k’əmcnitkw (Alongside the Water) Floodplain Re-engagement Project – Fall 2021 Volunteer Opportunities!
This is a great chance to participate in restoration of the sensitive habitat right beside Penticton.
Help Us Heal the Land, the Water & Indigenous Biodiversity! Join staff from our collaborative project team for this unique opportunity to help restore rare and Endangered wetland and riparian floodplain habitats on the Penticton Indian Reserve for the benefit of fish, wildlife and people! About our Project: This aquatic and terrestrial habitat restoration project utilizes syilx Traditional Ecological Knowledge (syilx science), supported by western science, to bring back the health and wellbeing of the tmxwula?xw (the Earth) and tmixw (all living beings).
Available volunteer activites – something for all ages and capabilities!
Planting – help us plant some of the 15,000 propagated indigenous plants we hope to plant this fall!
Plant Care – help us pull exotic plants, apply organic bark mulch, hand-water plantings, and install herbivore protection fencing to select plantings.
Plant & Wildlife Monitoring – count and measure plantings; record data on project site biodiversity.
Seed & Cutting Harvest – collect and process indigenous plant seeds and cuttings for propagation or planting.
People Care – help us with volunteer registrations, orientation & assignments, COVID-19 prevention, distributing, cleaning & organizing equipment & supplies, and distributing snacks and water to keep volunteers fed & hydrated.
Duration: Help us for 1 hour or more. Join us for 1 event or multiple events! Who can participate: All ages & capabilities! Families welcome. All training and equipment provided. Where: K’əmcnitkw Floodplain Re-engagement Project site (see map) on the Penticton Indian Reserve. Transport: Volunteers must provide their own transport to and from the project site (by foot, bike, or vehicle). What to Bring: Dress in layers for variable weather; warm socks and hat, rubber boots, and work/gardening gloves are highly recommended; bring a non-medical mask for enhanced COVID-19 prevention. Be prepared to get dirty! A hand towel and change of clothes is optional but recommended. Bring enough nutrition and water for the duration of your participation. Wheelchair accessible portable washrooms with hand sanitizer will be available on-site. Please note there are no indoor facilities available on this site for shelter. COVID-19:
All participants will be required to adhere to up-to-date COVID-19 prevention measures.
To protect our Staff, Elders & Community, we recommend all participants be double vaccinated. Our team reserves the right to limit the volunteers participating on site at any given time.
For more information, please contact:
A. Michael Bezener, ECOmmunity Manager, En’owkin Centre 154 En’owkin Trail, Penticton, BC V2A 0E1 CANADA
Email: ecommunityplace@vip.net Cell: +1 (778) 222-8982 Web: enowkincentre.ca/departments-ecommunity.html Instagram: ecommunityplace
Key Messages of our Project:
Channelization of q̓awsitkw (the Okanagan River) in the 1950s isolated the river from its floodplains and resulted in the loss of ~50 % of the river’s original length, and loss of ~93 % of adjacent riparian (streamside) habitat. Channelization and damming of q̓awsitkw also lowered the water table by ~3 meters in the Penticton Channel.
This project re-engages ~8,800 m2 of historical floodplain and riparian area to aid in the recovery of at-risk populations of Chinook salmon, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Screech-Owl, Monarch, Great Basin Spadefoot and Tiger Salamander, as well as many species of cultural significance to syilx people.
This project enacts the shared Syilx (Okanagan People’s) vision, and guidance from the late Chief Albert Saddleman and Elders, to “Bring back the fish, put back the river, and put back the people.”