Blog
Dr Betty Donaldson beside some debris in the estuary
“We have a special AGM program that should interest all residents who acknowledge the estuary as the most important natural feature in the Valley," says Paul Horgen, Board Chair. Two retired academics will discuss the results for the Estuary Residents survey conducted last summer. Dr. Betty Donaldson and 11 Project Watershed volunteers knocked on the doors of 187 Estuary residents. The objective was to interview people who live and work on or near the estuary. Dr. Donaldson, formerly University of Calgary professor in the Faculty of Education, and Dr. Peter Sinclair, formerly University Research Professor in the Department of Sociology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, will discuss and present the results of the survey (A Gathering Place). "Our survey captured a representative sample of Valley opinions”, says Dr. Betty Donaldson, Vice Chair of Project Watershed.
The evening begins at 7 pm with the business meeting and an overview by the Board Chair, short 5 minute presentations will follow by Don Castleden, Chair of the Estuary Working Group, Betty Donaldson, Chair of the Education Committee, Wayne White, Chair of the Technical Committee, and Steve Morgan, Manager of our mapping services. A refreshment break at 8 PM will allow attendees to preview art submissions for the silent auction to be held at the Experience the Estuary event on July 28th.
The Survey Discussion will begin at 8:20 pm. The Experience the Estuary Event in July will feature, in addition to the art auction, a Flotilla of Kayaks, Canoes dragon boats and other human powered water craft. “Our AGM is very special this year" says Horgen. “We are enriched by the volunteer efforts of so many highly qualified retirees who have made the Comox Valley their home, and who freely give their time in public education and stewardship activities. For more information phone the Project Watershed office at 250-703-2871,
Estuary Lagoon
Last summer, 11 Project Watershed volunteers knocked on the doors of 187 Estuary residents. The objective was to interview people who live and work in this area. Boundaries of the study extended from Condensory Bridge to Goose Spit, and on the watersides of Comox Road and Cliffe Avenue. Participants were asked for their opinions about the watershed and how they’d define “estuary, “Our survey captured a representative sample of Valley opinions”, says Dr. Betty Donaldson, project director. A full report of the study is available at http://projectwatershed.ca/archives/portfolio/education-outreach.
Results will be shared informally at two coffee meetings led by Betty Donaldson, Project Watershed vice-chair, and Kathie Woodley, Education Committee member. Participants and the general public are invited to: Monte Christo, Monday May 7, 3 – 5 pm and Black Fin, May 9, 10-12 am. Project Watershed will provide coffee, tea or juice; attendees pay for their own snacks. No registration necessary, but come early to get a good seat.
A formal presentation will be made at the Project Watershed AGM, May 22, 7 pm, Lions Den in Comox. Project Watershed would like to thank Mountain Equipment Coop for their help in funding the publication and dissemination of the Survey. 
For further information, please contact projectwatershed@gmail.com
Working in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s acclaimed Seafood Watch program, SeaChoice undertakes science-based seafood assessments, provides informative resources for consumers, and supports businesses through collaborative partnerships.
Comprehensive National Seafood Program
SeaChoice, Canada’s most comprehensive sustainable seafood program, is about solutions for healthy oceans. Launched in 2006, SeaChoice was created to help Canadian businesses and shoppers take an active role in supporting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture at all levels of the seafood supply chain. Based on scientific assessments, SeaChoice has created easy-to-use tools that help you make the best seafood choices.
Working in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s acclaimed Seafood Watch program, SeaChoice undertakes science-based seafood assessments, provides informative resources for consumers, and supports businesses through collaborative partnerships.
We understand that choosing sustainable seafood can be challenging, that's why SeaChoice has created easy-to-use products that help you identify the best seafood choices and find information about the fisheries that you support with your purchasing. This is the first time that information has been compiled for Canadians about our domestic fisheries and the seafood we import.
The ultimate solutions will require all of us-governments, industry, retailers and individuals-to take responsibility for changing our approach to seafood and fishing. We hope you will choose to be part of the solution.
