The last Sunday in September marks World Rivers Day, a day to celebrate the importance of these waterways to all life. Nanaimo has an abundance of waterways that are beneficial to local ecosystems, our economy and our culture and heritage.
On Sunday, September 27 the City of Nanaimo along with Nanaimo Area Land Trust (NALT) will be hosting Rivers Day in Bowen Park. Starting at 11:00 am you are invited to the lower picnic shelter in the park to enjoy information and interactive booths, live music with Mt Benson Ceili Band, TerraZetto and Jeffrey Randle, an interpretive stream walk and fry trapping. Before the festivities start, parents can register their 3-6 year olds for Aqua Charades running from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.
There are plenty of tours hosted by Nanaimo River Watershed Roundtable taking place for Rivers Day. A bus tour of the Nanaimo River Watershed will be held on the Friday before Rivers Day. On Rivers Day itself, you can register for the following tours leaving from the Bowen Park Wall Street parking lot:
- Morden Colliery Historical Provincial Park,
- Nanaimo River Regional Park, and
- Nanaimo River & Wild Play Adventures Centre.
The following tours you can register for will leave from other locations:
- Nanaimo River Estuary Walk - meet at end of Raines Road in Cedar
- Vancouver Island's Largest Estuary by Raft - meet at Living Forest Campground Boat Launch
And, back by popular demand, NALT will host their famous Salmon BBQ starting at 12:00 pm.
