Armstrong Wetlands Association

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Armstrong Wetlands Association

Our vision is that Armstrong has wetland conservation areas where fish and wildlife can flourish

08/06/2026

HELP BUILD THE OKANAGAN ST WETLAND WALKWAY - AWA SILENT AUCTION
The Armstrong Wetlands Association again invites you to bid on an incredible painting donated to us by the artist, Pamela Furlong. It's entitled "Sitting Pretty" and is 20" x 24" in size. Funds will be used to complete the walkway and viewing platform at the wetland pond project on Okanagan Street.

The Ribbon Show is now over at the Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum and Art Gallery. They generously agreed to display this painting during their month long show and we sincerely thank them for their support. The Overlander Restaurant has generously allowed the painting to now be displayed at their site. Thank You! We invite the public to help us and bid on it.

Where to bid: Overlander Restaurant, 2440 York Ave, Armstrong.

The painting is valued at $1200. The bidding starts at $450. A huge Thank You to Pamela for her generous support!!

07/16/2026

Update For The Okanagan St Wetland.
Yesterday evening 2 members of the AWA went to check the plants on the hummock. With the heat we have been having lately we wanted to make sure that they were doing okay. Our thinking was that once we got the trees and shrubs established by watering periodically last year, they should be able to make it on their own as they are native to this area.

Armed with a moisture meter and buckets, if we needed them, we checked a number of plants. No wilted plants were noticed and the meter registered wet in a lot of locations. Awesome! The lowest the meter read was moderate. All is okay. The trees and shrubs have grown tall and bushy. There are a few plants which have not survived but this was expected - over 95% have and we will take the win!

A wonderful discovery was that the Douglas Fir seedlings are now "flushing" green on twig ends which were brown 3 months ago. Maybe it was too wet and conditions are now better for them?

At the end of the evening we both remarked at how impressed we were with the general health and appearance of the plants on the hummock. A few thistles were pulled but as they don't like shade the numbers were minimal.

As an aside, the pond water level has dropped another couple of centimeters and there is a thick mat of green algae covering the water. As this was farmland for many years there are probably lots of nutrients in the water plus this algae likes sunshine and warm water. Green algae forms the base of the food chain and produces oxygen. All good!

07/12/2026

HELP BUILD THE OKANAGAN ST WETLAND WALKWAY - AWA SILENT AUCTION

The Armstrong Wetlands Association invites you to bid on an incredible painting donated by Pamela Furlong. It's entitled "Sitting Pretty" and is 20" x 24" in size. Funds will be used to complete the walkway and viewing platform at the pond project on Okanagan Street.

Where to bid: Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum & Art Gallery

The Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum and Art Gallery has generously allowed the painting to be displayed at their site during the Ribbon Show, July 2nd - August 1st. Thank You!

The painting is valued at $1200. The bidding starts at $450. A huge Thank You to Pamela for her generous support!!

Pamela Furlong
Pamela has lived in the Okanagan Valley for many years and has made her home here. Painting the local birds and birds that she encounters on her travels are the focus of her art. Getting out and taking her reference photos is a great way to study her subjects up close. Developing her skills continually and moving forward with her technique and style are forever keeping her challenged.

Pamela is an AFCA Associate Status member with the Federation of Canadian Artists, the NOFCA and the TNSC chapters. Her work has been exhibited in a multitude of shows some of which include, Vancouver with The Federation of Canadian Artists, the 10th Annual National show in Kamloops (TNSC), The Lake Country Festival of the Arts, Vernon Performing Arts Centre, Courtyard Gallery, Gallery Vertigo and The Okanagan Shuswap Festival of the Arts.

06/20/2026

Checking The Okanagan St Wetland
This morning 3 of us went to our wetland to see how it was doing. We wanted to do some w**ding, check the water level and collect some plankton in the pond.

Weeding the whole hummock only took ~45 min and we were very surprised at how few there were. We pulled Canada thistle (hasn't flowered yet) and removed cattails and stinging nettle (native but on our hummock) - all left on-site. The bad w**d was deadly nightshade which was bagged and disposed of.

The staff gauge read 0.67 ft this morning. It registered 0.94 ft on Jan 27th, 2026 for a drop in the water table of 0.27 ft or 8.2 cm. We will see if it goes any lower with the sustained heat we will probably get this summer.

We then threw the plankton net into the pond and were able to catch a lot (bottom of the food chain). They were very small but very abundant. We saw copepods, daphnia, chaoborus, a snail and a water boatman. The chaoborus indicates very good water quality.

The ducks have moved on but there is lots of life here - both in the water and in the air (dragonflies and red winged blackbirds). The upland grass seed we spread on the hummock has sprouted and is quite tall, doing really well and probably one reason why there aren't many thistles. Thistles don't do well in shade. Most of the trees and shrubs we planted are doing very well. So, to sum things up, the Okanagan St wetland is looking great!

Our next step is to raise money for the walkway and viewing platform with educational signage that we hope to install between Meighan Cr and the pond. Can you help us? Once complete it will be a great addition to our community.

06/14/2026

AWA at the Armstrong Farmers' Market
Today was a great day to have a booth at our local Farmers' Market - sunny and warm with lots of people out. Thanks to the many people who stopped by to buy a membership and drop off a donation.

We are always very pleased to talk about the next phase we would like to accomplish at our Okanagan St wetland - a walkway and viewing platform overlooking the pond and hummock we constructed in 2025 complete with educational signage. This will be a great addition for students and the general public to get a close look and learn about wetlands, the flora/fauna that depend on them and their importance to our environment The donations we received today, as well as the grants that we are applying for, will go towards this project. We have quite a ways to go as we need to raise in excess of $120,000 and currently only have a small portion of that. Can you help us? E-transfers are greatly appreciated and accepted at [email protected] We need your support. This will be a great community asset when complete. Thanks!

05/28/2026

We’ll be at Thomas Hayes on Friday with the ASTS to help pull some Celandine

Would love to see you there! 🌱

05/18/2026

Thanks to MLA David Williams for learning about and supporting us in our efforts with Armstrong's Okanagan St wetland. Much appreciated!!

04/29/2026

Michele and Dianne had a great time at the Green Fair in Armstrong last Saturday, connecting with community members about our wetland pond and the boardwalk we’re fundraising for. The weather couldn’t have been better, and Leslie’s new poster highlighting the many attributes of cattails sparked lots of interest & great conversations.

Thanks to Michele, many visitors left with our Co-op number (14227) and plans to support us on their next fill-up. We also loved seeing some budding artists enjoy the colouring table and take home their wetland creations.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to chat, learn, and support the project!

04/24/2026

This Saturday is Armstrong’s very own Green Fair! 🌱Join us from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM at the Fairgrounds.

The AWA will be there alongside a great lineup of green organizations, non-profits, and local vendors doing amazing work in our community.

Come check it out, learn something new, and be sure to stop by our booth and say hi! ☀️

04/21/2026

On Saturday, three of our members attended the first ever Neighborhood Day at the Allan Brooks Nature Centre in Vernon. There were numerous participants there – all representing organizations who, like the AWA, focus on nature and conservation.

There were interesting presentations throughout the day including one on the AWA’s wetland enhancement efforts in downtown Armstrong. The weather was great and the Samosas Joe’s van was right near our table!!

The colouring sheet was a huge hit for kids and engaged them while we talked to the parents!

Address

Armstrong, BC

Website

http://www.armstrong-wetlands-group.com/

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