We use the best available science, strategic communications and partnerships to mobilize sustainable seafood markets via six main programs:
- Research – To assess the status of fish stocks and the structure of the seafood supply chain.
- Industry outreach – Support for members of the supply line who would like to embrace sustainable sourcing.
- Public education – Empowering consumers to promote conservation through their choices at restaurants and retail stores.
- Retail partnerships – Working with major Canadian retailers to promote sales of sustainable seafood.
- Strategic communications – Clear, effective and targeted communications.
- Dialogue with government – Reforming fisheries policy to reflect scientific best fisheries practices, providing protection for threatened and endangered fish stocks and their habitat.
The threat
The movement towards sustainable seafood is about solutions for our oceans. Choosing sustainable seafood is a simple and effective action that you can take every time you eat at a restaurant or buy seafood. Whether you are an individual shopping for your family, a chef buying for your restaurant, or a supplier sourcing from fishing communities, your choices count. Voting with your wallet sends a strong signal to government and industry leaders, telling them that you support responsible stewardship of our natural marine resources.
What CPAWS is doing
The SeaChoice program is operated by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, David Suzuki Foundation, Ecology Action Centre, Living Oceans Society and Sierra Club BC. Our work is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Webster Foundation, and the Eden Foundation.
Resources
Visit the Seachoice website (http://www.seachoice.org/) to download Canada's Seafood Guide.
From: http://cpawsbc.org/campaigns/seachoice
The Comox Valley Conservation Strategy (CVCS) and the CV Regional District have partnered up to promote two online pledges for conservation and sustainability. We are asking you to participate in this initiative by taking five minutes to make your pledge and circulate the pledge to your family and friends. Here are 3 reasons to take and promote the pledge:
· The pledges are educational, fun and motivate us to make more environmentally aware choices
· By signing these pledges we can show local government elected representatives that CV citizens value environmental initiatives.
· This projects shows that local governments and environmental organizations can work together to promote positive environmental actions.
Link to CVCS pledge
http://www.cvconservationstrategy.org/pledges/count-me-in-pledge/
We are hosting two community drop-in sessions for elders who remember the estuary prior to 1950:
On February 24th from 1-5 PM at the Comox Mall, and on
On February 25th from 1-4:30 PM at the CVRD Board Room (550 Comox Road)
We invite elders of the Comox Valley to meet with Project Watershed volunteers and staff to add to a map of the estuary the areas that they recall once had active and vibrant eelgrass meadows, kelp beds and salt marsh shoreline areas. Your input will be invaluable to our restoration strategies. Should you require transportation, please call us at 250-+703-2871 before Feb 22.
By Ralph Shaw – Comox Valley Record
Published: February 03, 2012 7:00 AM
Baynes Sound is a huge sea garden area that has produced food for Comox Valley residents for thousands of years. The picture with this column features natural produce from the waters of the sound and land-based agriculture from our garden which is on the uplands above the sound.
A COMBINATION OF Baynes Sound aquaculture and Comox Valley agriculture. PHOTO BY RALPH SHAW
In their book Oysters – A Connoisseur's Guide and Cookbook, Lonnie Williams and Karen Warner list 64 species of oysters in North America. One of note is Crassostrea gigas: "Fanny Bay, British Columbia. A firm oyster that is very salty and sweet with a pronounced cucumber flavor finish. The fluted shells are thick, which makes them easy to open." As long as we pay attention to the purity of the water it will produce this unique species of shellfish into the foreseeable future and continue to be a source of jobs for hundreds of local Valley residents.
Over the past few years we have had a series of industrial accidents that have led to the destruction of rich seafood producing coastal regions. The oil spill of the Exxon Valdez is still affecting the coastal waters of Alaska. Last year we had the terrible tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico with the British Petroleum offshore drilling rig that has decimated much of the marine and shellfish industries of the area. Acid mine drainage has created sterile rivers and lakes in the coal mining regions of the Eastern United States. Meanwhile in the Comox Valley we have paid a high price for the acid mine drainage into the Tsolum River.
