Parks Canada is hoping to encourage growth on a remote Gulf Island by lighting parts of it on fire.
CTV News was invited to join a team of specialists Friday who say they need to burn parts of tiny Tumbo Island to learn how it thrives.
“It’s not going to kill the larger trees,” said Parks Canada’s Jon Large. “But what it will do is open up some of the seed bed and give them some room to come up, to start growing.”
Small sections of Garry Oak Bluff totaling a hectare were the focus of the controlled burn, with the park saying the island hasn’t seen fire once in its 100-year history.
“Using fire we can open up the meadow, stimulate the nutrients and other plants that would traditionally be here,” said Jay Azkaluzny of the Gulf Island Park Reserve.
With parts of the island charred and burned right next to untouched areas, experts will get a good comparison of future growth to present growth.
Those involved say this kind of experiment has never been conducted in the region – but the method of ecological rebirth is something Coastal First Nations have used for centuries.
“Important to do because our medicinal plants we do have here, we want them to come back even more lush,” said Tsawout Chief Harvey Underwood.
It may look dramatic, but the burn amounts to man imitating nature in hopes of keeping a coastal island healthy and wild.
