The Water Ship News – October 2018

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The Water Ship News
Salmon in Schools Website
A Volunteer Service of the Goldstream Volunteer Salmonid Enhancement Association
Editor – Kate MacDonald
GVSEA publishes the Water Ship News on a monthly basis for educators, secondary students, agencies and community organizations. The ‘News informs participants in Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Stream to Sea Program in the Capital Regional District. The ‘News also notifies students and educators of training and volunteer opportunities concerning species enhancement and habitat restoration. In turn, community organizations find the support they require to fulfill their objectives.

CLASSROOM INCUBATION UPDATES:
Registration is now closed.  This is the 31st year of South Vancouver Island’s Classroom Incubation Program, and due to its popularity, we are maintaining a wait list again this year.

New Website: all Classroom Incubation updates and information, including back copies of the Water Ship News, are now available at salmoninschools.ca  

New and Returning Project Coordinators: 

Your 2018/19 Project Coordinators are Brent Herrington, Breila Pimm, Drew Bodaly, Gale Robinson, Jill Camden and Kate MacDonald.  In the following weeks, 1 of us will contact you to let you know when we’ll be around to check your incubation equipment and drop off the materials you will need for set-up later this year.

Important Dates:

  1. Nov 5 – Nov 16: ­­Project Coordinators visit schools to restock consumables and test equipment (please get yer gear out – it saves us a lot of time)
  2. Nov 8: Mandatory orientation meeting for new participants.  4pm at Tillicum Elementary.
  3. Jan 10: Mandatory technical workshop for new participants. 4pm at Tillicum Elementary.
  4. Feb 7: Dissection workshop. All are welcome. 4pm at Tillicum Elementary.
  5. By Jan 18: All incubators up and running (tentative).
  6. Jan 28 – Feb 1: Tentative dates for egg delivery
  7. Late April / early May: fry releases
  8. By May 31: Submit release data.

Chiller and Cart Purchase – The Goldstream Volunteer Salmonid Enhancement Association has 1 cart ($448) and 4 chillers ($582.40) left for sale this year. These prices are exactly 50% of the retail cost, and are subsidized thanks to a generous grant from the Pacific Salmon Foundation. Please let me know if your school is interested.

Rotary Dial Thermostats – If you are using the older rotary dial thermostat, I strongly recommend that you replace it with a digital thermostat this fall. Cost is $272.50 plus tax. The work would be completed in Victoria by the manufacturer, and coordinators will pick up and return units to be repaired. Deadline October 31st.  Please reply for more information.
GOLDSTREAM HATCHERY TOURS ARE NOW FULL
Hatchery tours are extremely popular and with the dedication of the hatchery volunteers, we were able to offer 10 tours this year.  Information for booking hatchery tours next fall will be sent out in September 2019.

STORM DRAIN MARKING:
Interested in some legal graffiti? Looking for a stewardship project for your class? The Storm Drain Marking Program increases our understanding of point source pollution, and strengthens our conscious connection with the natural world. Storm drain marking is best done during dry months, so workshops should be scheduled before mid-November or in the spring time.  Reply to this email for more info.
If you are a school group located in the Mount Douglas Watershed, volunteers from the Friends of Mount Douglas Park Society are happy to assist you with a storm drain marking field trip.  In advance of the trip, your group will need to book a 45 minute in-class presentation.  Please contact Kate for the in-class portion, and Graham Shorthill for the fieldtrip portion:  shorthill@shaw.ca 

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES:
Join Dorothy and her crew with the Salmon in the City project at the Colquitz fish counting fence behind Tillicum Mall!  They are usually there for 10am each day. Saanich Parks has just built a wonderful new “viewing area”, with students in mind.  A great spot to not only watch the salmon count, but experience the different wildlife of the area.
In the first week, classes have viewed, mink, otters, muskrat, Great Blue Herons, a Barred Owl, and a large flock of Cedar Wax Wings that swooped in to munch on the red hawthorne berries right beside us.  The spider webs covered in dew in the fog have really excited them, and raccoon footprints along the new split rail fencing.
Please contact Dorothy for more information dotmot@shaw.ca  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puoEtTbd-Yg

Looking for something to do with the little ones? Join the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea for Tot Tuesdays, every Tuesday morning from 10:30 to 11:30, October through April.  CLICK HERE for information on weekly topics. Regular admission rates apply. Free for members.What doesn’t go bump in the night? Come check out the latest ‘Floating Ideas’ lecture about Bats of the Salish Sea at the Shaw Centrefor the Salish Sea on November 14. CLICK HERE for more information. Regular admission rates apply. Free for members.
Kids can earn their free CRD Watershed Warden badge by learning about, and taking of, their local watersheds.
Supporting online place-based resources include short videos, watershed maps, printable activities and graphics. Learn more at: www.crd.bc.ca/watersheds
Imagine If is a podcast about climate resiliency, where we hear stories from high school students who are experiencing the real-life impacts of climate change and trying to find solutions in their communities. And then we pass them the mic to ask experts about how to tackle these global challenges.  MORE INFO
Editor’s Note – The Water Ship News is an “e-newsletter” for CRD participants in the Classroom Incubation Program. Your email address is not contained in the header. To unsubscribe, please reply to this email stating your wish to do so.