It's spring, and that means it's time to let tiny fish loose in local waterways to boost salmon populations.
The Eagle Creek Streamkeepers are hosting their salmon release event on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Charles Rummel Park.
"It's going to be a festive event," said Nick Kvenich, a longtime volunteer streamkeeper.
Volunteers will release 50,000 tiny chum salmon in the creek, which runs from the Burnaby Mountain golf course, down beneath Lougheed Highway into Burnaby Lake.
"We are continuing placing the chum in the creek with the idea that they are going to come back in four years," Kvenich said. "At some point in time, we probably won't have to stock it. That's the objective. To make the creek alive and vibrant."
There will also be temporary tattoos for the kids, education activities, invasive plant removal and storm drain marking to alert people not to dump anything down drains that lead to sensitive fish habitat.
Volunteers have spent years making the creek more habitable and navigable for salmon. They have even built a rearing pond close to the highway to give spawners some respite, while encouraging their migration further up the creek.
The streamkeepers are always looking for volunteers, too, so if you're interested in fostering the health of Eagle Creek, contact Nick at 604-420-5651.
Later in May, the Stoney Creek Environment Committee, another group of volunteer streamkeep-ers, is hosting a similar event.
On Saturday, May 11, behind Stoney Creek Community School, the group will release a few thousand coho smolts into Stoney Creek, which runs down Burnaby Mountain into the Brunette River, and eventually the Fraser.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and there will be activities for the children and a chance to release the smolts into the water.
The school is at 2740 Beaverbrook Cres. For more information, email the committee at scec@ handshake.ca.
WILD SALMON FILM IN BURNABY
More news on the salmon front. A new documentary, called Salmon Confidential, is screening in Burnaby.
Filmmaker S Twyla Roscovich P focuses on well-known biologist Alexandra Morton, who attempts to unravel the mystery behind B.C.'s declining wild salmon stocks.
The film will be shown across B.C., and on Wednesday, April 24, at 7 p.m., the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union will host a local screening, at 4911 Canada Way.
To watch the film online, go to salmon confidential.ca.
BIRD TALK
One of my favourite sources at the NOW is local birder George Clulow. Clulow runs the annual Christmas Bird Count in Burnaby, where local birdwatchers count and catalogue as many types of birds as they can spot on a given day in winter.
I've been on assignment to Burnaby Lake and the local crow roost with Clulow, and his knowledge of birds never ceases to amaze me, and his enthusiasm is infectious.
Clulow will be speaking at the Vancouver Public Library on Monday, May 6 from 7 to 8 p.m. for World Migratory Bird Week.
Clulow has been involved in the birding community since the 1970s, and he's also the director for Bird Studies Canada.
Clulow's talk will focus on types of birds seen around the Lower Mainland, and it's a great opportunity for beginner birdwatchers.
The talk is free, but space is limited. The event, co-sponsored by the Stanley Park Ecology Society, will be at the central branch of the Vancouver Public Library, at 350 West Georgia St. For more info, call 604-3314044 or email [email protected].
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