This Wetland Reclamation and Interpretive Trail Project, led by the Allan Brooks Nature Centre, highlights a sensitive riparian ecosystem in North Vernon Park, which is located east of 20th Street and north of 48th Avenue (behind Rona and Walmart).
Riparian ecosystems are associated with water and, in the case of BX Creek, offer a lush oasis in an otherwise arid landscape.
The Black Cottonwood—Red Osier Dogwood riparian ecosystem, which was historically a part of the BX Creek floodplain and other areas around Vernon, are both sensitive and threatened.
This ecosystem provides habitat for many species, some of which are at risk. Only 33 percent of the Black Cottonwood—Red Osier Ecosystem remains in the Vernon area, while the Black Cottonwood ecosystems of the British Columbia Interior are all considered at risk, with only fragments remaining.