Salmon Come Home well supported by the community

Children paint a mural with the Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable to welcome home the salmon.

The chum salmon started arriving back in Hoy Creek around mid-October, and on October 25th the community of the Tri-Cities came out to celebrate at the annual Salmon Come Home festival put on by the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society and the City of Coquitlam.  The festival is environmentally-themed and designed to promote public awareness about conservation and spawning salmon that migrate back to Coquitlam.

The weather was optimal and approximately 2200 people passed through to get a glimpse of spawning chum salmon in Hoy Creek and take in the activities set up around Hoy Creek Hatchery. The event was held during a dry weather spell so the chum numbers could have been higher for viewing, but people were able to see one or two throughout the day. The Society also had several large chum in the hatchery's Capilano trough for closer viewing, as well as several on-land demos with live salmon where held as Maurice Coulter-Boisvert from the Department of Fisheries answered questions.

Cookies made by Melanie Lee

There were many other educational displays and activities for the entire family. Salmon educator, Chris Hamming provided an ongoing tutorial about the salmon over by the rearing pond, and other participating groups who provided interesting activities and education were Burke Mountain Naturalists; City of Coquitlam - Bad Seed, Solid Waste and Recycling, Urban Wildlife, and Water Conservation; Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable; Coquitlam Riverwatch; Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC; Friends of DeBoville Slough; Hoy/Scott Watershed Society; Hyde Creek Watershed Society; Kintec; Maple Creek Streamkeepers; South Coast Conservation Program; Vancity Pinetree Branch; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; and the Port Moody Ecological Society.

Jay Peachy serves up Spirit Bear coffee while Etienne Siew performs.

The day would not have had such a festive-feel if it were not for the music! The Canadian Sound Therapy Arts Society's Wild Salmon Creative Café were out providing piping hot Spirit Bear Coffee, and entertainment by The Bird and the Lion, Etienne Siew, and a DJ. 

The four-hour event had kids crafts, costume parade and story telling with Angela Brown, as well as a prize fish pond provided by Kintec. Children enjoyed painting a mural with the Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable. 

Everyone oohed and awed over the salmon cookies made by HSWS member, Melanie Lee, with all sales from the cookies going toward the Society.

Hoy Creek Hatchery manager Rodney Lee holds up a salmon during the on land demonstrations led by the Department of Fisheries

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society would like to thank all those that made the event possible! A big thank you to our partners at the City of Coquitlam, in particular Caresse Selk. Thanks also to CKPM FM Tri-City Radio; the many volunteers who lent a hand; and all the community groups that took part.

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society has been in operation since 2002 and is a volunteer run society that operates a small salmon hatchery, and conducts a salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, with technical expertise from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.  The Society also works to restore and maintain the riparian habitat in the watershed by removing invasive plant species and re-planting with native plant species. Learn more about the Society at

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HSWS founding member and salmon educator, Chris Hamming

Approximately 2200 came through to enjoy SALMON COME HOME at Hoy Creek Hatchery on Hoy Trail

Coquitlam to host, Salmon Come Home on October 25th

 

The salmon are back in Hoy Creek!  Join the City of Coquitlam and the Hoy-Scott Creek Watershed Society to celebrate their return at the annual Salmon Come Home gathering at Hoy Creek Hatchery on Sunday, October 25th from 11 am to 3 pm. Bring your family and friends to participate in this exciting community event which attracts thousands of people to view spawning chum salmon in-stream, and learn about this amazing fish through educational demonstrationsand displays.

Enjoy music, children's crafts, costume parade and story telling with Angela Brown, prize fish pond, face painting,  music by Tri-City Radio, 98.7 CKPM FM, and the Creative Café will be serving up fun and Spirit Bear Coffee.

