Meadow Story

Moralea’s Meadow is a volunteer-managed ecosystem restoration and enhancement project that has taken root and blossomed within a remnant Garry oak meadow located adjacent to the Metchosin District Office. The project honours the life and vision of Moralea Milne, and it receives sustaining funding from the Metchosin Foundation.

Garry Oak Meadow
Garry Oak Meadow

Past

Geographically, the Meadow lies within the globally rare and endangered Coastal Douglas-fir ecological zone and within Coast Salish First Nation territory. Garry oak meadow habitat was actively stewarded and cultivated by Coast Salish people for millennia, and it provided many of the resources necessary to support their daily life.  At the same time, it was a place particularly welcoming to the many plants and animals that adapted to and thrived in this habitat.

The adjacent Metchosin District Hall, to the east of the Meadow was built in 1999. During its construction there was some disturbance of the Meadow due to the installation of a septic field but most of the Meadow remains intact. 

Moralea MilneOver many years the site was invaded by non-native grasses and other introduced plants. Moralea Milne, a Metchosin resident and District Councillor, recognized the area as a special place and hoped to restore it. However, due to her involvement in and commitment to many other community projects, the meadow project did not get underway until after her untimely death in the summer of 2018, when community members came together to complete the project in her memory.

In December 2018, Metchosin Council approved a proposal to restore this site. The volunteer group was formed shortly after.

Metchosin Muse: Garry Oak Meadow to be restored in honour of Moralea Milne (Jan. 2019)

Ripe flowering currant berries
Red flowering currant berries (Ribes sanguineum)
Metchosin Farmers Market and fawn lilies
Metchosin Farmers Market and fawn lilies
Meadow south entrance
Meadow south entrance
Path with licorice fern
Path with licorice fern (Polyeodium glycyrrhiza)
Sign at south gate
Sign at south gate
Moralea and friends in 2005
Moralea leading early restoration work (2005)

Present

The Moralea’s Meadow volunteer group meets weekly to work in the Meadow. We gratefully acknowledge the on-going support of the District of Metchosin Council, the Metchosin Foundation, Satinflower Nursery, Pollinator Partnership Canada, and Habitat Acquisition Trust for their generous contributions of money, plants, advice, and labour. We also thank individuals who have made donations of money and supplies.

Restoration of the site involves removing the non-native species, encouraging the native species that remain and adding more native plants. Many hours of volunteer time have been spent digging, mulching, seeding and planting. There is still significant work needed to remove the non-native grasses that remain, but several areas have been cleared, seeded, planted, and/or mulched.

Future

The intention for Moralea’s Meadow is that it will be preserved in perpetuity as a memorial to Moralea Milne, as a native species sanctuary, as a place for public enjoyment, and as a resource for education and research. We anticipate that future volunteers will continue to restore the area, install more native plants and enhance the habitat for wildlife. The Meadow is not a wild place. Rather, it is representative of the local landscapes actively stewarded by indigenous people, for millennia. 

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