CAMAS DAY CELBRATION SUNDAY MAY 1, 2022

Sunny warm weather brought out the crowds to our Annual Camas Day Celebration on Sunday.  Mayor Kevin Murdoch welcomed people and acknowledged the Lekwungen speaking people, known today as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, whose ancestral territory since time beyond memory includes Oak Bay.  

Thank you to Kevin, Esther Paterson and Cairine Green for participating and supporting this community event and all the work that volunteers do in all the natural areas of Oak Bay.

Several hundred people enjoyed the amazing Bald Eagles Band, the displays of participating organizations and the food donated by COBS Bread Bakery, Dominos Pizza, HIDE + SEEK COFFEE and Thrifty’s Foods, which was consumed with great enthusiasm! Many thanks to all of them. Gratitude to Oak Bay Parks for buying coffee and doughnuts for the set-up crews. Without this donation we might have run out of food!

Our FOUPS volunteers and Oak Bay Parks staff worked very diligently to make the day a resounding success. We are most grateful!  Thanks also to all the volunteers and staff that worked for the following 15 participating organizations:

  • Friends of Anderson Hill
  • Habitat Acquisition Trust
  • Satinflower Nurseries
  • Greater Victoria Naturehood
  • Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary
  • Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society
  • Victoria Natural History Society
  • UVic Restoration of Natural Systems
  • Swan Lake & Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary
  • Community Association of Oak Bay
  • Friends of Bowker Creek
  • Friends of Ecological Reserves
  • City Nature Challenge with iNaturalist
  • Parks Canada
  • Oak Bay Coolkit.

Thank you to the following local organizations for donations of “Out Door Prizes”: 

  • Fairway Market Oak Bay
  • Friends of Ecological Reserves
  • Ivy’s Book Shop
  • Nicholas Randall
  • Nohra Thai Kitchen
  • Oak Bay Beach Hotel
  • Oak Bay Pharmasave
  • Red Barn Market Oak Bay
  • Slater’s First Class Meats
  • The Village Restaurant
  • Timeless Toys

Let’s all show our gratitude by supporting these generous businesses!

Thanks also to individuals that donated prizes: 

  • Felicity Bradley
  • Michelle Chellekie
  • Monique Genton
  • Louise Goulet
  • Margaret Lidkea
  • Susan McRae
  • Mike Meagher
  • Isabella Rama
  • Rachel Simmons
  • and others who dropped things off at the Prize Table.

Thanks to Matt Fairbarns and Wylie Thomas for their amazing Wildflower Walks through Uplands Park. We received lots of rave reviews about the learning experience. 

Please continue to visit and enjoy our natural area parks, but remember to: 

  • stay on the trails or rock hop to keep out of green areas,
  • keep dogs under control and out of meadows,
  • and do all you can to take care of the globally endangered Garry Oak ecosystem that is found in Uplands Park, and which is truly a national treasure!

See you next year!

Margaret

FOUPS President