As construction of Langford’s new elementary school, Scianew Stelitkel, continues at pace for its fall 2025 opening, just steps away, a group of volunteers has been carefully working on a special construction project of their own.
The Bilston Watershed Habitat Protection Association has been helping to carefully restore a section of Pritchard Creek at the intersection of Klahanie Drive and Latoria Road.
The project took a step towards completion on Oct. 10, when volunteers gathered to plant native plants on the banks of the creek to help prevent erosion and improve its health.
The improvements will help fish, such as trout, navigate the creek to reach deeper water, as well as supporting insects, birds and other wildlife.
But volunteer Kym Hill hopes the creek project will help inspire future students at the new school connect with nature.
“This is for the kids, the future generations,” said Hill. “My dream is that the kids can come from the new school … turn over rocks and find bugs, frogs … like a little outdoor school room. That’s my dream.”
The remediation project began after Hill found the creek full of mud, which was running downstream and accumulating in the shallow water.
Volunteers alerted the City of Langford to the environmental problem, who quickly acted to remove the mud and create refuge ponds for fish. But the work left the banks of the creek needing some tender-loving-care.
Under the careful instruction of environmental experts, the team of volunteers have grown 400 native plants for the remediation project.
“Diversity is the spice of life,” says Hill, who adds she is particularly excited about planting twinberry, a favourite of hummingbirds.
The creek has an abundance of wildlife, says Hill, which includes freshwater shrimp, crayfish and sticklebacks. It is also home to trout, which is thought could be a genetically unique subspecies.
“They’re doing DNA testing on them now,” said Hill. “They’ve been isolated since Sitting Lady Falls came into being 10,000 years ago. They’re resilient things, they’ve survived a whole bunch of trauma, it’s unbelievable.”
While the Pritchard Creek remediation project nears completion, the work of the Bilston Watershed Habitat Protection Association, which has been around for over 30 years, will continue.
The team helps monitor fish populations and water quality, as well as develop projects to enhance the sustainability of Bilston Creek and its tributaries.
“They call it citizen science,” says Hill, who explains the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has encouraged them to help support the work.
“They realize they can’t do it by themselves, so they lean on crazy people like us, who volunteer our time.”
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