The free, family event runs rain or shine and provides a great opportunity to learn about the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society's salmon enhancement program, as well as the work of many other local stewardship groups. Participating is: Burke Mountain Naturalists; City of Coquitlam - Bad Seed; City of Coquitlam - Solid Waste and Recycling; City of Coquitlam - Urban Wildlife; City of Coquitlam - Water Conservation; Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable; Coquitlam Riverwatch; Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC; Friends of DeBoville Slough; Hoy/Scott Watershed Society; Hyde Creek Watershed Society; Kintec; Maple Creek Streamkeepers; South Coast Conservation Program; Canadian Sound Therapy Arts Society - Wild Salmon Creative Café; Vancity Pinetree Branch; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; and the Port Moody Ecological Society.

Hoy Creek Hatchery is located off of Princess Crescent, west of the City Centre Aquatic Complex and the Pinetree Community Centre in Coquitlam.  Parking is available at City Hall or at Douglas College David Lam Campus where you can enjoy a short walk inland to the hatchery via Hoy Creek Trail. To find the location on your cell phone map app, Google "Hoy Creek Hatchery." Location via Google maps. 

Hoy Trail has a several entrances:

- Walk in from Princess Crescent;
- Walk in from behind Douglas College;
- Walk in from Guildford Way (between Johnson and Pinetree);
- Walk in from Walton Avenue, or behind Walton Elementary;
- Walk in from the foot of Lasalle Place.

 

Salmon Come Home, 2014

Salmon Come Home, 2014

Join our Facebook Event Page to keep updates, and be sure to invite your family and friends...  Our event hashtag is #salmoncomehome.

Hoy/Scott Watershed Society has been in operation since 2002 and is a volunteer run society that operates a small salmon hatchery, and conducts a salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, with technical expertise from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.  The Society also works to restore and maintain the riparian habitat in the watershed by removing invasive plant species and re-planting with native plant species. Learn more about the Society at hoyscottcreeks.org

Salmon Come Home is environmentally-themed and designed to promote public awareness about conservation and spawning salmon that migrate back to Coquitlam. For more information on Salmon Come Home, please visit coquitlam.ca/enviroevents

Chum salmon return to Hoy Creek

it's the fall excitement that never gets old! The first sighting after the anticipated return of salmon to our local creeks!

On October 9th, 2015, chum salmon were spotted for the first time this season just south of the Hoy Creek Hatchery making their way upstream. View the video above.

Chum salmon in Hoy Creek, Coquitlam in mid-November 2015 (Photo: Ed Paulino)

Chum salmon in Hoy Creek, Coquitlam in mid-November 2015 (Photo: Ed Paulino)

And of course, with the return, there is death. Salmon return to the place they were born to spawn, thus completing their life cycle.

A dead chum salmon in Hoy Creek, Coquitlam (Photo: Robbin Whachell)

A dead chum salmon in Hoy Creek, Coquitlam (Photo: Robbin Whachell)


Another cloudy spill in Hoy Creek

Hoy Creek on September 11th, 2015 at 3:30pm (Photo: Robbin Whachell)

A similar spill to that in August was reported to the City on September 11th.

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society was notified by the City of Coquitlam and were advised that at approximately 1:45 p.m. a resident reported a white milky substance in Hoy Creek visible along Guildford Way.

The City began immediate investigation and said they had narrowed the source area to between the Hatchery and Pinewood Avenue. A director of Hoy-Scott Watershed Society took the photos seen here at 3:30 pm.

We were later advised that a member from Environmental Services Division (ESD) walked a large section of the creek between Guildford and Pinewood, all inspected areas were cloudy/turbid. The fire department confirmed that the turbid water entered the channel below Pinewood Ave. The water appeared to be clearing when ESD was on site around 2:30 pm.

The City's Drainage Department inspected the 4-5 outfalls around Walton, Pinewood Ave and White Pine Pl.  We were told that the water was all pretty clear and they could not identify which outfall the cloudy/turbid water originated from. Drainage also drove around some of the neighbourhoods in the catchment area looking for evidence of material being dumped into a catch basin but did not find anything suspicious. The spill was also reported to the Ministry of Environment.

Unfortunately the source was never found.

