Junction Creek front and
centre at ‘Roots and Shoots’ conference
Junction Creek played a key
role in Roots and Shoots, an environmental conference for young people held this
spring. A number of activities took place at Junction Creek, including a brook
trout release with world renowned conservationist Jane Goodall, which attracted
a great deal of attention from local media.
Roots and Shoots conferences
are organized all over the world, encouraged by the Jane Goodall Institute, as
a way to involve young people in environmental projects in their own
communities. This was the third year
that a Roots and Shoots conference was held in Sudbury.
Many Junction Creek
Stewardship Committee members and other volunteers were involved with the
day. Margie Hoar, Jorge Virchez, Tracy
Brooks, and Anne Watelet supervised the Junction Creek educational display, as
hundreds of students, teachers and parents learned about about the restoration
of Junction Creek.
Sarah Hunt, Jen Davidson,
Martyn Futter and Rob Mellow helped students identify benthic
macroinvertebrates (creek bugs). Dr. John Gunn and Brenda Harrow organized the
brook trout release, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources provided
hatchery-raised fish. Dyann Brunet led garbage clean-ups along Junction Creek
throughout the day.
Franco Mariotti deserves a
special thank you: a Junction Creek Stewardship Committee member and one of the
Roots and Shoots organizers, he made sure Junction Creek got plenty of
attention during the conference.
Members of the Junction Creek
Stewardship Committee also appreciate the many other Roots and Shoots
organizers and volunteers who spent months planning the event. It was a great opportunity to introduce
ourselves and our work to hundreds of students.
About 100 cadets spread
limestone and planted seedlings in the Nickeldale watershed on June 8th as part
of the federal government program “Cadets Caring for Canada.” The program helps cadets across the country
take part in environmental projects in their communities.
Air and Sea Cadets from the
Sudbury area spread about 10 tons of limestone and planted about 600 coniferous
seedlings. The intent is to improve
water quality in Junction Creek by neutralizing soils, thereby reducing the
acidity of runoff.
The Junction Creek Stewardship
Committee appreciates all the hard work by the cadets, and by Captain Leah
Pierce and Major Colette Adams, who worked together with the Junction Creek Stewardship
Committee to organize the event.
Thank you to Peter Beckett and
Franco Mariotti, who helped with planning and supervising volunteers, and of
course to all those who came out to work!
Topper’s provided pizza for
all the volunteers and Crawford’s Food Basics donated soft drinks.
More than 50 volunteers helped clean up the Flour Mill section of
Junction Creek on two separate days this spring. On May 4, volunteers worked upstream from the Ukranian Centre to
Food Basics, pulling out dozens of shopping carts, tires and other junk. We returned to this area for a June
clean-up, because the section further north was also in need of work. At right,
Anne Watelet and Jorge Virchez. Below, some of the many shopping carts that
were pulled out.
Have you seen these fish?
The Junction Creek Stewardship
Committee has focused a lot of attention on brook trout during the past two
years, since re-introduction of the species into Junction Creek was begun. Naturally, many people are interested in brook
trout, a beautiful sport fish, but it is high time some of the other fish
species inhabiting Junction Creek had their moment in the spotlight.
In 1993, summer students led
by Rod Sein at the Co-operative Freshwater Ecology Unit surveyed physical and
chemical parameters in Junction Creek, and netting was carried out all along
the creek, from Garson to Kelley Lake, to determine what species were living in
the waterway. The twelve species pictured here were found. By far the most
common species at the time was creek chub.
Black and white pictures don’t really do them justice, so we are
working on a colour poster to use for educational purposes. We also plan to
organize a “fish search” this fall, to determine the current status of these
species. Later, it might be possible to use the information to undertake
relocation of some fish from branches of the creek where they are more
plentiful to branches where they are less plentiful or absent.
