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
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Day 4 - Wet Land Area
October 16th
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.
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 28th-
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.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Work Cited
British Columbia. 2012. Western Redcedar. Web page accessed
Oct.2nd.2012. Available at http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/westernredcedar.htm
Bert, Wilson.2012. Actaea Rubra. Web Page accessed Oct.5th.2012.
Available at http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/actaea-rubra
Don, Gayton, Okanagan Odyssey: Rocky Mountain Books (2010)
Book accessed Sept. 20th, 2012.
Marilyn, Foster. 2006. Mission Creek Greenway. Web Page
Accessed Oct. 1st, 2012. Available at http://www.greenway.kelowna.bc.ca/mcreekfacts.html
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