Types of Plants

There are five distinct plant communities in the Sargeant Bay watershed:
        – The beach berm
        – The rock 
        – The wetland with the island in Colvin Lake, behind the berm 
        – The upland forested area 
        – Triangle Lake 
The rock is private property and not part of the park. It is, however, a desirable addition to the park as a natural extension of Sargeant Bay beach with a distinctive rocky shore vegetation.

Below are some examples of the types of plants found in the park:

1. Gumweed is a salt-loving plant that is named after the sticky glue that covers the base of the flowers (top left)
2. Oregon Grape in flower (top right)
3. Chicory is an introduced plant that is used in Europe as a coffee substitute (middle right)
4. Harvest Brodiaea (bottom left)
5. Tiger Lily (bottom right)

There are more than 300 plant species in the park. Click below for the list:Plant ChecklistDownload

The beach berm has been heavily affected by human activities over the last hundred years. Approximately 40% of the 160 plant species there were introduced. Because of their proximity, the number of introduced species is still fairly high on the rock and on the island in Colvin Lake, 27% and 29% respectively. In the upland forest the number is much lower and in and around Triangle Lake it is near zero.

In November, 2003, the Society planted 12 Western Dogwood Trees (Cornus nutallii) at the two accesses to the park on Redrooffs Road. The picturesque dogwood flower is British Columbia’s provincial flower and the trees are common on the Sunshine Coast. However, there were none in Sargeant Bay park. The trees were planted as a fitting memorial to Eric Hoare, who passed away in March, 2003. Eric made a major contribution to the Society as Membership Director for many years. 

In 1996 the Sargeant Bay Society initiated its Invasive Plant Control (IPC) project, to protect the native vegetation from being overrun by Himalayan Blackberries and Scotch Broom. The project started with volunteers, then was reinforced with summer students and reached its peak during 2000 and 2001, when it was supported by a grant from Environment Canada. At present, all we have to do is to keep up pulling out missed tubers and new seedlings, supported by a contribution from BC Parks. The project has been remarkably successful. If you want to know more about it, click below:

Below is a list of the current invasive plant species on the Sunshine Coast (thanks to the Pender Harbour Wildlife Society)