How has the hot summer affected Uplands Park?
by AnonymousHow has Uplands Park handled climate change? If current conditions continue, how will the local ecosystems be affected in the long term?

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By Anonymous
Uplands Park is a Garry Oak Meadow located in Oak Bay, B.C. The 76-acre park is located along the ocean next to Cattle Point. This ecosystem shows what some areas of Greater Victoria were like before development.

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By Anonymous
- Garry Oak
- Hard Hack
- Black Hawthorn
- Pacific Willow
- Trembling Aspen
- Bearded Owl-clover
- Bigleaf Lupine
- Carolina Meadow Foxtail
- Arbutus
- Grande Fir

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By Anonymous
- Daphne
- English Ivy
- Holly
- Himalayan Blackberry
- Woodland Hawthorne
- Norway Maple
- Scotch Broom
- Gorse

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By Anonymous
These meadows are disappearing due to more development which means more tree destruction and fragmentation of these habitats. Another reason is that due to climate change, there are more extreme weather conditions (like droughts). Although Garry Oaks are drought-tolerant, other native species in these meadows rely on a consistent water supply.

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By Anonymous
Garry Oak Meadows are home to many of Canada's most endangered flower species as well as the Garry Oaks. Not only do Garry Oak Meadows provide a home to plants, they also provide a great home for insects, birds and mammals.
Uplands Park has a long trail system that the community uses for recreation and education. There are also archaeological sites with significance to the Indigenous Coast Salish peoples.

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By Anonymous
What is a Vernal Pool?
A vernal pool is a rare habitat found in Uplands Park where it is very dry in the summer and very wet in the winter.
The vernal pool is home to many endangered annual flower species. These flower species have a unique reproductive cycle that can even be affected by minor droughts in late Spring. These annuals require a small window of wet weather at the end of Spring, without this, they can not reproduce and other species will take over this unique habitat.

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By Anonymous
By 2050, precipitation will increase by 5%, but it will be distributed heavily in the winter and there will be less in the summer. There will also be more extreme weather events, like droughts and wind storms. Droughts will affect the trees with shallow roots because they won’t be able to get the deep groundwater that the trees with big roots can. As mentioned, native annual flowering species will also be negatively affected by these changes.

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By Anonymous
Potential winners in 2050
- Garry Oak - Native Species
- Trembling Aspen - Native Species
- English Ivy - Invasive Species
- Scotch Broom - Invasive Species
- Norway Maple - Invasive Species
- Holly - Invasive Species
- Pacific Willow - Native Species
- Carolina Meadow Foxtail - Native Species
- Bearded Owl-clover - Native Species
- Grande Fir - Native Species
- Cascara - Native Species

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By Anonymous
Native species in Uplands Park will be most negatively affected by climates by 2050.
We can help by doing our part to slow down climate change. Find ways to use fewer fossil fuels and reduce your ecological footprint.
Locally, you can help by learning about native species and removing invasive ones by volunteering with certified restoration groups, like Friends of Uplands Park: https://friendsofuplandspark.org/
Special thanks to Wylie Thomas (Friends of Uplands Park) for sharing his knowledge and time with me on this project.