The Cowichan Estuary consists of 70 hectares of natural marshland. It plays a vital role for fish and birds, although in the late 1800s a dyke was put into place in order to mitigate flooding when it was used as farmland. In the early ‘80s, the land was purchased through a partnership between Ducks Unlimited Canada and The Nature Trust of B.C. “It was managed partly for Canada Geese habitat, water fowl habitat, using the farm fields in between harvests,” said Jason Emery, director of conservation and land management at The Nature Trust of B.C.. Over the past few years, work has been underway to restore the estuary back to its natural state. “The estuary itself is at risk and it’s a significant wetland on the east side of Vancouver Island and for the South Coast of British Columbia,” said Tom Reid, West Coast conservation land manager, The Nature Trust of B.C. The Cowichan Estuary Restoration Project will be completed through a partnership between The Nature Trust of B.C., Cowichan Tribes and the province, which has provided $500,000 to support the work. “The restoration is going to bring back the biodiversity, it’s going to bring back the food systems,” said Randene Neill, minister of water, land and resource stewardship. “It is going to make the soils healthier and the waters healthier.” Over time the dyke will be removed. “You can envision that down the road there will be water fully inundating the property at different times,” said Emery. Water channels have been excavated with more to come that will funnel tidal waters into the estuary once again. A large nursery has also been established propagating native plant species that will eventually make their way out onto the 70-hectare property. “One of the things that we’re looking at in terms of drought tolerance is utilizing plants that are drought tolerant that can grow here, produce food but at the same time provide all those associated benefits to fish and wildlife,” said Reid. Reid says the project will lower the flood risk caused by climate change to the neighbouring community. “We are building in resilient capacity for sea level rise and the storm surge so the wetlands will mitigate that,” said Reid. The Cowichan Estuary Restoration Project is slated to be completed by the end of 2028. In the meantime public access to the site will be restrict until the work is done. “We expect to see a really big uptick in bird species use,” said Emery. “The vegetation is going to look different and really it’s going to end up be more dynamic if you are going for a walk.”
