Grass Class 2025!
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2025 Identifying Native Grasses of Southern Vancouver Island


Are you interested in learning more about native grasses on Vancouver Island? Satinflower Nurseries presents this three-part series that includes topics on the ecology and biology of Vancouver Island native grasses and equips participants with practical identification skills through field trips and classroom exercises.

2025 Program Now Open - Register Here!

Program Dates: Three sessions between July 9th and July 20th, 2025. Each session is being offered twice, and you will attend one of each session. Registration for each session will occur once you have purchased your registration. 

Session 1: Wednesday July 9th OR Thursday July 10th 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Session 2: Wednesday July 16th OR Thursday 17th, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Session 3: Saturday July 19th OR Sunday 20th 10 am - 3:00 pm

Hours of Instruction: 9 hours

Venue: In-person workshops at Satinflower Nurseries Metchosin & a field trip to ḴEḴÁȺYEKEN Witty’s Lagoon.

Cost: $295 + GST

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Identifying Native Grasses Program Details:


SESSION 1: Introduction to Grasses of Vancouver Island 

In-person, 4286 Metchosin Road
Date: Wednesday July 9th OR Thursday July 10th 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm


This introduction to native grasses will help familiarize you with grass-specific terminology and physical features, including how to distinguish grasses from other plant groups. In this introductory workshop you will be introduced to some common local species and their ecology.

 

SESSION 2: Identifying Native Grasses

In-person, 4286 Metchosin Road
Date: Wednesday July 16th OR Thursday 17th, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm


This in-person session will empower you to identify native grasses instead of ignoring them! We will put our new knowledge about grasses to use while we take a close-up look at a variety of native grass species. We will look at their physical features and talk about the types of habitats where you might expect to find them. Grass samples, live dissections, and “keying out” grasses will be part of this session.
 

SESSION 3: Identifying Grasses Outdoors/ Growing Native Grasses 

In-person, ḴEḴÁȺYEKEN Witty's Lagoon, and 4286 Metchosin Road
Walking on uneven and hilly terrain outdoors for ~2km is required. Restrooms at the trailhead.
Date: Saturday July 19th OR Sunday 20th 10 am - 3:00 pm


Observing grass species outdoors is an essential part of coming to know and appreciate native grasses and the important role they play in local ecosystems. We will be exploring native grasses and their habitats for two hours, followed by a mini workshop at Satinflower Nurseries (Metchosin). Growing native grasses is one of the ways to improve your overall knowledge of the plants we have discovered. You will come to recognize them across the seasons- from seed, vegetatively, and in flower. We will cover practical propagation tips that will motivate you to try native grasses yourself! Participants will be provided native grass seed and potted samples to try at home should they wish.




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Meet your Instructors:

 


James Miskelly

James is a co-owner of Satinflower Nurseries and a biologist with expertise in Garry oak ecosystems, plants, insects, and restoration. James completed a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Victoria in 2004 focusing on butterflies and their habitat needs.  James has worked in various capacities specializing in rare plants and animals. He is a research associate at the Royal BC Museum in entomology with a particular interest in Canadian Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers, and katydids). Outside of the nursery, James works with Natural Resources Canada helping to conserve and restore habitats and rare species on federal DND lands.

Kristen Miskelly

Kristen is a biologist and co-owner of Satinflower Nurseries, where she brings her passion for native plants, ecology, and ecosystem restoration. Her early academic work focused on grass taxonomy, followed by a master’s degree in paleoecology at the University of Victoria, where she studied the preglacial flora of southern Vancouver Island. For the past two decades, Kristen has focused her work on the Prairie-Oak ecosystems of southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. In addition to co-managing Satinflower Nurseries, she is currently pursuing a PhD in seed-based restoration through the Restoration Futures Lab in the School of Environmental Studies at UVic.

Jill Fraser

Jill is a Certified Horticultural Technician who also holds a BA in Environmental Studies and Anthropology from the University of Victoria. Jill joined the nursery in fall of 2022 and brings a range of experience from riparian restoration to organic farming. She has been able to combine her passion and knowledge of native plants at Satinflower Nurseries, where she is now a supervisor, coordinating community projects in Metchosin and helping to manage the nursery's native seed field in Cobble Hill. Through her work, she hopes to promote sustainable landscapes and help people connect with the environment they are a part of.