We spent several hours walking around lovely Tynehead Regional Park today, part of Metro Vancouver’s superb regional parks system.
Goofing around in a giant stump
My turn to goof around . . .
Another giant old stump
Checking for salmonid fry
And we spotted some!
Lots of caddisflies, too
Now that’s some pecking order : – )
After stocking up at the Fujiya Japanese supermarket, we dropped by Burnaby Mountain for a picnic. Nothing like a fresh bento, some sushi, and assorted snacks!
Now that’s a view
The Tancho Crane ecosculptures are filling out
The amazing rose garden in full glory
Sapsucker
The Fraser River Discovery Centre in New Westminster, BC, had several tours today sharing First Nations fishing and fish-preserving techniques.
It was interesting learning about the cleaning, filleting, and wind-drying process to preserve salmon, and we got to try our hands out sharpening Indigenous tools.
An exercise sorting cleaning, filleting and wind drying into proper order.
Wind-dried salmon
Sharpening tools
Checking out the BC watersheds map, with a focus on the mighty Fraser River
The protected White Sturgeon
Yep, these massive, ancient (both in terms of time on Earth, and lifespan) fish come from such tiny eggs. Amazing!
Lots to see on our evening walk in Byrne Creek Ravine Park and Taylor Park in SE Burnaby, BC.
Sunbathing, dust bathing robin
Wasps’ nests are so cool, but keep your distance : -)
Friends have a Northern Flicker nest in their yard. Cool!
Temperatures are set to soar in the lower mainland of BC, so I moved my Byrne Creek/South Slope walk up to just after breakfast instead of my usual mid-day break.
Even at 8:30 am the sun was sizzling over Taylor Park Elementary
The Skytrain tracks provide a bit of shade
It’s always a few degrees C cooler in the ravine by the creek
The Seymour Salmonid Society and Metro Vancouver hosted the annual Father’s Day trout release at Rice Lake on Vancouver’s north shore.
This is a super event with lots of other stewardship groups represented. Great fun to see kids so excited about releasing fish — and, um, getting a chance to try fishing, too 
.
Now that’s a huge Seymour watershed 3D map!
Seymour Salmonid Society hatchery tour
The Seymour watershed provides a good chunk of Metro Vancouver’s drinking water, and is a pristine, protected area.
Heading down to the lake for the trout release
Fishing gear to borrow for free to try your hand. It’s great to see urban kids so excited to release fish, and yes, try to catch one, too!
Yumi waiting for a trout to release. She got one the last ones.
What a beauty!
Interesting hitchhiker as we walked the lake loop trail.
Shot this beauty near the parking lot at Rice Lake on Vancouver’s north shore.
Some more shots as we headed up to the ferry from Victoria, BC, after last weekend’s SEHAB meeting.
Coast watcher. . .
Lots of deer right in town
Views of Mt. Baker in WA
Heading down to the shore to check out tide pools
A moody evening on the ferry back to the mainland
Rain — that means we must be getting close to home : – )
The Salmonid Enhancement and Habitat Advisory Board to Canada’s Dept of Fisheries and Oceans held a 3-day meeting in Victoria, BC, last weekend. We had an opportunity to tour some local stewardship projects.
Cool remote instream fish monitoring system
Checking out fish ladders
Listening to an overview of what we’re going to see
Board members and local volunteers
It takes a lot of partners to make projects like this happen.
That’s a huge culvert blocking fish passage
Ian of the Penninsula Streams Society and also a SEHAB board member, explains the challenges of the project to install a stepped fish ladder. Planning, engineering, and fundraising are well underway.