Peninsula Streams staff hope the efforts of schoolchildren from Kelset Elementary in North Saanich will help restore life to Sidney’s Reay Creek.
On April 28, around 70 students, with help from volunteers with Sidney Anglers and the Friends of Reay Creek Park, released salmon fry into the creek and learned about their food supply and the environment around the water course.
Ian Bruce, Peninsula Streams’ executive co-ordinator, says the creek saw a poor return of salmon last year, to the point where most were lost to predators.
“So these fry will supplement the fry from last year,” he said.
The Coho salmon fry will spend about a year in the creek, then make their way into the ocean. After another year maturing and migrating between Vancouver Island and Alaska, older salmon will return, sharing the stream with resident Cutthroat trout.
Peninsula Streams has been working on restoring the natural health of Reay Creek, as well as other streams on the Saanich Peninsula. For more details about their school and community programs, visit peninsulastreams.ca.