Mark Sloat from the City of Burnaby and I (Byrne Creek Streamkeepers) tag teamed tonight on talking about watersheds and storm drains to a group of Brownies who will be out marking street drains with yellow fish next week.
Category Archives: Streamkeeping
Burnaby RCMP Safety Forum Big Draw
Burnaby RCMP sponsored a safety forum today with community partners. The event at Lougheed Town Centre Mall attracted lots of folks. I was out running errands so I dropped by, and enjoyed chatting with RCMP, City of Burnaby staff, and community groups that I’ve worked with through volunteering over the years.
I also reconnected with Transit Police Sergeant Hawthorne, and let her know that Byrne Creek Streamkeeper volunteers would have a registration booth and dumpster set up at the Edmonds Skytrain Station on May 2 from about 9:45am to 11:30am for a community cleanup organized by EPIC. Everyone is welcome to join in!
SFU Education Students Tour Byrne Creek
I had a great time on this glorious afternoon taking about a dozen students studying education at Simon Fraser University on a tour of Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby.
They had their own questions and activities related to community sustainability. I provided them with an overview of what volunteer streamkeepers do, and how we relate to the broader community through umbrella organizations, the municipality, and DFO.
White Substance Coats Stones in Byrne Creek
On a ravine walk this evening, Yumi and I noticed that stones in Byrne Creek between the stairs and the footbridge had a white coating. Not all stones across the width of the creek, more like some giant gently dragged a paintbrush a few feet wide across the tops.
Didn’t see any distressed or dead fish.
Video of Coho Salmon Fry in Byrne Creek, SE Burnaby
I was out looking for salmon fry in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby today, and got some video in addition to my usual, er, focus on still photography.
Lots of Coho Fry in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby today
I spent about two hours this afternoon stalking salmon fry in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC. I saw dozens of wee coho throughout the areas that I checked. So nice to have confirmation that coho spawned successfully in this urban creek last autumn, and that their eggs are hatching out.
There were several dozen fry hanging in a pool under this log in the lower ravine. There were also four or five smolt-size fish there too, either coho yearlings or resident cutthroat trout. I didn’t see them eat any fry while I was there, but I have observed that in other years.
Streamkeepers to Volunteer for Edmonds Clean Sweep in SE Burnaby
Byrne Creek Streamkeepers will continue a long tradition of participating in the Edmonds Clean Sweep in SE Burnaby. The event is sponsored by EPIC (Edmonds People in Community.)
As usual, streamkeepers will have an alternate registration site from 9:45am on Sat. May 2 in the parking lot of the Edmonds Skytrain Station, and we will clean the area around the station and in upper Byrne Creek Ravine Park.
We will join in the noon-hour lunch and festivities at Gordon Presbyterian on Edmonds St.
Lots of Salmon Fry Popping Up in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby
Yumi and I saw dozens of fry in Byrne Creek this afternoon. Lots between the eroded area and the wooden footbridge in the lower ravine, and some further downstream of the bridge. Yumi thought coho due to stripes on anal fins.
It’s great to see a new generation of salmon hatching out in this urban creek!
New Fishing Licences a Sign of Spring
I bought a BC Non-tidal Angling Licence and a Fisheries and Oceans Canada Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence today, both with salmon stamps. Such licences expire at the end of March, and renewing them around this time of year has become a rite of spring.
I am by no means an avid fisherman, but I enjoy hiking, camping, nature photography, streamkeeping and other outdoor activities, so I like having the proper licences if the opportunity arises to wet a line. I have a couple of inexpensive rods and reels, and a small tackle box with an assortment of enough lures and accessories to be suited to most fishing in western Canada.
I have a cousin who loves fishing, and I’m always learning when I go out with him.
I have store-bought canned fish in the cupboard and frozen fish in the freezer, so I figure if I’m eating fish I might as well kill some myself. It’s a reminder that cans and plastic wrap do not insulate us from nature, though nowadays lots of folks have no idea where their food comes from.
Honoured to Speak on Citizen Science & Community Groups
I was honoured to speak tonight at the Tommy Douglas Library in SE Burnaby in an event organized by the South Coast Conservation Program called Conservation Through Citizen Engagement on BC’s South Coast.
Pamela Zevit and Tamsin Baker of SCCP provided introductions to their program and the speakers.
Then I spoke about citizen engagement in relation to the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society, and shared some thoughts on communicating about local watersheds to citizens, youth, and various levels of government and government agencies.
I didn’t bother with a PowerPoint, just blathered on with my Slavic passion : – ).
Other speakers included DG Blair of the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia, and Monica Pearson of Balance Ecological, who both delivered stimulating, knowledgeable presentations. Great stuff!