To celebrate the bounty of Baynes Sound, the Ocean of Plenty II Shellfish Gala Dinner will be held Feb. 11 at the Fanny Bay Community Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. dinner at 7 p.m. This year's event is donating all profits from the dinner, silent and live auctions to the CoalWatch Comox Valley group who are gravely concerned and alarmed about the possibility of a coal mine on the drainage basin of Baynes Sound.
I share their concerns. At the time of this writing there are still a few tickets left for this gala seafood dinner. The tickets are $50 each and may I be so bold as to suggest that they would make a great Valentine gift for your significant other – after all, oysters are reputed to be exceptionally healthy food for Valentine celebrations.
If you wish to see copies of the menu go to www.coalwatch.ca. Tickets are available from Laughing Oyster Books and the Freaking Coffee Shop in Courtenay, Blue Heron Books in Comox, Fanny Bay Oysters in Buckley Bay, and Abraxas Books and Gifts on Denman Island. For more information phone John Snyder at 250 335-2246.
On Saturday, January 21 around 11 PM to catch the lowest tide of the month, a team of Project Watershed volunteers and a group of Chemical and Biological engineering students from the University of British Columbia walked out onto the mud flats to obtain some samples of estuary sediment and eelgrass rhizomes. This is part of a joint effort to measure carbon dioxide uptake by eelgrass first in simulated tanks at the UBC campus and then actual measurements of uptake in photosynthesis in the intertidal areas of our estuary. Dr. Royann Petrell and five students from her advanced class in chemical and biological engineering laboratory techniques, as part of their program for students’ hands-on learning about community realities are working with a Comox Valley Stewardship group on these efforts. The team was led out onto the estuary by Project Watershed’s Michele Jones, Dan Bowen and Dave Davies from DFO.
A major question facing residents of communities like the Comox Valley is how we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. One approach is to establish strategies of conservation or use of renewable energy (solar, wind, etc.). Another is to eliminate carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere through living carbon storage. Living carbon is more commonly known as the long-term storage of carbon in the tissues of trees and plants in forests.
A special opportunity exists for those of us who live in coastal communities. Blue carbon is a form of living carbon that occurs in aquatic environments where aquatic plants such as eelgrass act to store carbon in the soils and sediments. Greenhouse gas reductions (of carbon dioxide) can be achieved through uptake by estuarine “Blue Forests” moving these greenhouse gases to estuaries and Deep Ocean (sediments).
Photograph Left to right Back row: Dave Davies (DFO), Dr Royann Petrell, Sylvain Alie, Dan Bowen, Ting-Ching Jerry Chou Front row: Tsung Han (Henry) Kue, Yan Zhang, David Eng, Heather Kempthorne, and Qing-Yuan Hebe He
Loss of, and damage to, eelgrass has affected whole populations of fish, including threatened salmon and herring, water fowl, shellfish, and other animals. Many animals use eelgrass meadows for nursery areas, others swim or walk among the leaves, or burrow in the sediments. Within eelgrass meadows, there is food and shelter for a wide variety of creatures. Therefore eelgrass restoration efforts automatically improve habitat and biodiversity in addition to their potential to positively affect climate change.
Should you be interested in making a contribution to this project or to become involved as a volunteer in the future, please contact Project Watershed at 250-703-2871 or Email at
Paul Horgen (left) of the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society recieives a cheque for $1,500 from Creekside Commons Community Services Society (represented by left to right: Pam Munroe, Tim Crossin and Don Munroe) for the Eel Grass project to sequester carbon in the Comox Estuary. This project while removing carbon from the atmosphere also restores our estuary and povides local employment. And, Project Watershed Society as a registered charity can issue income tax receipts for donations. http://projectwatershed.ca/ For more information on the Blue Carbon initiative by Project Watershed, contact p.horgen@utoronto.ca.
Comox Valley Echo Tuesday, January 10, 2012
UBC Students -gathering sediment and Eelgrass. Photo by M. Jones
It's a dirty job, but we got to do it!
