The natural beauty of Summerland will be showcased during the 15th Meadowlark Nature Festival May 17 to 21.
The festival offers more than 90 environmental events held under the open sky in the South Okanagan and Similkameen. Tours will take people from Canada’s unique desert to the alpine meadows high above the Okanagan Lake.
The indigenous cultural tours, horseback rides, canoe trips, guided walks, bird watching tours, geology and history tours, art exhibits, hands-on presentations on astronomy, nature photography, sustainable green buildings and more are designed to be fun and informative for people of all ages and abilities.
In the Summerland area, events will include a view of history and geology from the Kettle Valley Railway, an informational tour of the 200-year-old fur brigade trail, a tour highlighting Prairie Valley’s history and geology, a hike in the Trout Creek Ecological Reserve and a xeriscape gardens tour.
What started as a small environmental festival 14 years ago has evolved into one of Canada’s premier outdoor celebrations of nature. People from across North America and as far away as Europe now come for the tours, lectures, workshops and other activities led by prominent naturalists, educators, artists and scientists.
The Meadowlark Nature Festival is organized by the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA) to encourage people of all ages to experience, discover and explore their natural environment.
The Okanagan-Similkameen has a rare mosaic of natural habitats; among them is one of Canada’s most endangered ecosystems — the hot, dry shrub-grasslands.
A springtime look at these areas, known as Canada’s “pocket desert,” reveals a riot of colour flourishing in this seemingly harsh environment.
Many distinct types of wildlife habitat are home to some of the most diverse and rare assemblages of plant and animal species in the country.
Tickets for the Meadowlark Festival are available for purchase in-person, by telephone and online. The office location is Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance, 246 Martin St., Suite 203, Penticton.
The office is open from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays. Telephone is (250) 492-5275. Tickets are also available online at meadowlarkfestival.bc.ca
Here’s a rundown on the Summerland events:
A tour will follow the historic Fur Brigade Trail through Garnett Valley.
This was originally an important native trail and was used by fur traders from 1826-1846. When the Cariboo Gold Rush was at its height (1858-1864), the trail was used by gold seekers, cattlemen and businessmen.
The tour will include the site where the trail crossed Aeneas Creek, the 50-acre Priest Camp Historic Park — the Brigade Trail’s most important encampment site and the Fur Brigade Trail Linear Park.
The tour terminates at L’Arbre Seul, a lookout site with one of the best views of Okanagan Lake. The tour will use a Gold Field Travel Guide map that was published in San Francisco in 1858.
A history and geology tour will explore Prairie Valley, once known as Millionaire’s Row.
Topics will include early Summerland, surrounding geology, fruit growing history, colourful characters such as Sam McGee (made famous in the Robert Service poem “The Cremation of Sam McGee”), R.B. Angus, founder of Canadian Pacific Rail, Sir Herbert Holt, president of the Royal Bank, Sir Edmund Osler. president of the Dominion Bank, First Nations heritage and valley habitat.
The participants will walk seven kilometres along the meandering, relatively-flat Trans Canada Trail through rural Summerland with guide David Gregory.
Gregory will point out many of the same sights from aboard the Kettle Valley Railway steam train on the History and Geology Tour on Rails. Locomotive 3716 celebrates its 100th birthday this year.
The Trout Creek Ecological Reserve Hike will be led by Laurie Rockwell, warden of the 75-hectare parkland of ponderosa pine, bluebunch wheatgrass and Interior Douglas fir.
Participants will learn about the system of ecological reserves in B.C., why they were established and how they are maintained. They will have a hands-on opportunity to identify native plants and animals as well as learn about biological control of invasive knapweed and toadflax within the reserve.
They will see a provincially blue-listed plant and possibly even the blue-listed gray flycatcher.
A xeriscape gardens tour will start at Grasslands Nursery. Participants will learn how to incorporate colourful waterwise plants, both native and non-native, into their own landscape plans. Toni Boot of Grasslands Nursery will lead a tour through Summerland area gardens showing the benefits and diversity of xeriscape gardening.