Students of Palsson Elementary joined the Cowichan Lake Salmonid Enhancement Society at Oliver Creek earlier this month, where they planted native trees for the returning salmon.
The students were aiding the Salmonid Enhancement Society as the second part of a two-phase project, which began last year, and aims to enhance the salmon habitat along the creek. The planting of trees provides shade for the salmon. Those trees, once becoming logs, will also act as shelter for the salmon, allowing them to hide from potential predators.
Primarily an educational group, the Salmonid Enhancement Society coordinates a number of programs with Palsson Elementary and other schools. One of the programs, called “Stream to Sea,” takes students through the entire life cycle of salmon – from egg, to fry to adult. Other programs focus on reducing water pollution learning about the local Cowichan watershed. The society’s hatchery also provides eggs to all schools within the Cowichan Valley, something society president Bob Crandall said residents should be proud of.
“I do a lot of work with kids from Palsson Elementary every year,” Crandall said. “We host several events each year. Next week we’ll be starting in the classroom then heading to the hatchery to feed the fry. They’ll watch the taking of the eggs and the milk of the adults and help put them into trays for that portion of the lifecycle. They come to the hatchery because it’s very close to the school.”
The Salmonid Enhancement Society is currently in the midst of a project focused on improving the dwindling numbers of Chinook salmon within the Cowichan Valley. Working in conjunction with the local First Nation, the group will be collecting samples of the fish, and will also be determining the size of the current population.
The population will be determined through the use of three sonar fences, one of which will be installed at the weir in Lake Cowichan, one in Duncan and the other in Sahtlam. The fences are capable of not only counting any passing fish, but are also able to detect which species of fish they are, an indispensable feature in preserving the Chinook salmon.
Phase one of the Oliver Creek project has already seemed to have had an effect, as Crandall said he’s beginning to see Chinook in the creek, despite having no records of the species using it in the past 200 years.
“Last November, we were observing the salmon going up the creek, and we saw that we had Chinook,” Crandall said. “We certainly did not expect that. They seemed to like the imporvements that we made.”
The society is also involved in the Cowichan Stewardship Roundtable, along with 27 other entities including One Cowichan and the CVRD. The groups meet each month to discuss problems and projects relating to our watershed, and is open to the public.
The meetings take place at the Freshwater Ecocentre in Duncan.
Those interested in being a part of or assisting the Salmonid Enhancement Society can contact Bob Crandall at 250-715-7074.
