I ran into Shirly Samples, co-ordinator extraordinaire of Sunshine Coast Streamkeepers, over the holidays and she was pleased by the positive response to the column I wrote last November about the Streamkeepers of Chaster Creek. She is hoping to have more teams monitoring creeks and says, “I think there are a lot of people monitoring creeks in their own neighbourhoods, but we just don’t know about it.” Shirley, a relatively newcomer to the Coast, has plans to acquire more funding for Streamkeepers, which she’s now developed into a society. She told me about a discouraging dump of yard waste in one creek including rose bushes which not only reduces fish habitat but leads to severe damage to salmon venturing into such a pile. A reminder not to dump anything into creeks and to leave as wide a natural habitat swath next to creeks as possible. She and the other Streamkeepers were alarmed at the low salmon returns this year – verging on extinction in those runs. Let’s make the creeks viable again for salmon! Contact the SCRD to ensure you’re in accordance with the Riparian Area Protection Regulations of the Fisheries Act if you are doing work near a stream. And if you’d like to be involved with monitoring your own neighbourhood creek, Shirley would love to hear from you at scstreamkeepers@gmailcom.
Important meeting reminders:
Area Planning Commission (APC) – this group of local residents serve on a volunteer committee that responds to a variety of planning issues for which the SCRD requests input. According to Rod Moorcroft, a member of this committee who is also on the board of the ECA, there is a lot happening right now. The ECA requested that the committee always recommend that new subdivisions include pedestrian/bike trail access to and through new developments. The public is welcome to attend the meetings on the fourth Wednesday of every month at Frank West Hall, but it is the chair’s decision to allow people to speak or not as they usually have a full agenda. Next APC is Jan. 22.
Elphinstone Community Association (ECA) is Area E’s long-standing community association (used to be called Elphinstone Electors) where information of interest to the community is discussed and presented. Everyone is welcome. The Area director is on hand to report and answer questions. Sometimes there is a speaker but this month, director Donna McMahon will be the speaker and her topic is the SCRD budget: 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at Frank West Hall. Please note: in case of severe snow, ECA meetings will be cancelled – all those on the mailing list will be notified but you can also check the Elphinstone Community Association Facebook Page where important notices are also posted.
That same date – Wednesday, Jan. 8 – the SCRD has booked Frank West Hall for a meeting about wastewater being held for people from Sunnyside and Langdale from 5:30 to 6:30. If that meeting is just wrapping up at 7 p.m., people might be interested in catching the last part of that presentation. Earlier that day, at 1:30 p.m., the SCRD will hold a wastewater meeting for Woodcreek Park, also at Frank West Hall.
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