Burnaby NOW • Friday, November 9, 2012 • A13
28 Boot drive set
30 New Heights board
31 Sold in the city
SECTION COORDINATOR Jennifer Moreau, 604-444-3021 jmoreau@burnabynow.com
A ONCE POLLUTED URBAN BURNABY CREEK, IS NOW REHABILITATED
Salmon return after decades away Jennifer Moreau staff reporter
What used to be the most polluted waterway in Burnaby is now home to spawning salmon returning to Still Creek for the first time in decades. “That’s been just really exciting to see,” said Mark Angelo, chair emeritus at BCIT’s Rivers Institute. “The fact I can take my grandson, and take him to a creek right in his own community, … to see his first salmon, that’s something incredible. That’s something I’ll always remember.” Angelo, a worldrenowned conservationist and founder of Rivers Day, has been involved in rehabilitating Still Creek for nearly 40 years. The 12kilometre creek runs t h r o u g h Vancouver and Burnaby and empties into Burnaby Lake. Its path is in an area File photo/burnaby now that has been largely indusConservationist: trial since the Mark Angelo, chair early 1930s. emeritus at BCIT’s Rivers A n g e l o Institute. remembers how the smell of sewage was still on the creek 40 years ago, when it was connected to a combined sewer and storm drain. “When it rained, we’d often get sewage flowing directly into the system,” he said. According to Angelo, there has been an extensive effort on the part of groups such as the BCIT Fish and Wildlife Program, the City of Burnaby, BCIT’s Rivers Institute, the City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver and streamkeeper groups. “In recent years, water quality has
Contributed photo/burnaby now
Welcome back, chum: Chum salmon are returning to Burnaby’s Still Creek for the first time in decades. The creek, which runs through an industrial corridor, was once very likely the most polluted waterway in the Lower Mainland.
improved noticeably – both in-stream and streamside habitat has been enhanced – and an improved fish ladder was installed downstream at the outlet of Burnaby Lake,” he said. Angelo said he’s seen the first major chum salmon return in possibly 80 or 90 years. “The big chum run this year took a lot of people by surprise,” he said. “We would not have seen the number of fish in the upper parts of Still Creek had the
habitat not been improved.” Angelo hopes this year’s salmon run is the just the start of a regular phenomenon, and he regards Still Creek as a sign of hope. Angelo said witnessing the public’s reaction when they spot the salmon has been great. “I saw school children who had just learned about the salmon lifecycle in school and were incredibly excited to be able to see it in real life. I’ve also seen
some longtime residents get quite emotional about seeing this amazing spectacle unfold right in their own community. And to see this right in the middle of a very developed part of our city is special,” he said. “From my perspective, to see this once severely damaged stream come back to life highlights the fact, that if there’s a will, and a plan is put in place and adhered to, then we can turn things around. So we should never give up on any river.”
Wildlife advocate named a Burnaby local hero HERE & NOW
Jennifer Moreau
C
ongratulations to Linda Saunders, a longtime volunteer with the Burnabybased Wildlife Rescue
Association of B.C., who was recently named one of the city’s local heroes. Saunders has been volunteering with the association for 21 years, helping injured and orphaned wildlife. According to the association, Saunders goes above and beyond her volunteer duties of feeding and cleaning. She worked on an outdoor facility for orphaned ducklings and
she solicits donations of equipment worth thousands of dollars. “Linda has so much knowledge and experience from her years of working here, I call her my boss,” said volunteer coordinator Stefanie Broad. “She has been a huge contributor to the success of the Wildlife Rescue Association, and we are so thrilled that her efforts are going to be recognized by the city.
Saunders was awarded at special city hall ceremony on Monday, Nov. 5
Food needed for homeless
The Burnaby Homeless Task Force is looking for donations to help feed the homeless. The food will be served at Burnaby’s only homeless shelter, which opens between October and April, and only when
the weather is too cold or wet for people to stay outside. Lookout Emergency Aid Society runs the shelter, and they are asking for home-cooked or canned goods. “Stews are great, something we can bring out and throw into a pot,” said Dave Brown from Lookout. “Soups, stews etc., and we are always looking for staple foods, like tomato sauce.”
To donate, call Brown at 778-288-8887.
Guides host tea
Local Girl Guides are hosting a fair on Saturday, Nov. 24 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the South Burnaby United Church Hall. There will be Christmas crafts, kids’ activities, baking, a silent auction and tea. The church hall is at 7551 Gray Ave.