Brook trout release—Earth Day 2000:
On Earth Day of this year (April 22), two thousand
Brook Trout were released into Junction Creek. This initiative was
organized by the stewardship committee, with generous assistance from the
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The Brook Trout are intended to
act as an “indicator of success,” to let us know how we are progressing in the
restoration of Junction Creek.
Dr. John Gunn is
a fisheries biologist with the Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit of
Laurentian University and the Ministry of Natural Resources. He and some
of his students are monitoring the trout. Dr. Gunn says he is very
pleased to find that a good number have survived the summer and are growing
well. “We’ve found five or six sites which are frequently used in the
area upstream from Twin Forks,” Dr. Gunn says. “Some of them are twice as big
as when we released them in the spring.” He adds he is not surprised that
the trout are hard to find, meaning there don’t seem to be that many. “I
hope in future years they will spread along the creek, but that demands good
water, and good places for them to live.” He says it is very unlikely the
current population will reproduce anytime soon, but there are plans to release
more Brook Trout next spring.
The trout release
event itself was a huge success, with hundreds of families taking
part. Early on, each family was being given about 20 fish to
release. By the end, that number had to be reduced to just a few each, so that
everyone could participate.
The success of
the event can also be measured by the number of people throughout the Sudbury
area who heard about the fish release. The event was well covered by
television, radio and newspapers. Throughout the summer, we spoke to many
people while out and about, on creek clean-ups and so on. Most had heard
about the trout release.
Clean-ups
On Saturday June 17, about 40 Sudbury-area Boy Scouts and their
leaders were joined by other volunteers to clean a branch of Junction Creek
near the Taxation Centre. They did a
great job, hauling out about 2500 kilograms of junk. This included an automobile engine, which had to be towed out
with a truck. As usual, there were many
other auto parts, and plenty of tires.
Speaking of tires, we
have an idea to try to reduce the number of tires going into the creek. Next
summer, we will try to organize a “tire amnesty,” where people can bring their
tires to us without paying the usual levy.
We will find businesses who are willing to take the tires. If you know of a business which uses old
tires, please call Carrie at 695-2902.
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In July, we chose the Flour Mill area for our monthly
event. Crawford’s Food Basics on Notre Dame was a logical meeting place,
since the store has donated hot dogs, condiments and drinks to all of our
events this year. Weston Bakeries donates our buns.
About 30 people
came out, including about 10 people from the immediate neighbourhood who
experienced their first clean-up. This was the first time we delivered
flyers to several hundred mailboxes in the area. While 10 out of 300 may
not seem terribly impressive, we believe delivering the notices is worth the
trouble because it lets people know a clean-up is happening in their
neighbourhood.
Food Basics owner Gary Crawford and his two daughters joined the
clean-up. In all, volunteers hauled out about 500 kilograms of debris,
including an assortment of auto parts, shopping carts, plastic bags and shoes.
Although forecasters were calling for rain, as was the case at the
June clean-up, the day turned out to be perfect--sunny, but not too
hot--leading some to muse that someone “up there” must be supporting clean-up
of Junction Creek!
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Our August
clean-up was a huge success, thanks in large part to the owners and staff of
Ethier Sand and Gravel. About 40 employees and their families came out to
clean a section of creek near Sudbury Hydro, from McLeod Street to the
pedestrian bridge near the intersection of Kingsmount and Wellington. They
found about 20 tires, several shopping carts, a large steel container (possibly
an old water heater), several bikes and a motor bike.
Of course, a large number of garbage bags were also filled with
the usual cans, bottles, plastic bags and other small items. The most unusual
find of the day had to be an old sock, full of several types of bullets.
Councillor Gerry McIntaggart, who found it, turned it in to police.
Although it was a
cool day, a number of people jumped right in the creek, which was above
waist-deep in some spots. Some of the larger items required great
teamwork, and some had to be pulled out with a winch, attached to one of the
company’s backhoes. In all, more than 2000 kilograms was removed from the
creek.
After a hard
morning’s work, Marcel Ethier barbequed hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone.
The Ethiers sponsored the event as a way to challenge other
businesspeople in the area to get involved in the restoration of Junction
Creek.
Ontario Works Clean-up Project:
This summer, a crew of six people removed more than 12,000
kilograms of garbage from Junction Creek.
They were hired through the Ontario Works program, to spend two days a
week for ten weeks “in the creek.”
Starting at Birch Street in Garson, they worked on a small section
each day. Some parts were skipped,
because they are too deep or inaccessible.
They also skipped the section between Robin Street and Lasalle, in New
Sudbury, at the request of researcher Ray Gorzynski. He observed a good number of Brook Trout inhabiting in the area,
and thought it would be better not to disturb them too much.
As of September 15, the crew had worked down to the vicinity of
the armoury on Riverside Drive. The
amount and variety of items found was at times overwhelming. In early August, they were surprised to find
what seemed to be a lawn tractor embedded in the bank near the Supermall. It turned out to be a snowblower.
Shortly after pulling out the snowblower, a member of the crew
discovered a large piece of steel which wouldn’t budge. Several people tried to haul it out with a
chain and a come-along, but parts of a car kept breaking off, including a piece
with a Vehicle Identification Number and information on manufacture: it turned
out to be most of a 1975 Volkswagen.
Members of the local media were invited to watch as it was pulled out,
and it was featured on the MCTV news, CBC Radio, in Northern Life and the
Sudbury Star.
Although the Volkswagen is the most spectacular find, the crew has
found other interesting, and often disturbing, items. Fifty or sixty shopping carts were removed, most, naturally, in the
vicinity of supermarkets and shopping centers.
Car parts and other steel items were plentiful, as were concrete blocks
and patio tiles, lumber, bottles, cans clothing and bicycles. Several refrigerators, or what was left of
them, were hauled out, plus parts of a number of other major appliances. One large laptop computer, guessed to be
from the early 90s, was retrieved. More
than 100 tires, including several from transport trucks and one huge one from a
tractor, were brought ashore.
The City of Sudbury and the Town of Nickel Centre were very
cooperative in removing the piles of garbage as quickly as possible, so they
wouldn’t end up back in the creek. They
also weighed the piles, so we can track our progress. In all, the Ontario Works crew removed 26,000 pounds of garbage
from the creek this summer.
Funding news:
In June, Human
Resources Development Canada agreed to fund a coordinator position through its
Job Creation Partnership program. The Nickel District Conservation
Authority and Inco Ltd. each contributed towards the partnership, to help with
the cost of wages and equipment. Carrie Regenstreif was hired, and began
working as coordinator on June 26. The contract runs until early June,
2001. Carrie is actively seeking funds to support various initiatives,
and a coordinator beyond that that date.
Also this summer,
The Canada Trust Friends of the Environment Fund granted $3000 to the Junction
Creek Stewardship Committee, for use in public awareness and educational
activities. Publication of the newsletter is one of the ways this funding
is being used.