"Paintings,
by the Numbers"
by the Numbers"
Saturday, April
14th, we hosted our Fourth Annual “Paintings, by the Numbers”
fundraiser. As in previous years, it was
a huge success and we raised $25,000.
Over seventy people viewed the paintings, chatted with friends and neighbours, sipped wine and enjoyed a variety of wonderful appetizers. We wish to thank Island Scallops and Mac’s
Oysters for donating their seafood and Helen Hallett for providing the shrimp and smoked
salmon.
This event
would not have been possible without the many donations of Ken Kirkby’s
paintings, as well as those by other artists.
Ken also spent many hours making sure all the tickets were sold. Diane Sampson would
also like to thank Lynn Gillen and Ernie Buckley for preparing and cooking the
scallops and oysters (they were delicious) and to all the other volunteers who
helped in the set up, during the event and cleaning up after. She couldn’t have done it without your help.
At
first it may seem that moving 300,000 fish might be a "tricky"
operation.... but our Hatchery Team have it mastered.The net is
carefully placed in the boat slip and secured to await the arrival of
the pinks.
As in previous years, we will be mapping five eelgrass beds to
monitor this valuable ecosystem. We will take GPS coordinates around
each bed and then determine the density of a sample area from each bed.
Doing this each year will determine if any changes have occurred. We have set two
windows for mappingeelgrass this summer, chosen around the best low
tides.
Two biologists with eelgrass mapping experience have offered to assist us this year. The dates chosen are listed below. When we get closer to these dates and have determined the weather, we will pick one day from each of these two time periods. June 18 – 22 and July 2 – 6.
Net Pen Project
It's
that time again - time to move 500,000 baby pinks from their current
home in the hatchery to a net pen at Deep Bay's Marina where they will
continue to grow, increasing their chances of survival when they are
finally released to begin their migration to the ocean.
At
first it may seem that moving 300,000 fish might be a "tricky"
operation.... but our Hatchery Team have it mastered.The net is
carefully placed in the boat slip and secured to await the arrival of
the pinks.
Back
at the hatchery the pink fry are netted and removed from the tank. They
are weighed and then placed in special ventilated trays for transport.
Maintaining water temperature and oxygen levels is extremely important
to ensure the health of the fry during this critical time.
Upon arrival at Deep Bay, the fry are transferred from the trays into a
wheeled tote and moved from the parking lot along the docks and finally
to the net pen where they will be fed and nurtured until their release.
This process started weeks ago and will continue until all of the fry
have been transferred. It's painstaking work and thanks go out to the Hatchery Team, Jack Gillen, Bob Ellis, Ernie Buckley, Gord Lipke and other volunteers.
Eelgrass
Future Activities
We are always
looking for opportunities to provide activities for our volunteers. We have several that we are investigating and
hope to do this year. Please email
Diane Sampson (nile.creek@shaw.ca)
and let her know if you are interested and can be available to volunteer.
Two biologists with eelgrass mapping experience have offered to assist us this year. The dates chosen are listed below. When we get closer to these dates and have determined the weather, we will pick one day from each of these two time periods. June 18 – 22 and July 2 – 6.
Shoreline Mapping
This has been done in
Qualicum Beach, Parksville and other locations. By recording what is on the shoreline and adjacent property and cliffs,
it can help direct future development decisions to protect the shoreline and
ensure adjacent property is kept safe during extreme weather events. We would
like to map our area from Deep Bay to Annie Creek at the south end of Area H. This will have to be done over a long time
period and with the help of many volunteers.
Cutting Broom in Bloom 
In co-operation with Broombusters, NCES is
planning 2 days of Cutting Broom in Bloom.The month of May is the best time to get out and cut the plants to the ground killing them before the seeds are set, and therefore helping slow the spread of this very invasive plant which threatens native species. We are currently working out the details of where and when to cut and will also require volunteers with trucks to remove the plants.
Please email
Diane Sampson (nile.creek@shaw.ca)
and let her know if you are interested in volunteering.
Streamkeepers Certification Course
Qualicum Beach May 26 & 27, 2012
