Rock Bay Creek: Why Daylighting?
“In urban design and urban planning, daylighting is the redirection of a stream into an above-ground channel...to revert it to a more natural state, for the purposes of runoff reduction, habitat creation for species in need of it, or for aesthetic purposes. Daylighting intends to revitalize the riparian environment for a stream which had been previously diverted into a culvert, pipe, or a drainage system. Daylighting also refers to the public process toward such projects."
From Wikipedia”Daylighting (streams)"
Rock Bay Creek rises in what is now Fernwood, runs through Quadra Hillside, Burnside Gorge, and empties into Rock Bay. The creek also drains parts of North Park and Oaklands. It runs below three parks – Alexander Park, Blackwood Park, and Wark Street Commons, a community garden (all formerly swampy areas) and through the heart of two communities.
Under our current methods, we have the technology to build on damp and swampy ground. This wasn't possible in the late 1890s, so such spots remained green spaces. As settler population increased, many small and large creeks were culverted to facilitate development and as a health measure, since they'd become places to dump garbage and disease carriers. Once culverted, it was easy to forget they're there and we lose touch with the original water sources that sustained life in this area.
In a time of global warming, we are more in need of clean healthy water than ever. In a time of the industrialization of our wild lands, millions/billions of gallons of water used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) are made toxic and lost to us forever.
“All the water that will ever be is, right now”, National Geographic October 1993
Rock Bay Creek Revival works to remind us of the water below our feet, water we have forgotten, water without which we cannot live. Without water there is no life, no life for hummingbirds and mayflies, coho and cutthroat, bears, deer, raccoons, and mice, and we humans. If we do not remember our water, if we do not take care of it, there will be no place for us on this earth.
Wayfaring Signs Installed!
Our small group, Alison, Carolyn, Dorothy, Paul and Rowena, began meeting in 2016 to discuss the idea of daylighting Rock Bay Creek. We consulted Esquimalt and Songhees Nations, but its original name has been lost. We could have called it Harris Creek since it rose out of Harris Pond, named for an early Victoria mayor, but we didn't want another colonial name. Instead, we began calling it Rock Bay Creek since it flows into Rock Bay.
Early on, we consulted with Leigh Campbell of Victoria Parks and Recreation for her input on how to begin the daylighting process. She suggested we design and erect wayfaring signs at the former Harris Pond, Alexander Park, and Blackwood Park to alert the neighbourhoods to the existence of the creek, long culverted, beneath our feet. From there, we began to research the history and ecology of each location. Since the land has long been developed to accommodate roads and housing, this wasn't easy. The few spots where daylighting could occur were not developed because they were too wet and 1890s technology had no way around this.
Over the next three years, we hosted opportunities for community engagement at Quadra Village Days, Fern Fest, and at Wark Street Commons, inviting children and adults to make art about water. We provided a range of art materials and gentle guidance. The art produced became an integral part of the signs. As well, we asked the Intercultural Association how the words for “water” would be written in the many languages spoken by the new immigrants they serve. These words and the children's art were layered into the design.
The land along current Government Street around Rock Bay and the sediment bottom underwent extensive remediation to clean up the toxic residue left by Victoria's gasification plant. We knew that once this process was complete, the land would be turned over to the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. With that in mind, we met numerous times with Esquimalt and Songhees to determine what kind of imagery they hoped to see on the signs: what plants, what animals, what Lekwungen words of welcome.
Finally, with the professional help of artist/designer Joan Cahill, we put it all together. Cahill's expertise builds layers of photos and art to create a kind of tapestry. The final signs drew on the varied talents of our group and our neighbourhoods to tell the Rock Bay Creek story as richly as we knew how.
Harris Pond Alexander Park Blackwood Park
In September 2019, we hosted a celebration for the newly installed signs. The great cloth whales were there near Bill Goers' large paper sculptures. Krystal Cook and Lina de Guevara led story telling exercises. Numerous musicians performed. Patisserie Daniel fed us all on a fabulous cake. Stage one of the project was completed.
*NEW*
DIY Creek Walk by Dan Doherty - PDF download - print (3-fold & 2 sides) and stroll the route of the underground creek, solo or with a group of friends.
Rock Bay Creek - A Story of Urban Watershed Revival
by Lindsay Kathrens and Ian Flock
Rock Bay Creek Revival gratefully thanks and recognizes the guidance of Esquimalt and Songhees Nations on whose unceded land we live, learn and work. We acknowledge their generosity in helping us imagine this land before settlers changed it so drastically.