Pictures of Junction Creek fish
species
‘Shimmer the Trout’ takes a surprise swim
The mascot stole the show at Trail-a-Trout,
by taking an unexpected swim in Junction Creek. The event, held June 1 on the Flour Mill stretch of Junction
Creek, was aimed at raising money and awareness for Junction Creek restoration
and the development of the Trans-Canada Trail along Junction Creek.
‘Shimmer’ was supposed to just
paddle the creek, but while trying to avoid some rocks, he and helper Dan
Hewitt took a dunk. In fact, there are
reports that it happened twice.
Meanwhile, more than $500 was
raised for trail enhancements along Junction Creek.
The Junction Creek Stewardship
Committee appreciates all the hard work by Stacie Quinn and board members of
Rainbow Routes Association, who cooperated with us to organize the event.
The work of many volunteers is
much appreciated:
Evan and Margie Hoar
Carolyn Hunt
Bob Dykstra and family Pat Sharpe
Peter and Brigitte Beckett John
Gunn
Michelle Romaniuk Jorge
Virchez
Brenda Harrow Sarah Hunt
Tannys and Max Laughren John Hogenbirk
Hans and Sharon Schwendener Scott Cosby
Tracy Brooks Patrick
Asselin
Perry Cannon C.J.
Kent
Lisa Lanteigne Paul
Tukker
Dan Hewitt Cristina Greco
Helen Francis David
Groulx
Jason Nelson
A great big thank you also to
the generous sponsors of Trail-a-Trout: Ethier Sand and Gravel, Northern
Life and the Sudbury Regional Credit Union.
Topper’s Pizza donated “Pizza for a Year” for the person who
collected the highest pledge total. Congratulations to Giovanna Tombari who
collected $195 in pledges to win that delicious prize.
Northern Life donated space
for a promotional “Colour-and-Win” contest for Trail-a-Trout. Many beautiful entries were received, and
Kory Guy was the excited winner in the draw for a Big-Wheel Scooter donated by DeMarco’s
Source for Sports and a kite donated by Hobby Depot.
CBC Radio also deserves special thanks, for promoting the event
through its “name the mascot” contest. Courtney Russell suggested the name
‘Shimmer,’ the judges’ favourite, and won a huge set of Connex. Runners-up won
Magic School Bus video and stuffed toy sets.
Scholar’s Choice generously donated the prizes.
More draws were held after
Trail-a-Trout, from all the completed “troutcards.” Winners were: Lindsay Carr
(double pass to the IMAX film “Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees,” courtesy Science
North); Marc Poulin (double pass to Science North, including the Jane
Goodall exhibit); Kary Vellon (Trail-a-Trout t-shirt); Cristina Verilli
(Trans-Canada Trail ball cap, courtesy Rainbow Routes); and Madeleine and
Dennis Date (Junction Creek Restoration t-shirt).
Thank you also to MCTV
and the Sudbury Star, for generous coverage that helped promote the
event and for their continuing work in helping increase awareness of the
Junction Creek restoration project.
Finally, but definitely not
least, our sincerest appreciation goes to Environment Canada’s EcoAction
2000 program, which provides funding to support events such as
Trail-a-Trout and our other public awareness activities.
Unsung Heroes: Nickel District
Conservation Authority
The Nickel District
Conservation Authority has supported the Junction Creek Stewardship from the
very beginning, and continues to do so.
Paul Sajatovic, a resource planner with the NDCA, provides technical assistance
on various matters.
Working together with other
committee members, Paul was instrumental in obtaining our first grant to hire a
coordinator, through Human Resources Development Canada. The NDCA also provided some of the funds
necessary for that position to be created.
The Conservation Authority
continues to provide administrative support to the stewardship committee, as
well as providing office space, supplies, and equipment. It may not sound terribly exciting, but this
kind of support has been absolutely essential in allowing us to carry out all
the work that we do. The NDCA is also contributing $2,500 in cash this year
towards our current operations.
The Junction Creek Stewardship
Committee would also like to thank Linda Lachance, Dennis Lenzi and Al Bonnis
at the NDCA. Their assistance with many small matters adds up to a lot of help,
and is always appreciated.