To our Members, Volunteers and Friends of West Vancouver Streamkeeper Society.
With the rapidly changing landscape around Covid-19, we want to reach out to express our determination and solidarity in the face of the challenges presented by this global health crisis. We are all deeply concerned and want to ensure that we are reducing health risks and doing our part to limit the spread of Covid-19 in our communities.
As such, we have decided that a popular upcoming event, Adopt-a-Fish, scheduled for April 18 will be cancelled. The Streamkeepers Seaside Social to be held at Hollyburn Sailing Club scheduled for April 23 will be postponed, and re-scheduled TBA, to a time when the global health situation has stabilized, and our Health Authorities advise it will be safe to meet.
Additionally, it is highly probable that the Annual General Meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 7 may also be postponed.
On behalf of the West Vancouver Streamkeeper Board,
Mike Perley, Co- Chair
Left to right: Co-Chairs: Mike Perley and Keith Pelletier with Director John Barker standing in the Lawson Creek Fish Ladder
Hello fellow West Vancouver Streamkeepers; almost 300 members and growing.
Keith Pelletier and Mike Perley as the new Co-Chairs of the Society are very excited and honored to be helping our hard-working team of Directors, Bill McAllister, Don Harrison, Liz Leduc, Jan Moger, Keith Moger, Annie Faw and John Barker with The West Vancouver Streamkeeper Society.
As many of you know, our long-standing leader, John Barker has stepped down as President after over 10 years of leadership. Both Keith and I have been active members of the society for over 7 years and have been on the Board of Directors for the past 4 years. Both of us come from families that enjoy the outdoors and our desire to help our local streams and creeks is instinctive. Our immediate plans are to maintain the excellent stewardship momentum that the Society has developed. This year, 2020, shall see ongoing maintenance programs on our creeks including weed pulling and invasive plant identification, Community Events, Salmon Surveys, and ensuring obstacles interfering with returning salmon are identified and amended.
Of course, our society is truly successful because of you, our dedicated members and active volunteers, helping to maintain and improve our West Vancouver creeks and watersheds so that our local fish and all creatures living in our waterways can continue to flourish.
Looking forward to meeting each and every one of you!
The AGM will take place on a date to be announced at St Stephen’s Church, 88522nd St, West Vancouver. A notification will be sent out in due course.
Streamkeeper Activity Updates
Citizen Science –Leslie Shuparski. The team has been busy with monitoring local creek health in West Vancouver. The Committee Volunteers go out in August and January to take the PH, dissolved O2, temperature and turbidity of 9 streams. Our work has been recently recognized by LUSH who gave a $500 donation towards WVSK for our work monitoring local creeks. I received the cheque from Co-Chair Mike Perley at the last Members meeting.
We also do invertebrate counts in the springtime. If you are a bug lover, come and count bugs with us. If you are interested in becoming involved with the citizen science group please contact me at leslieshuparski@gmail.com.
Co-Chair Mike Perley presents cheque on behalf of LUSH Corporation to Team Coordinator Leslie Shuparski
CreekTalk and Storm Drain Painting-Marlene Loader and Sherry Parrott
Creek talks are scheduled to take place at Irwin Park in Dundarave to two grade 2 classes Students will have a short presentation on stream habitat and then walk to look at Marr Creek with further discussions on stream health, human impact and invasive plants. We are organizing dates for storm drain painting with Westcott and St. Anthony’s Schools. These events will be cancelled if schools do not re-open after Spring Break
Invasive Plants: Annie Faw
During October and November of 2019, 14 W.V. Streamkeepers participated in this committee’s second invasive plant survey (the first was in spring’19). The surveys took place at 12 different creek sections where data regarding invasives growing in the riparian areas were recorded. This information - species name, size, GPS coordinates, and photos - has been submitted to W.V. District to be included in their invasive plant mapping project.
Wood Creek -Parc Verdun: West Vancouver District plans to improve areas of the park and upgrade fish habitat throughout. Fish access has been improved from the mouth of Eagle Creek into which Wood Creek runs and we hope to see spawners return this year.
Nelson Creek Hatchery: Jan Moger & Leslie Shuparski The chum alevin have been ponded into outside troughs. Early release in April will be done by DFO staff only. This is to minimise risks to volunteers in the light of the current situation. 22, 358 coho eyed eggs were received from Capilano Hatchery on February 20, The eggs began to hatch on March 10 and fry will be released by DFO staff to our local streams in May/June
Work Projects 2020 Don Harrison There is an opportunity for a volunteer work party to clean out and remove overgrowth crowding out the rearing pond in Hay Park. This will be along the lines of recent work done in Memorial Park rearing pond A date for this will be announced in due course when conditions allow.
cont...