Professional Documents
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Peninsula Streams Society helps initiate and coordinate stream restoration and habitat conservation on the Saanich Peninsula.
Newton Hockey
Foundations
Victoria Foundation Alistair S. Thomson Fund Colonel R.O. Bull Fund Oolichan Fund Woodsome Family Fund Pacific Salmon Foundation Dee M. Bailin Family Fund
Organizations
Sidney Anglers Association Sidney Lions Club
Individuals
F & P. Boyce I. Bruce P. Chandler J. Clearihue D. Coupland G.B. Davidson B. Drury A. Finall M. Garside S. Guy M. Haig-Brown B. Hardy S. Irving A. Johnson P. Kerfoot A. Marsh C. Mearns A. Nelson P. Noel B.Peart J. Thornburgh A. Waterhouse R. Windsor
Businesses
Alexanders Coffee Arbutus Grove Nursery Canoe Cove Marina Custom Yacht Sales Ltd. Drillwell Enterprises Ltd. LGL Ltd. Market on Yates and Millstream Michell Excavating Peninsula Co-op Peninsula Rock Products Ltd. Red Barn Market Rhys Davis Ltd. Russel Nursery Seahorses Caf Sherwood Marine Centre Sidney Bottle Depot Slegg Construction Materials Ltd. Thrifty Foods - Smile Card Program Vancity Savings Credit Union Victoria Airport Authority Westport Marina
Community Support: Project and Program Funding: from community members, individuals, businesses, foundations Core funding to cover overhead costs (including staffing) labour and services provided by volunteers and groups
Miscellaneous
$13,500 $18,000 Subtotal = $31,500 $4,620 $1,000 Subtotal = $5,620 $2,250 $1,125
Water quality through the low flow period is being carefully monitored. A source of fresh water for the creek during this period is being explored. A long term project to reroute the creek through Tod Creek Flats is also being worked on and could enhance the farm land as well as creek health and flood plain function.
Swan/Blenkinsop Creeks
Swan Creek and Blenkinsop Creek, with Swan Lake in the middle, flow into the lower Colquitz Creek system in Saanich. Swan Creek suffered a significant home heating oil spill in late 2011. During the spill response and assessment phase, Ian Bruce noticed that in spite of upwards of 40 coho adult spawners, Swan Creek was lacking in spawning and rearing habitat. Striking a partnership with the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary and the District of Saanich, Peninsula Streams applied for and received funding from the Ministry of Transportation and Highways, the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch and the Pacific Salmon Foundation. The first years goals include some spawning habitat improvements (completed Sept. 2012), habitat surveys & assessment, the creation of a Friends of Swan Creek stewardship group and the subsequent development of a 5 year restoration plan.
Future Projects
Hagan/Graham Creeks
In 2009, the District of Central Saanich adopted the first Integrated Stormwater Management Plan on Vancouver Island. Its recommendations call not simply for the control of stormwater but rather its integration into the natural functioning of the 50 kilometers of streams contained within the Districts three major watersheds. There are a myriad of individual stream restoration projects in the Plan which will need to be undertaken over the next few years but there is one that stands out, the creation of a 25 acre wetland on Graham Creek in the Maber Flats. The whole of the flats used to be a cranberry-willow bog and was a major harvesting and food cultivation area for the Tsartlip First Nation. Then, in the 1870s a trench was dug from where Graham Creek flowed into the bog across to what is now Centennial Park to drain it and create farmland for the new settlers. It has had to be continuously deepened and dredged over the years as high winter and spring flows stripped soil from the tilled fields. Not only is this sediment carried downstream but the increased water flow erodes the banks of Graham Creek as it proceeds into the Mount Newton Valley and merges with Hagan Creek. This in turn has required dredging of the streambed in this area and the sediment outflows smother plants, algae and bivalves in the KENNES estuary. The potential new wetland will serve as a biofiltration system for the stormwater outflow from the Keating Industrial Park and will be of sufficient depth that springtime floodwaters will recede earlier from the surrounding farmland. This water retention will also alleviate some of the torrential downstream flow during the high water period and then allow it to be released during the summer to maintain downstream water levels. The wetlands will be planted with pre-settlement native vegetation and be managed with the Tsartlip First Nation both as a cultural centre teaching their harvesting and cultivation techniques and as a source of their traditional foods and other natural materials.
Tetayut Creek
The creation of a stormwater detention pond that will function as a turtle and amphibian refuge pond is still planned for Adam Kerr Park. This exciting project has great potential for public viewing and education while relieving downstream stormwater pressure on Tetayut Creek. As well, critical nesting and rearing habitat for endangered Western painted turtles and red-legged frogs will be created. This project will complete work undertaken in the park by Peninsula Streams and the District of Central Saanich in 200809.
