O’Keefe Ranch Rain Garden Construction

2020

$32,000

$20,000

Constructing Rain Gardens at the base of the several of the O’Keefe Ranch’s Heritage Buildings has several benefits: 1) The Rain Garden project will help improve water quality in nearby bodies of water (Deep Creek) by ensuring that rainwater becomes available for plants as groundwater 2) the Rain Garden Project is an innovative way to absorb water from storm surges and snow melt 3) the Rain Garden Project provides a wonderful way to plant native and drought tolerant pollinator gardens to attract bees, butterflies, birds and other insects. This will help create a more balanced ecosystem on the Ranch and provide an opportunity to feature these gardens on tours and with school groups 4) the Rain Garden project will provide a way for the Ranch to educate guests on importance of water conservation and 5) the Rain Garden project will provide an opportunity to form partnerships with members of the Okanagan Indian Band and the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society. Partnerships would involve planting species that are important to the Syilx people and providing educational material for guests showing how and why these plants are important for the First Nations People of the Okanagan. Forming a partnership with the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society provides the opportunity to continue our work focused on eliminating foreign species on the Ranch and planting native species to enhance and improve the local ecosystem.