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The area that I chose is a portion of the Millstone River, located in the East Wellington area of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. This portion of the river cuts through a part of Nanaimo’s designated farmland. Several small scale vegetable and feed crops are along this subdued portion of the river, as well as housing developments. The areas around the Millstone river is cleared of the forest canopy, but small forested buffer zones do exist along the course of the river. Historical mining existed within the area in the early 1900s, and mine workings exist below portions of the landscape. It is unknown if these factors influenced the river through its history, but contamination of well water in East Wellington is of concern.
A proposal has gone through Nanaimo’s City Council to designate the area highlighted green in figure 1 as a Wetland Park. Because of the reasonably shallow gradient of the landscape, the river tends to meander and create flooding within the park when the river is high, which attracts birds and other biota.
I visited the field site on January 26th at 2:30 PM. The landscape is almost clear of snow and we have received rainfall the past several days. Overall, Nanaimo has seen large amounts of precipitation this January, and the river levels are incredibly high.
I accessed the river along the proposed park path and noticed that the large field in the park was partly flooded due to high river water. Walking down to the river, I saw that the river banks were nearly breaching, and large scale erosion was occurring along meanders (picture C). I could tell that at one point, agriculture had happened due to remnant barbed wire cutting through mature Douglas fir trees (picture D). Cow feed stalls in an advanced stage of decay were recognized, which could allude to the type of small scale farming that occurred. Invasive species that include English Holly, Himalayan Blackberry, and Scotch Broom are observed along the course of the river. Native species include numerous shrubs in hibernation, mature Douglas Firs, Maples, and alders. A possible beaver tunnel was the only signs of mammals at the site.
Some questions that I thought to myself as I was walking along the Millstone River included:
- How much has this landscape changed since humans began to influence it?
- What positive effects will occur when the park expansion is completed, and could cyclical floods inhibit expansion?
- What does this unique niche bring to Nanaimo, and why is it worth protecting if the landscape is partly flooded for parts of the year?
