I’m not sure why more people don’t visit South Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve—it might be that I’m usually out there off peak hours, but this summer I’ve rarely seen more than a half-dozen people walking the curve of gravel beach each time. It is a relatively easy 800m (about 15-20 minute) walk from the parking area but …
South Beach
Capture the Coast
I have worked off and on at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve as a Heritage Interpreter and loved being able to combine my passion for photography with my work. In 2010 I developed a program called West Coast Walkabout that was the perfect way to introduce park visitors to the landscape and ecology of the west coast of Vancouver Island. …
Two Important Coastal Food Plants
Two very visible coastal plants that I’ve noticed along the top of the beach at South Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve are also important food plants for a number of first nations groups. Local Nuu-chah-nulth harvested both Springbank Clover (Trifolium wormskjoldii) and Silverweed (Potentilla anserina ssp. pacifica) roots. Springbank Clover Springbank Clover (Trifolium wormskjoldii) often grows in association …
Stranded Seastar
Pisaster disaster? This purple seastar (Pisaster ochraceus) was stranded on the shore at South Beach in Pacific Rim National Park. Usually more at home on rocks deeper in the intertidal, this starfish was out of its element. However, this provided a good opportunity to take a closer look at this interesting echinoderm.
Blue-eyed Grass at South Beach
Shore Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium littorale) Flower #1 One of the plants that I’ve been trying to photograph for years is Shore Blue-eyed Grass. I never seem to get the timing right – I’m either too early and find this iris in bud or too late and it has already gone to seed. The plant also is more showy on bright …
A Rose By Any Other Name
I enjoy the South Beach Trail in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and the number of plants in flower both along the trail and on the rocky outcrops at South Beach itself. Five of these plants belong in Rosaceae (Rose family) and I decided to put them to the smell test and see if they indeed live up to the …