Mystic Vale

Mystic Vale is a forested ravine that was acquired by the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, in 1993. It is located outside the ring road to the southeast of campus. Its tree canopy is dominated by large specimens of Douglas-fir and grand fir. A few western red cedar also occur. Scattered among these conifers are deciduous trees such as bigleaf maple, black cottonwood, and willow. Some Garry oak is present at the forest edge. Canada's only native broadleaf evergreen tree, the arbutus, is also present.

Mystic Vale is one of the popular green spaces on campus as thousands of students and community members use the area each year for recreation. The university is committed to the preservation of Mystic Vale and the surrounding Haro Woods to ensure the long-term health of the area as habitat for local flora and fauna. Ecoaction groups and sustainability projects have been implemented to preserve the conditions of the ravine, including creating detention ponds to minimize stream bank erosion and removing invasive species like ivy, daphne and holly. The area covers 4.7 hectares (11.6 acres) of natural coniferous woodland, and much of Mystic Vale and the university campus is part of the Straits Coast Salish peoples’ traditional homeland.