HAGAN CREEK
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Water Quality
Water Quality Monitoring continues to be a monthly activity on three creeks: Hagan/Graham, Tetayut and Tseycum Creeks. Volunteers measure stream conditions by taking water samples for complex lab analyses, as well as measuring physical and nutrient parameters of the water themselves. This activity is an important safeguard for these creeks as no-one else does this work. Our volunteers have discovered many pollution incidents over the years which have resulted in the problems being remediated.
GRAHAM CREEK
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Above: Our watershed model depicting the TenTen and Reay Creek watersheds Each students is given a red alder seedling that they plant in a pot and care for over the summer, then plant at a restoration site with us in the fall. We plant the trees at stream-side locations on Chalet, Tetayut, Hagan, Reay and Tod Creeks.
I think for an organization with such a small staff The work we have been able to accomplish has been pretty spectacular, Loro said. We have been really good at working with our different resources and being effective on how we use them. From on-the-ground restoration projects including revitalization of Hagen Creek, to educational opportunities delivering environmental programs to local schools including North Saanich middle school, Bayside middle school and Royal Oak middle school the work is never done. However, the experience of guiding future generations of environmentally conscious citizens has been a positive experience for the four-year veteran of the society. We hope to educate, make [students] aware of their environment and get them involved, Loro said. Kids bring the message home to parents and grandparents. She believes youth involvement is key to long-term success in their current homes and their future family homes, so initiatives including outdoor restoration projects to remove invasive plant species and releasing salmon fry into local streams are important education opportunities. She is excited by the dedication of students including 11-year-old Chelsea Da Silva, who was snipping non-native blackberries out of Lillian Hoffar park as part of a Peninsula Streams initiative last Friday. This is what I like to do because it is fun and helping, the North Saanich middle school student said. We live on the earth and we need the earth for us to live. Armed with pink pruning shears, the Grade 6 student was adamant that regardless of what she ends up doing as an adult, the environment will always be a consideration for her. I like what I am doing and I like saving the world. I live here and I want it to be a special place for everyone who comes here, she said. It is also your world, so [you] should keep it the way you got it.
Waterhouse explains that when she first moved to the property in 2000, the bridge crossing the creek was level, but successive years of flooding caused the bridge to tilt sideways. After some heavy work removing blackberry bushes the stream has stopped flooding and returned to its healthy flow. Another surprise awaited Anne after the clearing she noted that from her house she now had an unobscured view of the lovely stream. Anne said, When I am walking down by the stream there is the added sound of the riffles which were not there before. Anne recalled the stages of the creek restoration and said, When Ian suggested a small wetlands pond in the beginning I said great! The land in the area was not usable for anything else. Little did I know that he would get so excited and start increasing the size of the pond. How could I stop him? It is quite elaborate with islands, logs and stumps added and all the plants put in by the volunteers. Anne explained that the work continued and, Now, more has been added in the way of a channel from the creek to the pond for creek overflow and a mini-lock to stop the outflow of the pond water to raise the level of the pond. Anne jokes, I could almost add a boat launch for a lazy boat drift in the summer. As a non profit society Peninsula Streams promotes healthy watersheds and coastlines through educational programmes in schools, water quality testing and physical stream restoration. The Society includes several watershed committees and coastline protection groups on the Saanich Peninsula. Their accomplishments over the past decade have been significant and worthy of celebration. Regarding his ten year involvement with PSS, Bruce says: It has been my pleasure and honour to have worked with over a 1000 dedicated volunteers and students from 8 to 80 years old over the past 10 years. We have pulled ivy, re-built streams, released salmon, and reclaimed habitat amongst other activities. Bruce also enjoys the school programs where he works with teachers and children. Our school programs reach almost 1000 Grade 3 and 6 students every year and it is so rewarding to see them take an interest in helping their local ecosystems. I cant think of a better way to spend my life Says Bruce. Peninsula Streams Society says that on July 14th they invite everyone to Centennial Park in Central Saanich to see their work and celebrate their accomplishments. According to their news release, 2012 marks the tenth anniversary for this important society. As a Society we have undergone changes and growth, but what has remained constant is the support received from the community. This has included support from municipalities, local businesses and organisations, foundations, volunteers and friends. July 14th event attractions will include project displays, watershed model, stream tours, live music, wine and snack sales an aquarium with live fish, plus release-a-fish and adopt-a-tree by donation. Peninsula Streams Society asks you to come on out and see if you live in one of the Peninsulas many Watersheds.