Thanks to the South Coast Conservation Program for organizing an excellent Conservation Connections workshop today.
Enjoyed all the speakers from BC Forestry, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (yes that’s just one ministry there : – ), Metro Vancouver, City of Surrey Sustainability Office, Fraser Valley Conservancy. . .
Great stuff!
Yowza! Tons of these gorgeous waterfowl near the pier in White Rock this evening . . .
Follow the leader. . .
We had an errand to run out in Langley after work, so we took the scenic route home to Burnaby via White Rock. Lovely evening at the pier, if a bit cold and windy.
Squeamish Alert!
You may want to skip these if you’re just getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner.
Meal done, time to clean the beak by rubbing it along a branch
Thanksgiving moon shot in Burnaby, BC, on our our way home this evening from dinner with friends. Canon SX730HS pocket cam at max 40X optical zoom, handheld leaning against a stop sign 
.
I love autumn, and while the colours are starting to diminish, next up will be spawning salmon. We volunteer with the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers in SE Burnaby, BC, and for us this is the most exciting part of the year when salmon start returning to spawn and die.
There’s so much anticipation to see how many fish we’ll get as our numbers vary considerably over the years. Some years have been very poor with only a few dozen spawners counted, but last year we had over 100.
We have permission from Burnaby Parks to zapstrap two or three funny dog posters to trees in the lower ravine during the spawning season. We’ve had excellent responses to them, with dog walkers asking us when they’ll be up.
While we haven’t seen any salmon yet, they should start arriving any day now. Yumi spotted this disturbance which is likely a redd, or nest of eggs, so they may be here and hiding. That could mean coho, as they are very secretive, while chum, the other species in our creek, is readily observable.
Unfortunately the creek also attracts irresponsible types and we often find garbage dumped in it. This speaker was tossed off of the Meadow Ave. bridge.
Street garbage seen today, much of it plastics, leading straight to a storm drain at the corner of Edmonds and Fulton in SE Burnaby, BC. This was perhaps a 5-meter stretch of curb.
I am documenting more of this when I run across it because the Stream of Dreams Murals Society is researching how plastics are impacting local streams, and eventually the Fraser River and Pacific Ocean though storm-drain pollution.
The City of Burnaby is providing some support for this project.
All drains lead to fish habitat. When this garbage is washed into street drains, it ends up in local creeks, begins breaking down, and keeps moving downstream affecting fish and wildlife along the way. It will eventually arrive in the ocean, perhaps as microplastics.
10, 15, 20 years ago, I’d go to sustainable communities conferences and revel in people getting charged up and excited.
Now I go to sustainable communities conferences and I see people walking out of keynote presentations in tears. . .
It’s been much the same message all along, but it’s finally sinking in with more folks that time is running out.
I work and talk with “kids” in their 20s and 30s, half my age, and more of them are afraid to have children, because there is dwindling optimism in what the future holds.
I help deliver watershed education programs to elementary schools, and there’s an unease among the kids, and alarm among the teachers. . . .
It’s like a world war.
Is this our D-Day? Environmental Destruction Day.
It’s said we can still turn things around, but it’s going to take WAY more effort than any government or almost any political candidate from the big two parties in the current Canadian Federal election has been willing to admit. . .
Are we up to this?
Can we as humans see beyond short-term gain and look a few generations into the future?
It was yet another gorgeous day in downtown Vancouver at the EcoCity 2019 event (@ecocity2019). It was my second day helping staff the Stream of Dreams Murals Society booth @StreamofDreams . I’ve been doing some PT work this year helping deliver the Stream of Dreams watershed education and community art program in schools.
I really enjoyed this event. Talked to lots of folks over the two days, collected a bunch of biz cards, and will be following up with many.
There was a serendipitous moment as I was chatting with a conference goer who didn’t seem all that impressed with our watershed education and community art program. Just then another woman walked by and squealed “Oh my gosh, Stream of Dreams! I love your program, my kids got so much out it, and teachers at her school were raving about it!”
No, I’d never met the second woman, and no cash was exchanged under any table : – ).
It’s very rewarding to get such unsolicited positive feedback.
L-R: Project Manager Krystal, Co-Founder Lu. Great people to work with!
Lovely day in downtown Vancouver at the EcoCity 2019 event (@ecocity2019). I was helping staff the Stream of Dreams Murals Society booth. I’ve been doing some PT work this year helping deliver the Stream of Dreams watershed education and community art program in schools.
Had fun chatting with lots of other exhibitors and visitors, and also enjoyed meeting the folks from Royal Roads University where I did my MA, and University of Saskatchewan where I got my BA and BEd, and the University of Victoria, where I did a year of writing.
Great to see all the environmental programs coming out of these unis, and others!
While the multi-hundred-million dollar buildings are impressive, what really stands out to me is the tree. It outshines them all.