Technician Report – Tuesday, Sept 21th
Sediment barrier installation ~ By Jamie Lund
Kus-kus-sum sediment barrier ~ By Caila Holbrook
Runoff control ~ By Caila Holbrook
As the concrete is removed, crushed, and piled by machines the wood and metal material is sorted out. Some smaller pieces are missed and get mixed in with the crush. Our technician team has been sorting out these smaller pieces and compiling them for recycling. We are trying to maximize reusing and recycling the material from the site. There is also other debris that we are continually picking up to ensure it doesn’t go into the river.
The rain came in full force as we moved into September. Due to the large potential for runoff at Kus-kus-sum, our technician team helped install some sediment fencing. The far left corner of the site has a significant slope that can enter the river. Our team fenced this area and added a hay bale barrier to minimize wash out of sediment. This will protect the river from high turbidity and particle loads in the interim. Project Watershed, along with environmental consultants, are creating a long term erosion control plan to protect the river over the rainy, stormy winter months.
One area of the Kus-kus-sum site had some fencing damage. The damage resulted in a large hole where people could access the site. The technician team helped instal some temporary fencing until a more permanent one can be put in.
The technician team had helped with the removal of vegetation on the site at the beginning of the summer. Being able to see the drastic change between the original site and what it looks like now with the cement removed, was really interesting.
With the help of the Healthy Watersheds Initiative funding Project Watershed has hired environmental technicians to assist with our projects over the summer and early fall. The Healthy Watersheds Initiative is delivered by the Real Estate Foundation of BC and Watersheds BC, with financial support from the Province of British Columbia as part of its $10-billion COVID-19 response. Jamie Lund, one of these technicians, will be posting a brief report every Tuesday to update the Project Watershed community on what they have been up to.
Related Posts
Fall Work at Kus-kus-sum
We are looking for volunteers to assist us with weeding out invasive plants to make room for the native plants arriving later this fall!
Community Water Monitoring Training Sessions
Do you want to explore your local watersheds while gathering valuable data to support research and decision-making? Volunteers are needed to monitor water quality in fall 2024 in a number of local watersheds.
Fall Action at Kus-kus-sum
You may have noticed that excavators were back at work on the Kus-kus sum site, continuing to transform the former sawmill site into a healthy estuarine ecosystem.
Ken Kirkby Legacy Challenge
In 2018, Ken Kirby became involved with Project Watershed and the Kus-kus-sum Project and contributed right up to his death on June 20, 2023. While donating 50 of his most prized paintings prior to his passing, Ken expressed his deep appreciation for our partnerships...
Summer Forage Fish News
Over the summer the Project Watershed Forage Fish Monitoring Team have been busy with data analysis, project planning, collaborating with the Coastal Forage Fish Network and field sampling in the Comox Valley and Campbell River area. To date we have had 21 volunteers contribute 97.5 hours to our forage fish monitoring efforts!
Project Watershed is hiring a Forage Fish Technician!
Our organization is looking for an enthusiastic environmental technician to help us facilitate our forage fish project. The ideal candidate will have a background in ecology/biology and have experience working outside in the field. This position will work closely with our Forage Fish Project Lead Biologist and the forage fish team to meet our grant requirements. This is a seasonal contract position.