Healthy lands and waters – the foundation for a healthy community.
We are pleased to announce the publication of our 2026 newsletter! With the theme of ‘Making Progress by Making Friends’, this year’s publication focuses on partnerships. Check out all the important work being done by the Foundation and our many friends, in this beautiful corner of Vancouver Island.
Rufous hummingbird photo by Jonathan Moran.
In its ongoing Conservation Corridors project, the Metchosin Foundation has been keen to facilitate the larger goal of protecting habitat between Pedder Bay and the Sooke Basin.
Containing endangered ecosystems, this area sits at the tip of southern Vancouver Island, on the edge of the growing suburbs of Greater Victoria.
With the Conservation Corridors in mind, we are thrilled to announce the creation of a new conservation covenant property, the second title to be added since the Bilston Headwaters Nature Reserve was announced in May 2024.
Named Hummingbird Hill, this parcel is adjacent to the Galloping Goose Trail, the proposed SC’IA/NEW Tribal Park at Mary Hill and Matheson Lake Regional Park. This is an area of high biodiversity with tracts of Garry oak meadows, ponds, Coastal Douglas-fir forests, veteran old-growth trees, and cedar and maple groves. Together these provide essential stopover habitat for species ranging from Golden-crowned Sparrows to the Northern Saw-whet Owl.
Hummingbird Hill is beautifully represented by the charismatic Rufous hummingbird, the region’s tiniest bird, which has seen a precipitous decline since 1970. Its tiny body contrasts with its outsized, whizzing personality, and a heroic annual migration, flying from wintering grounds in the southern US and Mexico to Metchosin and environs every spring. Hummingbird Hill comes alive with Rufous hummingbirds in the spring as they return to feed on flowers such as salmonberry blossoms and red columbine.
Made possible through funding from the BC Parks Foundation, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Wilson 5 Foundation, Hummingbird Hill will be a sanctuary for migratory birds, and a host to Rocky Point Bird Observatory’s owl banding project and other bird identification activities.
The Metchosin Foundation is delighted to have been part of this conservation initiative. “As a small, volunteer-led group, we act as connector, catalyst, and accelerator in bringing people together to protect the places we love,” says Valerie Jaeger, the Foundation’s President. “We operate at the speed of trust, and the deep trust we share with BC Parks Foundation enables the realization of a shared vision for robust regional biodiversity protection.”
The Metchosin Foundation continues to work hard behind the scenes to build on these successes. We work with landowners to protect the wilderness that surrounds us right in our backyards. If you would like to learn how your property could be a part of this conservation initiative please contact the Metchosin Foundation or visit metchosinfoundation.ca.
Video of Hummingbird Hill by Will O’Connell, May 2025.
Camera trap images by Gary Schroyen.
Photo of Rufous hummingbird by Jonathan Moran.
We are pleased to announce the publication of our latest newsletter! Take a look at all our latest projects and test your knowledge with fun and games from Westshore Nature Kids!
In May of 2024, BC Parks Foundation, in collaboration with the Metchosin Foundation, announced the creation of a nature reserve in the heart of the Bilston Creek watershed. This newly protected land includes dry Coastal Douglas-fir forest and associated ecosystems.
“This is a story about natural spaces and wildlife that are facing big odds, and the great people that are saving them,” says Andy Day, CEO of BC Parks Foundation. “I love this project because it shows that if you set your mind to making a direct positive impact, you can create a fantastic legacy for people and animals now and far in the future.” .
Both organizations worked with partners and the landowner family to secure the 32-acre parcel. About two-thirds of the Bilston Creek watershed is situated in Metchosin, a rural municipality just west of Victoria BC, known for its forests and farms.
“We are pleased to see this nature reserve become a reality for Metchosin and recognize its contribution to ecosystem stewardship in our broader region,” says Metchosin’s mayor Marie-Térèse Little. “Metchosin is well known for nature so it’s wonderful to know that this special property will enjoy enduring protection. I offer my thanks and congratulations to all parties involved.”.
BC’s dry Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem is highly endangered due to ongoing development and urbanization. The newly protected land is habitat for keystone mammal species like bears, cougars and wolves as well as species at risk, such as sharp-tailed snakes. The property includes wetlands, mature forest and upland manzanita scrub.
Says Valerie Jaeger, president of the Metchosin Foundation, “The Metchosin Foundation has worked for years to foster education and community support for wilderness in Metchosin. The purchase of this property in the heart of the Bilston Creek watershed, with its ponds, wetlands, and Coastal Douglas-fir forest, makes our hearts sing. Protecting ecosystems from hilltop headwaters to the seashore at Witty’s Lagoon is the goal of the Metchosin Foundation’s Bilston Conservation Corridor project. We hope this nature reserve is the first in a series of conservation outcomes for the Bilston Creek watershed in Victoria’s Westshore region.”
Protection was made possible through partnership between the BC Parks Foundation and the Metchosin Foundation, with support from Wilson 5 Foundation, the Victoria Foundation and private donors. This partnership holds promise for similar reserves in the future, because it is based on a mechanism that makes it easier for the owners of sensitive and biodiverse ecosystems to create a conservation outcome for their property.