The Stoney Creek Environment Committee is celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Great Salmon Send Off. Make a big splash with us as we celebrate the Pacific Salmon. The event details are:

Date: Saturday, May 8th
Time: 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Place: 2740 Beaverbrook Crescent, Burnaby

Burnaby north end of Stoney Creek Community School grounds in northeast Burnaby
The annual Great Salmon Send Off creates awareness about Stoney Creek’s fragile urban ecosystem and serves to protect it through eco-friendly practices and green alternatives. The highlight of the event is the Department of Fisheries release of 3,000 Coho salmon smolts into the creek. The event also features environmentally-themed displays and family-friendly activities.

Jennifer Atchison, founding member and long-time volunteer for the Stoney Creek Environment Committee, states “this year's theme is Water for Life in recognition of being half way through the United Nation's International Decade for Action "Water for Life" 2005-2015. Although Stoney Creek is not a source of drinking water, the salmon and the bugs they depend on for food rely on the stream as a life source. Good water quality is critical to their survival.” Atchison adds, “our display will show how we measure water quality and highlight the need to keep pollutants out of streams.”
The Stoney Creek Environment Committee is a volunteer group dedicated to protecting this unique stream in northeast Burnaby and promoting public appreciation of all local salmon streams. Working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, MetroVancouver, the City of Burnaby, the Sapperton Fish and Game Club, and corporate sponsors they restore salmon habitat.

In 2004, after nearly ten years of community effort to remove stream blockages, Chum and Coho salmon returned to spawn in the upper reaches of Stoney Creek, where they had not been seen for almost 50 years. Stoney Creek is also home to resident and sea-run Cutthroat trout.

In twenty years, the Stoney Creek Environment Committee and their partners have released approximately 200,000 young salmon, completed stream clean ups to remove debris and invasive species, replanted native plant species, educated and lobbied others to ensure pollutants like road salt do not enter the stream. This work means that Stoney Creek remains an urban stream that future generations can enjoy.

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