Ayum Creek Regional Park Covenant: Sea Asparagus and Skeletons

Gordian worm found in a small pool.
Photo Credit Torrey Archer.

TLC staff and volunteers monitored Ayum Creek Regional Park over two days, covering much of the six hectares that are protected. Ayum Creek Regional Park is located in Sooke and boasts beautiful mixed forest, a successfully restored creek complete with returning salmon, and an estuary with a lawn of sea asparagus.

The crew began monitoring near the bridge that crosses Ayum Creek on Sooke Road, ensuring that activities from neighbouring properties were not spilling into the covenant. Thankfully, these property owners, like most, keep good care of their land and respect the covenant. After ensuring no encroachments occurred, one of the volunteers spotted the almost complete skeletal remains of a deer! This was the first skeleton they would see that day, but not the last.

After examining the deer skeleton, the crew found a large patch of invasive English ivy (Hedera helix) and spent awhile clearing it away from the ground and removing it from trees. The best way to save a tree from ivy is to girdle the ivy (i.e. cut the ivy all the way around the tree trunk) about two feet up from the ground. Repeat this girdling another one foot up so there is a one foot space between the ivy climbing the tree and the remaining ivy still attached to the ground. Clear away the ground ivy but don’t pull it from the tree – this can cause damage to the tree as the ivy has worked its way into the bark. Stripping bark from a tree can invite pests and pathogens, as well as cause excess water or nutrient loss, all of which are detrimental to a tree’s health.

After removing the ivy (and scattered daphne laurel (Daphne laureola) and English holly (Ilex aquifolium) plants that were found), the crew came upon three giant mushrooms from the Agaricoid family. These mushrooms appeared very similar to TLC staff member Torrey Archer’s favourite wild mushroom (Agaricus augustus, “the prince”), but unfortunately were not that particular mushroom. Sigh.

Continuing on, TLC staff and volunteers repeated several photopoint monitoring sites, where repeat photography is used to track landscape changes. This is usually done using GPS coordinates to narrow in on the exact location, but sometimes (depending on accuracy of the handheld GPS unit, which can be up to 10 metres) this exercise becomes more of a treasure hunt! Locating one of the photopoints that day became a good game of “spot the tree in the woods” as we attempted to locate a small tree with pink flagging tape on it. After searching for quite awhile, and almost ready to give up, one of the volunteers realized he was almost standing on the pink flagging tape that had fallen off the tree! The crew rejoiced at having found their “treasure”, and happily took their photos.

During the hunt, while navigating a steep slope and determining the best way down to the creek, the team realized they were standing on more bones! Brushing some common horsetail (Equisetum arvense) out of the way, they uncovered another almost full skeleton. This one was larger and definitely seemed different from the deer seen earlier, but the crew were unable to identify exactly what it was. Suffice it to say, the team dubbed that day’s monitoring as “bone day”.

Walking up the dry creek bed showed them exactly how hard this summer’s drought has been on the creek inhabitants – many small, isolated pools had fish fry in them patiently waiting for the rains to come and allow them to continue their journey. Thankfully, these pools are shaded by the huge maples that line the creek side, helping to reduce evaporation and prolong the lives of the fish trapped there.

Many plant species were seen including all of the usual suspects: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), salal (Gaultheria shallon), Western red cedar (Thuja plicata), oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor). A plant previously unknown to the crew was identified, a flowering hedge woundwort aka hedge nettle (Stachys sylvatica), which looks very similar to stinging nettle (Urtica dioica). Stinging nettle was also encountered frequently and while this plant is not usually well-liked due to the hollow stinging hairs, or trichomes, that cover the plant, it has been used for centuries as food, fibre and medicine. Folk medicine remedies from Germany and Austria used the plant to treat disorders of the kidneys and urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, locomotor system, skin, cardio-vascular system, hemorrhage, flu, rheumatism and gout. Anecdotally, a friend of TLC staff member Torrey Archer harvests stinging nettle with bare hands to increase circulation in her hands. To use stinging nettle as food, simply gather the leaves (wearing gloves is recommended!) and blanch in hot water or rinse thoroughly in cold water. The blanching/rinsing removes the hairs, rendering the plant more enjoyable to consume. Stinging nettle has a flavour similar to spinach and cucumber when cooked and is rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. Young plants were harvested by First Nations and used as a cooked plant in spring when other food plants were scarce. After the stinging nettle enters its flowering and seed setting stages, the leaves develop gritty particles called cystoliths, which can irritate the urinary tract. For this reason, it is best to harvest stinging nettle in early spring before flowering starts. In its peak season, nettle contains up to 25% protein, dry weight, which is quite high for a leafy green vegetable!

When TLC staff and volunteers returned to monitor the remainder of Ayum Creek, they found more small pools of fish fry waiting for rain. Within one of these pools was a strange worm – it looked just like a piece of spaghetti swimming around! After returning to the office, the worm has been identified as a horsehair, or Gordian, worm (Nematomorpha, aka Gordiacea). Horsehair worms can be discovered in damp areas such as watering troughs, swimming pools, streams, puddles, and cisterns. The adult worms are free living, but the larvae are parasitic on arthropods, such as beetles, cockroaches, mantids, and crustaceans. The name “Gordian” stems from the legendary Gordian knot. This relates to the fact that the worms will often tie themselves in knots, especially during mating. While very small and mostly harmless, they are somewhat creepy to stumble upon!

After the monitoring of Ayum Creek was complete, the crew headed to the Highlands to meet with a landowner about Scotch broom management. As they drove away, one of the volunteers shouted “Stop! Turn around! There’s a turtle on the road!” She was right! Unfortunately, the turtle appears to be an introduced species, the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans). These turtles are commonly bought as pets, and released into the wild when they are not wanted anymore. This trend is causing additional stress on native reptiles and amphibians, and TLC reminds our readers to think carefully before taking on a red-eared slider as a pet as they can live 20 to 40 years! Even though the turtle is introduced, it was quite a delight to spot one in the wild along a road.

And so ends the adventures at Ayum Creek – bones, mushrooms, worms, fish, and plants of all kinds were encountered, reminding us that diversity truly is the spice of life.

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