When Andrew Elves, a University of Victoria instructor in environmental studies and restoration of natural systems, saw pictures from a pop-up DJ show at Cattle Point last Friday in the Times Colonist, he immediately recognized the spot as one where he regularly takes students for restoration work.
Cattle Point is home to 1.6 hectares of Salish Sea maritime meadows, an extremely rare plant ecosystem.
About 30 per cent of all purple sanicle, or Sanicula bipinnatifida, in Canada grows at Cattle Point. Thirteen other plant species in the area are classified as at-risk by federal authorities.
Elves visited the site on Friday morning and found evidence of extreme soil compaction, as well as discarded cigarette butts and broken glass that were missed in the cleanup effort that night.
Elves, a music lover who met his husband at a live music event at Lucky’s, said he has nothing against music-based parties. “I like electronic music,” he said. “I love a good time, and I understand the need for the kind of spontaneous events that bring people together.”
But people might not know the cultural history or ecological significance of the places where they party.
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Few are aware of the cultural significance of Cattle Point as a prominent memorial site of the Coast Salish, he said.
Research from UVic ethnoecologist and archeologist Darcy Matthews shows the point was the centre of one of the largest Lekwungen burial cairns and mound clusters in the capital region.
“I don’t know if there would be a concert in the Ross Bay Cemetery,” Elves said.
Elves recalls his friends going to Chatham and Discovery Islands — traditionally known as Tl’ches — for illegal raves from the 2000s until the early 2010s, until the Songhees Nation began enforcing its rights on the island around 2012.
“People weren’t aware then,” Elves said.
In explaining why he chose Cattle Point for the event, Taelor Deitcher — who plays under the stage name of Felix Cartal — said last week that he “just tried to find a location that was sort of tucked away, where sound wouldn’t be an issue.”
“I’m from B.C., and I try to be respectful of the place that I’m from.”
Elves said that renaming Cattle Point with an Indigenous name, as well as better signage and education, could help avoid repeat incidents.
He suggested Saxe Point as an alternate, less ecologically destructive location for events.
Jacques Sirois, a biologist and naturalist, told the Times Colonist last year that Cattle Point — which is part of Uplands Park — was being “loved to death” due the lack of purpose-built park infrastructure.
Restoration specialists and volunteers have been working to restore endangered plant species in the area for the past 30 years.
UVic researchers and students will be at the site in coming days to assess just how much damage was caused by the party, Elves said.
“No one did anything wrong. People just didn’t understand,” he said. “People like me who are educators need to do a better job.”
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