LETTER: Stronger safeguards needed to protect Saanich’s Garry oak ecosystems
Published 5:30 pm Sunday, March 29, 2026
https://vicnews.com/2026/03/29/letter-stronger-safeguards-needed-to-protect-saanichs-garry-oak-ecosystems/
By Nathalie Chambers
On March 16, a majority of Saanich council approved the removal of 28 trees, including 22 mature Garry oaks, for a six-storey, 60-unit development at McKenzie and Saanich Road. Coun. Judy Brownoff and I opposed the decision.
The argument used to justify the loss claimed that redesigning the building to save the trees would simply push greater ecological destruction to less-protected areas like Langford. In my opinion, the suggestion that we must “remove Garry oaks here, or they’ll cut more Garry oaks there” is fundamentally flawed logic and irresponsible governance.
Repeatedly deprioritizing remnant Garry oak woodlands in large developments risks a tipping point of irreversible harm to this globally rare rain shadow ecosystem. These lands have too often been sacrificed under the banner of inevitable progress, while their profound sacred, cultural, and ecological value is dismissed.
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The site lies within the traditional territories of the Lekwungen (Songhees and Kosapsum) and WSÁNEĆ Nations. These are sacred cultural landscapes, shaped over millennia by Indigenous stewardship through controlled burns that nurtured kwetlal (camas) meadows within Garry oak ecosystems – sustaining food, medicine, ceremony, and spiritual connections.
A living cultural landscape carries intergenerational responsibilities rooted in reciprocity: people nurture the land so the land can continue to nurture the people.
In my opinion, the approval process failed to meaningfully recognize these sacred elements or require an Indigenous-led environmental assessment. Tree replacements or cash-in-lieu cannot replicate the mature Garry oaks’ neighbourhood benefits – shade, cooling, flood mitigation, erosion control, and critical habitat for at-risk species – nor their spiritual and cultural significance.
British Columbia is Canada’s most biodiverse province. Saanich lies in the tiny, most at-risk coastal Douglas fir biogeoclimatic zone and holds some of the province’s richest terrestrial habitats. Garry oak ecosystems support over 100 at-risk species, yet remnants now cover only about 2.2% of Saanich’s land base. Safeguards are weakening under Bill 44 and housing targets.
Saanich must prioritize identifying and protecting endangered ecosystems and engage in meaningful consultation with First Nations before approving further double-digit Garry oak losses.
By raising the bar, Saanich can model responsible stewardship across the Capital Regional District and the coastal Douglas fir zone – showing that biodiversity thrives when protected, cared for, and connected.
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The opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect the views of the District of Saanich.
Nathalie Chambers
Saanich councillor