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MVIHES

    SHELLY CREEK PARK IN PARKSVILLE IS A LIVING LABATORY: “Coastal Cutthroat Trout populations on Vancouver Island will perish unless there is ‘rainwater balance’ as watersheds are developed. The message for local governments is… GIVE STREAMS SPACE TO LIVE,” Peter Law, Past-President of the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (MVIHES)


    “Shelley Creek is typical of small streams on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Of the 5.5 km channel length, a mere 300m exists in its natural state. And this is only because the City of Parksville created an enhanced riparian zone for park purposes when the surrounding area was subdivided in 1998. We wanted to understand what factors influence the movement of resident cutthroat trout over their life history in Shelly Creek. We investigated how a small population of resident fish survives in a stream that undergoes significant changes to water flows over the seasons,” stated Peter Law.

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    THE TALE OF ONE URBAN CREEK ON VANCOUVER ISLAND: “This Shelly Creek art exhibit is such a unique project as we look at these environmental conversations through artists’ lenses and what happens is a very dynamic and exciting experience,” stated Jennifer Bate, Executive Director of the McMillan Arts Centre in Parksville (July 2022)


    Shelly Creek is a tributary of the Englishman River, a major watershed system on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Shelly Creek is important to salmonids. In 1999 the Englishman River was first declared to be one of the most endangered rivers in BC. Extinction of the fisheries resource was viewed as a very real possibility. “With 8 local artists collaborating on this singular exhibit, we are then able to have an important conversation about Shelly Creek, water conservation, and rain gardens through an artist lens. We are privileged to have the 8 artists come together for a single purpose but with 8 very different art mediums,” stated Jennifer Bate.

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    FINANCIAL VALUATION OF SHELLY CREEK ECOLOGICAL SERVICES IN THE CITY OF PARKSVILLE AND REGIONAL DISTRICT OF NANAIMO: “We can now see how our ongoing investments, as stream stewards, not only can improve the worth of a creekshed’s biophysical functions, but also improve riparian land values as well,” stated Peter Law, President, Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (MVIHES)


    “The members of the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society have devoted over 10 years of time and energy towards restoring the health of Shelly Creek for salmon and trout. Our volunteers have contributed over $90,000 to the ‘maintenance’ of the creek and its’ fish populations. That is like spending $10,000 per year to support monitoring of water quality, flow gauges, riparian planting, downstream smolt trapping and of course, community engagement! We do it for free, because we can see this creek needs help,” stated Peter Law.

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Watershed Health and You – “This is a story about how a local group of streamkeepers has morphed from a focus on salmon and trout habitat restoration, to advocates for ecosystem monitoring of watershed functions… the Whole System Approach,” stated Peter Law, President, Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (April 2019)


    “Since 2010, Our volunteers have embraced the idea of monitoring aquatic ecosystems and habitats in our watershed, often times partnering with agencies, local governments or private landowners to identify the status of certain indicators. We called the program ‘Watershed Health and You’,” stated Peter Law. “We are engaging our neighbours who live in the watershed, to discuss how the community can help restore Shelly Creek. The legacy of Faye Smith, and her mantra of engaging the community continues.”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Watershed Health and You – “After the Arrowsmith Dam was built, most of the time we have been able to stay above the minimum fisheries baseflow requirement which establishes an operating rule for the Englishman River Water Service,” stated Vaughan Figueira, City of Parksville’s Director of Engineering (April 2019)


    “The EWRS is a joint venture between the City of Parksville and the Regional District of Nanaimo. It comprises the 20-yr old Arrowsmith Dam, a new river intake and water treatment facility. System operation is guided by this statement: An environmentally sensitive use of water to improve fish habitat and domestic water supply,” stated Vaughan Figueira. “The impact of wetter winters and drier summers on the seasonal water balance creates operational challenges in sustaining environmental flows.”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Watershed Health and You – “It is important to keep engaging with community. Communication is key,” stated Dr. Gilles Wendling, when he explained the innovation in engaging the community in Englishman River applied research to better understand surface water-groundwater interaction (April 2019)


    “How do we pass information? How do we present information so that people with no technical knowledge will grasp what is important? Telling stories – that is how we do it to change behaviour,” stated Dr. Gilles Wendling. “Community involvement in a monitoring program was a foundation piece, and one of several innovations, for characterizing surface and groundwater interaction in the Englishman River system.”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Watershed Health and You – “The watershed is the base unit for the purposes of a forest company’s landscape level plan,” stated Domenico Iannidinardo, Vice-President of Mosaic Forest Management, when he explained the importance of hydrological balance (April 2019)


    “The watershed is the base unit of ecology, certainly on Vancouver Island,” stated Domenico Iannidinardo. “Over 80% of the Englishman River watershed is dedicated to forest management. Applying a landscape level approach makes a working forest work for multiple values. Hydrology and ecology values are managed through conservation agreements, land sales, and cooperation with researchers and communities. A guiding objective is to keep sediment out of streams.”

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    Parksville 2019 on YouTube > Improving Where We Live – “The Symposium provided a huge boost to MVIHES, in our efforts to draw attention to our ‘watershed health depends on you’ program,” stated Peter Law, President, Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (April 2019)


    Peter Law narrated a video about the environmental conditions and challenges faced in the Shelly Creek watershed. The video includes an overview of the condition of the Shelly Creek stream channel for Coho salmon and Cutthroat trout. It also illuminates the efforts of MVIHES to preserve and protect the stream. “At Parksville 2019, the field day at Shelly Creek was a big hit, in large part due to the charismatic personality of stream restoration innovator Dave Derrick in conducting both the classroom and outdoor lectures,” stated Peter Law.

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