The rearing pond at Hoy Creek Hatchery, 3:30 pm, September 11, 2015 (Photo: Robbin Whachell)

The rearing pond at Hoy Creek Hatchery, 3:30 pm, September 11, 2015 (Photo: Robbin Whachell)

See more photos on our Facebook page

Storm Drain Marking Hoped to Bring Awareness to Coquitlam Community

Hoy Creek Hatchery manager, Rodney Lee spreads adhesive to secure a stick-on yellow fish marker to mark a storm drain in Coquitlam. (Photo: Robbin Whachell)

The Hoy-Scott Watershed Society has begun storm drain marking on the streets of Coquitlam.

"Storm drain marking is a great tool to help the public draw the connection between the storm drain and the stream," said Hoy Creek Hatchery manager Rodney Lee.  "The water that goes into a storm drain doesn't get processed through a sewage system like household water does, but goes directly into our waterways."

In previous years yellow fish were stenciled on with paint near storm drains, but the HSWS volunteers are using a new method with supplies provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Bright-yellow sticky peel-off decal fish are now used and put in place with added glue.  A rubber hammer is used to ensure they are secured them to the concrete.

Supplied by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, adhesive stenciled fish are glued to the ground and pounded on with a rubber hammer to secure.  (Photo: Robbin Whachell)

Residents are also encouraged to keep the storm drain area free of trash and cigarette butts.

To enhance public education, the project involves hanging pamphlets on door knobs of houses on streets that have received the new hammered stencils.  These pamphlets also educate about ground water in one's own yard, and ask residents to ensure that when emptying hot tubs or swimming pools that they do so 'slowly' into the ground.

"Storm drain marking is a nice opportunity to help educate the public and draw attention to an important issue to help keep our streams clean and our fish safe!" said Rodney Lee.

For more information on local recycling and collection facilities, contact the BC Recycling Hotline at 1-800-667-4321 or 604-732-9253 in Greater Vancouver.

See more of our photos on our Facebook album.

An educational pamphlet will be left on the door in areas where stenciled fish have been placed. (Photo: Robbin Whachell)



Hoy-Scott Watershed Society removes community debris from Scott Creek

Hoy-Scott Creek Society members stand with some of the debris pulled from Scott Creek
(Photo: Ed Paulino)

Volunteer members of the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society took to Scott Creek on Saturday, August 22nd to remove debris in-stream. This work is reserved for late summer, the best time to ensure fish are not being disturbed.

The area covered was between Lansdowne Drive and Barnet Highway. The most littered area was near Runnel Drive close to the Value Village.

Items found in stream were a patio table and umbrella, a computer, bike, blanket, pillow, ironing board, old clothes, window blinds, shoes, a crock pot, and lots of bottles and cans.

A very rusty fire extinguisher was also found. Most of the garbage picked up on the first part of the creek were plastic containers from Starbucks, Burger King and McDonalds.

Click this photo to read more about the Watershed

As the team crossed Runnel southward they found a bicycle, a grocery cart, a garden table, and a big pile of black turf decaying under the brush.. Also a computer back up power supply battery.

"The commercial area definitely had more garbage," noted one Society member.  "Patrons of McDonalds,  would later dump their bags in the bush, and it ends up in the creek.  Household items and clothes, perhaps planned to donate to Value Village,  were left across the street in the bushes.  It's sad to see the garbage, even a small cigarette end up in the creek."

The community is reminded to use receptacles for their trash, and drop larger items at the proper depot facilities, or contact the City for disposal of larger items. We all need to be reminded and mindful that these varied types of debris can pollute our streams, which are vital habitats and spawning grounds for fish.

See our complete photo album on Facebook HERE.

Hoy Creek compensation work underway after affects of Evergreen Line construction

Looking south:  Work being done along Hoy Creek after the Evergreen Line pillars were put in place
(Photo: Robbin Whachell)

Members of Hoy-Scott Watershed Society visited Hoy Creek just south of the Barnet Highway in early August to view work being done with the fish habitat affected by the Evergreen Line (TransLink) set to begin operations in Coquitlam in 2016.  This area, just north of the CN train tracks is where Hoy Creek merges into Scott Creek, a site that lies adjacent to a busy commercial and industrial zone.

