Last week, TLC visited the Ruby Alton Nature Reserve on Salt Spring Island. This conservation covenant is jointly held by TLC and Salt Spring Island Conservancy and is located near the head of Fulford Harbour. It contains a beautiful stretch of rocky beach, and much of the property is covered in mature second growth forest habitat. Western red cedar, Douglas fir, grand fir, red alder, big-leaf maple, salal, Oregon grape, sword ferns, and many more plant species can be spotted here, while the wildlife we observed on this particular day included black-tailed deer, a Towsend vole, and a pileated woodpecker.
This covenant has protected the area and allowed it to thrive in its natural state. The ferns (and stinging nettle!) have grown high, the trees have grown strong (see TLC’s Environmental Technician & Land Manager Karen Iwachow giving a big Douglas fir some love), and the maple leaves grow broad and provide some shade over the beach. The Ruby Alton Nature Reserve also contains a small watershed and ravine, with a small stream that meanders towards the beach through a dark green thicket of sword ferns.
This was a monitoring trip, but we still managed to check the moss-enveloped big-leaf maples for threaded vertigo, a tiny mollusk species that has been observed living within the microscopic world of Bryophytes. We also found hundreds of Achlys, commonly known as Vanillaleaf, scattering the forest floor like a carpet in some areas of the shady understory. This plant spreads by rhizomes underground, pushing its large, clover-like leaves up through the soil. Once crushed, these large leaves smell of vanilla and it is said they can be used as a natural bug repellant.
Overall, a very successful monitoring visit to the Ruby Alton Nature Reserve!
