Kelowna's Juicy Tips

Now, I know Kelowna is a great city for green space, but I made a discovery this weekend that just put it at a whole new level for me.

Yes, we have City Park and Waterfront Park with their beaches and kid zones. Yes, we have the Mission Creek Greenway, all 17.5 kilometers of it. (This, by the way, is a super bike path in all biking seasons. In the summer I love how shaded and cool it is along the creek.)

Many of us know that the Environmental Education Centre of the Okanagan  (the EECO) at the Springfield entrance to the Mission Creek Greenway is a really nifty place to go with kids, especially when the Kokanee Salmon spawn up the creek in the fall. Talk about an eye-opening experience (and free, at that)! But have you ever wandered behind the main lodge building of the EECO, to the Xeriscape and organic veggie gardens out back?

This is exactly where I found myself this weekend, and I got that rush of excitement when you discover something truly inspiring. There are two excellent garden plots: one demonstrating a variety of low-water-consumption plants that you could use in a Xeriscape garden; the other an organic veggie garden that anyone could put into their backyard or community garden plot. All around the gardens were various composting methods as well as a demonstration on making “compost tea” for your garden. Really inspiring!

The EECO is run by the Regional District of the Centre Okanagan. Click here for an EECO brochure that will give you information on their various activities and interpretive programs.

Greenthumbs out there: you have got to check it out. If you haven’t been to the EECO lately, this is another excellent reason to visit, and to bring your bike or walking shoes for a jaunt down the greenway while you’re at it. I’m constantly astounded at the many fascinating and free activities there are in this city!