Broom and many other plants and animals have been introduced to
Vancouver Island, and many of these introduced species are
considered to be invasive non-natives..in other words they kill or
over-whelm the native plants and wild life. It's vital that we
recognize and, where possible, eliminate these invasive intruders
so the native species are not completely squeezed out and
eradicated.
The Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary has a mandate to
protect and preserve the native plants, fish, birds and mammals,
and to educate us about how we can help with this. Swan Lake Nature
House is a familiar "field trip" destination for Victoria's
children and a fascinating place for children and adults alike to
visit.
Over the past few years several caches have been hidden in the
nature sanctuary, bringing us cachers to this lovely park;
unfortunately some of the caches have been placed off trail, and
some cachers have been hunting for caches in the fragile terrain
surrounding the trails. As a result damage has been done and the
management of the sanctuary are concerned. The rule in the Swan
Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary is KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE
TRAILS. Dogs are NOT allowed in the park and people MUST stay on
the trails.
The decision has now been made to no longer allow caches on
Christmas Hill at all, although caches are permitted in the Swan
lake area as long as they are placed on man-made things such as
bridges, posts or under benches etc.
If we want to keep caches in the Swan Lake park we MUST:
a) Only hide caches that have been okayed by the manager.
b) NEVER leave the trails to look for a cache in the Swan Lake
nature sanctuary.
If these rules are not adhered to, the management will have to ban
caching in the area, and that would be sad.
PLEASE STAY
ON
THE TRAILS