Don't miss Camas Discovery Day this Sunday!
By Contributor
Camas season has come once again to the West Kootenay!
On Sunday, April 24, bring the family and join the Kootenay Native Plant Society (KNPS) to discover why camas is so special and share in its natural beauty alongside local artists creatively capturing these lovely lilies, plein air, in the park.
The City of Castlegar, in 2015, formally designated just over an acre of land within the city’s Millennium Park for a Camas Conservation Area. This is one of the few, if not the only, protected areas created specifically for camas on municipal lands in Canada! In recognition of this achievement the Kootenay Native Plant Society, for their Fourth Annual Camas Discovery Day, invites West Kootenay residents to bring their inner artist and their inner scientist to “Paint In & Plant In the Park.”
Participants can Paint In by creating art of the camas lilies with materials supplied by KNPS. To help inspire people, renowned artists Mary Kate Woodward, Heather MacAskill, and Lada Love, and others, will be creating their own artistic expressions of camas during the event. Participants can also Plant In and learn how to plant, propagate, and be good stewards of camas plants in workshops with native plant expert Valerie Huff. Both Paint In and Plant In activities are provided by donation, with proceeds going directly into a Camas Conservation Fund to support the ongoing management of the Camas Conservation Area.
Ethnobotanist Dr. Brenda Beckwith, Canada’s preeminent camas researcher, will be leading interpretative walks and sharing her knowledge on the ecological virtues and cultural values of the highly significant native plant and its heritage landscape. We will have our information booth set up and additional fun activities for kids, created by local environmental educator Megan Read.
Camas Discovery Day is on Sunday, April 24, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Interpretative walks occur at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.; Plant In workshops held at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Paint In and other activities will be ongoing for the duration of the event.
Camas Discovery Day is held in partnership with the City of Castlegar and with the support of Columbia Basin Trust. Kootenay Native Plant Society is a non-profit community organization whose mission is to promote knowledge, appreciation, conservation and restoration of West Kootenay native plants and natural habitats through education, research, and on-the-ground activities. We work to connect people, plants, and place.
For more information: kootenaynativeplants.ca
