Mill Creek restoration
Urban development has significantly damaged Mill Creek’s health and natural functions. Channelizing the creek, removing vegetation, and adding hard surfaces have increased sediment, weakened the banks, reduced fish habitat, and led to more frequent flooding for nearby homes and businesses. These issues are expected to worsen as climate change brings more intense weather and higher flows.
Tree management at Parkinson Recreation Park is part of the larger Mill Creek Flood Protection Project, which supports the long‑term vision for the Mill Creek corridor outlined in the City’s master planning work. This project will improve creek health, support fish passage and spawning, and strengthen long‑term flood protection. When complete, the failed channel and retaining walls will be replaced with native plantings, restored riparian areas, and a naturalized floodplain.
Work at Parkinson Recreation Park has been coordinated to occur alongside construction of the larger Redeveloping Parkinson Recreation Centre project. Tree management is focusing on removing non‑native plantings, invasive species, and declining trees growing within the creek channel. All trees were assessed by certified arborists and biologists were onsite completing nest sweeps, bat surveys, and owl cavity checks, and construction was thoughtfully coordinated to ensure no active nests were present. No owl cavities or bats were found, and the North Okanagan Beekeepers inspected trees for any active hives prior to removals. All work is fully permitted and follows required environmental conditions and seasonal timing windows.
To support long‑term creek health, the project will plant thousands of native trees, shrubs, and grasses. As these plantings mature, they will create a more diverse canopy that stabilizes banks, improves water quality, and enhances habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife. Overall tree cover will increase over time.
The project also includes creation of a new wetland to support turtles and amphibians. Work is being guided in collaboration with the Westbank First Nation and Okanagan Nation Alliance with Indigenous plant species native to the Okanagan region, incorporated throughout the corridor and a dedicated gathering area to honour cultural practices and traditional ecological knowledge.
The broader Mill Creek Restoration Project is funded in part by a $22 million grant from the Government of Canada's Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund. Together, these investments will help Kelowna anticipate and adapt to flooding events, protect property, and transform Mill Creek into a more usable public amenity.
Improvements are planned at Marshall Park, Burne Avenue Neighbourhood Park, Pacific Court Park, as well as Parkinson Recreation Centre, all of which are within the scope of the Lower Mill Creek Linear Park Strategic Plan.
A similar project, Polson Park Naturalization, is ongoing in Vernon.
