News

  • Garry Oak Nursery work party update – September 22, 2018

    At this event we had four volunteers contribute just over 11hrs of work.

    We also had a visitor, Barb from the Habitat Acquisition Trust, come by to receive a gift of a seedling. She was generous enough to donate her time at our AGM and give a fascinating presentation on land covenants for GOMPS members in attendance.

    In total we:

    • weeded, mulched and fertilized 100 1-gallon pots
    • weeded and fertilized 55 1-gallon pots
    • weeded, root pruned and fertilized 23 1-gallon pots
  • Garry Oak Nursery work party update – September 8, 2018

    At this event we had 8 volunteers and contributed 22 hours of work between us.

    The three sisters visiting from Taiwan, Cathy, Rebecca and Ruby, attended their third and final work party with us! It seems that they would keep coming back if their visit to our city wasn’t rapidly coming to an end. They were absolute naturals with the work, even though they’d never had their hands in the soil before! We will miss having them at the nursery and wish them safe travels into the future.

    What we accomplished:

    • weeded and mulched 37 isolated seedlings
    • weeded, mulched and fertilized 80 5- and 10-gallon pots
    • weeded, mulched and fertilized 256 1-galon seedlings
  • Garry Oak Nursery work party update – August 25, 2018

    At this work party we had 7 volunteers are we contributed a total of 21.5 hours of work.

    This was the last event Joanna, one of our most dedicated volunteers, will be able to attend as she is moving out of the province. Joanna, thank you for all your hard work and we will miss you dearly!

    In terms of wildlife, we had a very close encounter with a Pacific Chorus Frog, a native tree frog in our region, who can be seen in the photos below. What a cutie!

    Lots of weeding and re-weeding again this week…

    What we accomplished:

    • We weeded mulched two 2″ styroblocks
    • We weeded and mulched twenty 4″ styroblocks
    • We weeded, mulched and fertilized fifty-one 5-gallon and 10-gallon pots
    • We weeded and mulched ten 1-gallon pots
    • We weeded fifteen 1-gallon pots
  • Upcoming Garry Oak work party – Sat August 25, 2-5pm

    Come out and volunteer at our upcoming Garry Oak Nursery work party, this Saturday August 25th from 2-5pm.

    Click here to learn more about the Nursery.

    Come out and help us out, learn about Garry oaks, and enjoy the summer at our beautiful nursery location!

    As a reminder, there is now a proper toilet (porta-potty type) on the premises.  Training, gloves, tools & refreshments are provided. Weather appropriate clothing & good work boots are recommended – don’t forget sun protection!

    Click here to learn more about volunteering.

    Send me an email if you want to help out!

    Jenny Hebb
    Volunteer Coordinator
    jenny.gomps@gmail.com

  • Garry Oak Nursery work party update – August 11, 2018

    At this work party we had 8 volunteers and we contributed 24 hours of work between us.

    We saw potter bee clay pots (their houses) on the site of a 1-gallon pot, which was super neat and you can see this in the photos below.

    What we accomplished:

    • 270 4″ seedlings weeded
    • 775 2″ seedlings weeded
    • 110 4″ seedlings mulched and fertilized
    • 148 1-gallon pots weeded, mulched and fertilized
    • 48 1-gallon pots had weed seed heads removed
    • all new mulched plants were watered
  • Dates for upcoming Garry Oak Nursery work parties

    Hello all!

    We’re not letting up at the Nursery as summer rolls along, so I’m here to share our schedule for upcoming work parties. We’re keeping the biweekly schedule for the foreseeable future and the start and end times are 2pm to 5pm. All events are held on Saturdays.

    Upcoming Garry Oak Nursery work parties August 2018

    Here’s a short list of dates for upcoming volunteer events:

    • August 11
    • August 25
    • September 8
    • September 22
    • October 6

  • Celebration of Life for Moralea Milne, former GOMPS Director

    Moralea Milne

    Moralea Milne was a former Director with our Society and one of the most devoted and passionate voices in our struggle to save Garry oak ecosystems.

    Milne, a member of Metchosin council since 2008, was known for her leadership and her commitment to environmental issues.

    Her celebration of life was held at 2 p.m on Sunday August 5th at  the Metchosin Community Hall, 4401 William Head Rd.

    In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Metchosin Foundation.

    Text adapted from the Times Colonist, August 6, 2018 and photo from http://camashill.blogspot.com

  • Garry Oak Nursery work party update – July 28, 2018

    At this work party we had 9 volunteers and we contributed 26.5 hours between us.

    We had three new volunteers today, sisters from Taiwan who got their hands in the soil for the first time. Thank you for your amazing work, Cathy, Ruby and Rebecca!

    What we accomplished:

    • we weeded the remaining seedlings in 4″ styroblocks
    • we mulched 195 4″ seedlings
    • we fertilized 450 4″ seedlings
    • we weeded 675 of our 2″ seedlings
    • we weeded 150 1-gallon seedlings
  • Garry Oak Nursery work party update – July 14, 2018

    At this work party we had 3 volunteers contribute a total of 9 volunteer hours.

    We are pleased to announce that even more of our acorns have sprouted! Hopefully all will be sprouted soon.

    What we accomplished:

    • we weeded, mulched and fertilized 300 of the 4″ seedlings
    • we weeded, mulched and fertilized 45 of the most overgrown 1-gallon pots
  • Garry Oak Nursery work party update – June 30, 2018

    At this work party we had 8 volunteers contribute a total of 22.5 hours.

    As you’ll see our nursery area has now doubled in size: we now have a second strip of landscaping cloth with a separate irrigation system!

    As always we kept a watchful eye on the spring planted acorns for new growth.

    What we accomplished:

    • 64 of the 5-gallon and 10-gallon seedlings were moved up onto pallets in the new irrigation area
    • 20 of these pots were mulched with sawdust and fertilized with a new summer fertilizer
    • 630 of the 2″ seedlings were weeded and fertilized
    • 540 of the 4″ seedlings were weeded

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