I have chosen to observe Mt. Tolmie Municipal Park in Saanich, BC. I will be observing the east facing slope of the hill. This side has a somewhat shallow slope and there is a significant plateau wrapping around approximately halfway up the hill.
There is medium density vegetation spanning across nearly the entirety of the area I will be studying. On the majority of parts on the hill where the ground is dirt, Garry oaks can be found in medium density along with various grasses and other small plants. There is also a much more densely vegetated region of the hill with soft ground. It is located on the southwest corner of the public park and contains much larger Garry oaks growing much closer together and much more small brush than the rest of the park. There are also small sites on the slope that do not have soft ground, and instead have solid rock. Various mosses and at least 2 species of ferns dominate the rocky portions of the hill. The vegetation in the park has numerous walking paths cutting through most places and there is a winding road that leads to the very top of the hill. There are also untouched regions of the park where the City of Saanich has restricted access to allow for the growth of wildflowers and young Garry oak habitats. These restricted areas are within the region I have selected for study and I am able to observe these regions. However, I cannot walk through them. In total, the area available for study is 400m x 500m.
I visited the park on March 4th, 2025 at 4:00 pm. The weather was cloudy, and it had rained two hours prior. It was 9 degrees with a humidity of 77%. The wind was 19 km/h coming from 214 degrees southwest. It was evidently very early spring as none of the flowers had begun to bloom however the grasses were significantly more green than they were during winter.
The first thing I noticed and questioned was the clustering of one type of small bird. They would group together in specific locations. When I approached they would fly away, then after I left they would return back to the same places. What made the places they would cluster better than anywhere else they could gather? The second point I observed to be potentially interesting was the moss growth unique to the Garry oaks. There was one specific species of moss that could be observed growing on all the Garry oaks I observed. However, there were trees where the moss was growing significantly more massive than others; there were also trees with nearly none. One specific Garry oak was so completely covered in moss that you could not see most of the tree. What was so uniquely great about the conditions for growth on that one specific tree? My third potential question relates to the growth of the trees, there are many Garry oak trees on the hill, all growing to various heights. I noticed that trees clustered together were often around a similar height. What environmental differences between multiple regions caused the different degrees of growth?