The Evergreen Line project was obligated to replace the fish habitat that was lost during construction. HSWS members were able to view the compensation work (still in progress)  for impact to Scott Creek further upstream as it turns north, an area that has Evergreen line pillars installed, which impacted the stream.  This compensation site on Hoy Creek just above the confluence with Scott was made possible as the Province had purchased the adjacent land to the east with the intent of constructing a 'Park and Ride' space for the transit line.

Looking west long the Evergreen Line above Scott Creek(Photo: Robbin Whachell)

In its present state, the 100m stretch of stream is a narrow 'chute' that is armoured with much rip rap rock (large pieces of rock that are immovable by the stream under high water flows) which will help prevent erosion of the adjacent bank.  In its current state it lacks natural features such as pools, and woody debris which also create habitat for fish to hold in - either as resting spots for returning adult salmon during their upstream migration, or as rearing areas where juvenile salmon and trout can inhabit.

The compensation work will create two pools, widen the channel,  add large woody debris and streamside native plants to help provide a canopy over the stream, producing shade to keep lower water temperatures in the warm summer months.

As of August 28th, the work has been completed.

(See more photos taken along that area on our Facebook album)

Looking south-east:  Hoy Creek (left) converges with Scott Creek (right) - Photo: Robbin Whachell

Pacific Salmon Foundation supports Hoy-Scott Watershed Society

Preliminary work underway at Hoy Creek Hatchery added incubation of chum salmon

We are pleased to announce, that due to the generous support of the Pacific Salmon Foundation, Hoy-Scott Watershed Society will soon be raising chum salmon. 

Preliminary work has begun on an area in our Capilano trough for a new incubation stack, and new piping has been put in place for water to be pumped in from Hoy Creek.

Here's the Foundation's press statement:  The Pacific Salmon Foundation today announced over $8,000 for two Pacific salmon projects in Coquitlam. The total value of the projects including volunteer time and community fundraising is over $22,000. The Foundation’s Community Salmon Program supports habitat stewardship, Pacific salmon enhancement and watershed education, and is funded primarily from sales of the federal government’s Salmon Conservation Stamp.

Both projects are being led by the Hoy Creek Watershed Society at their hatchery:

  •  Added Incubation Capacity: Essential equipment will be purchased to support the incubation of chum salmon
     
  • Repairs to Live Box and Fish Fence: Funds will go towards repairing key equipment required to capture chum and coho salmon as part of the hatchery production program

“We are pleased to continue to support the Hoy Creek Watershed Society, as their efforts will help the future of chum and coho salmon, “said Dr. Brian Riddell, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation.

The Foundation’s Community Salmon Program supports community groups, volunteers and First Nations across the province. All give countless hours each year to monitor watersheds, develop and implement habitat rehabilitation projects, and educate communities about the conservation and protection of salmon. The program requires grantees to find matching funds for projects. On average, grantees raise an additional six dollars for every dollar they receive through additional fundraising for donations of in-kind and money at the community level.

The majority of funds for the Community Salmon Program were generated through sales of the federal Salmon Conservation Stamp. The Salmon Conservation Stamp is a decal that must be purchased annually by anglers if they wish to keep Pacific salmon caught in saltwater off of Canada’s West Coast. Currently all proceeds from the $6 dollar stamp are returned to British Columbia through the Foundation, generating about $1 million for community grants annually.

In addition to funds generated from the sales of the federal “Salmon Stamp”, the grants are made possible by Pacific Salmon Foundation fundraising dinners, auctions and donations from individuals, foundations and businesses. Several businesses and foundations also contribute to the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s community salmon program.

“The Community Salmon Program captures the essence of what we are trying to do at the Foundation,” concluded Riddell. “Government, business, First Nations and volunteers all working together – that is the best way to ensure the future of wild Pacific salmon.”