the small ponds.

Mission Creek Video

This is a little video to show you how beautiful it can be down around the Mission Creek in the fall. It also shows all of my ecological zones that i am doing for my research project. Hopefully you get a better understanding from the video of how different of a environmental zone the mission creek is then the typical dry Okanagan. I hope you Enjoy.

The Link for the video is:
https://vimeo.com/52364364

Day 4 - Wet Land Area

October 16^th

1- 3pm

On my forth time down to the river I really wanted to try to identify as many species and animals as I could. I brought along my granddad that has lived in the Okanagan for many years. I was set out on going to a wetland area that was a couple kilometers up the trail. The area looks like it is flooded in the spring but in the summer and fall it is full of life. There are different plants and species everywhere. In a couple of the small little ponds there were a couple mallard ducks. Along the side of the path there were several different berry plants like the low bush blue berry plant and large patches of snake berries. My Granddad pointed out the different types of trees like the black cotton wood tree that left a little bit of shade on the warm afternoon. In the areas that had a little bit more water then others there was a plant I was use to seeing a lot on the west coast called the western redcedar. The beautiful tree was a lot smaller then the huge ones I had seen in Vancouver but it still looked very healthy. The little ecological zone reminded me a lot of being in Vancouver or on the Island. It was very unique to go to an area like that in Kelowna.

This is the western redCedar that is usually seen around the cost on British Columbia.

This is a photo of the dense bushes that fill the surroundings of the wet lands.

Day 3 - Water Levels

October 12th

1 - 3pm

I went for a bike ride along the river and then locked my bike up close to where the path stopped. I decided to walk up along the side of the river where it said the trail was closed. The banks became higher and you could see where the run off in the spring eroded the trail and the banks of the river. Trees hung leaning over the river and roots sprung out of the bank. On the large banks on the side you could see how high the water level had reached. As I walked back towards my bike I ran into a local lady who explained to me that the whole river would flow over the trail in the spring when the snow was melting above in the mountains. The whole area that I usually ran would be submerged in water. The path was no more then a couple feet above the river. I knew that the river ran towards downtown so I wondered if it ever affected any homes closer to the downtown when the river flooded. As I biked towards downtown the trail was much higher then the river. I was no longer two or three feet above the river. I was twenty to thirty feet up and away from the river. The banks looked man made like they had channelized the river to stop flooding. As I kept biking I saw the marks on the bank from the high water level and realized they had made the bank significantly larger to protect the homes that were close to the river. The river changed from a small narrow natural river to a much wider man made river, as it got closer to the city.  The banks and river bottom looked like they were designed to help during the spring when the river levels are much higher.

 This first picture is where I locked my bike and then walked along the river bank up up the river.

In this picture you can see the roots of trees and plants growing out of the bank because the bank has been eroded by the water. 

In this photo it shows the tall banks that are closer to downtown Kelowna to prevent the river from flooding in the spring.

On the clay walls you can see how high the water level reached the past year. The darker clay shows us how high the water reached the year before.

Day 2- Salmon Spawning

September 28^th-

5 -7pm

I had noticed as I ran along the trail the number of people glaring into the stream looking for Salomon that were spawning so I decided to go back and take a look for myself. In the upper part of the river there were very few Salomon that had made the long journey this far. I sat on the bank at different spots to just watch these amazingly powerful animals swim up the river. They would jump over low sections of water and motor through the deep sections. As I watched I noticed them resting behind bigger rocks in the river to get enough energy to push forward another ten feet. It was amazing to see their shinny body’s just glistening in the water. After observing the fish swimming through the current I decided to walk further down the river to see if I could see anymore salmon. About a kilometer down the river floating on the surface of the river I noticed a shinny salmon. I made sure there were no bears around and I approached the floating fish that was stuck on a rock. The fish had a very distinct smell and was almost too much to take. The salmon must have spawned up the river and then after laying her eggs passed away. The fish was now just a meal for a bird or a bear. I had seen a bear the other night in an orchard close to the river and realized why he was down so low. The bear was able to get a free lunch whenever he wanted. As I kept walking down the stream I got to see the salmon work their way through the rapids like a human in maze. The salmon ranged in size from four inches to as big as a foot. The bigger ones looked like they could power through the deeper sections easier but the small ones could jump over the low level sections a lot smoother. It was amazing to just watch the beautiful salmon so close. After a couple hours it started to get dark out and I did not want to be the bears next meal so I made my way home.

I was not able to capture the Salmon Spawning with my camera. I took this picture to give you an image of the type of rapids that these salmon make it up. It is incredible to watch the salmon maneuver through the river.

Day 1 -Hoodoo Cliffs/Clay Cliffs

September 24th 1pm-3pm

I always noticed large clay walls along both sides of the river that stretched hundreds of feet up. I had seen similar type of hoodoo cliffs in the Kooteny’s in British Columbia several times before. The Cliffs stretched from the bottom of the river all the way to the top of huge hills along the trail. The walls were all different and you could tell how the environment and our weather helped shape each one. The cliffs are so unique and beautiful. It is amazing to see how the cliffs keep their shape and do not fall apart. The cliffs are a light brown colour that changes depending on the angle that light hits them. The cliffs are very soft and you can break small pieces off with your hands.  They have a hard layer on the outside but beneath the clay it gets much softer.  At the bottom of the cliffs you can see large chunks that have fallen down from erosion. Closer to the bottom on some of the cliffs there is small grass that grows in some areas. On top of the cliffs there are even trees and other plants growing.  The cliffs are just one of the many unique different ecological zones along the Mission Creek.

This is one of the Clay Cliffs that is along the river. It is several hundred feet tall.

Mission Creek Reflection

I feel this is a beautiful place that is great for sneaking away to clear your head or to grab some piece and quiet. There are many different natural environments that are all spread out over the mission creek. You are able to see unique species and plants that are all native to the Okanagan. I had an amazing time exploring the woods and the river looking for species and animals that lived along and in the river.  I hope that Mission Creek can stay as natural as possible and that we do not continue to mess with natural habitats of animals and species in Kelowna. You can see different areas along the river where it has been channelized and fixed so that it does not overflow into the city. I hope that the area I visited remains untouched so that the species and animals can feel safe and at home in that environment.  Along the trail you can come across a lot of garbage I feel that if we enforced laws or rules against littering in places like this people would take better care of the beautiful environment that the Mission Creek has to offer. I plan on taking time through the year to look for new species and identify new plants that I do not already know about within the mission creek. The mission creek makes you feel like you are in an environment similar to the coastal areas and that’s why I found it so unique to study the plants and animals in this area.

Work Cited

British Columbia. 2012. Western Redcedar. Web page accessed Oct.2^nd.2012. Available at http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/westernredcedar.htm

Bert, Wilson.2012. Actaea Rubra. Web Page accessed Oct.5^th.2012. Available at http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/actaea-rubra

Don, Gayton, Okanagan Odyssey: Rocky Mountain Books (2010) Book accessed Sept. 20^th, 2012.

Marilyn, Foster. 2006. Mission Creek Greenway. Web Page Accessed Oct. 1^st, 2012. Available at http://www.greenway.kelowna.bc.ca/mcreekfacts.html