By Julia Magsombol
Local Journalism Initiative
The B.C. Wildlife Federation (BCWF) is offering a Fish Habitat Stewardship Workshop to the community of Invermere on August 26 to 27 in Abel Creek from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Our fish habitat stewardship workshops are focused on raising awareness in the public surrounding fish habitat and fish conservation,” said Haiden MacDonald, the Fish Habitat Restoration & Education Program Coordinator at BCWF. “And it’s really geared towards giving people the skills and the knowledge to apply conservation action in their own community.”
The workshops have been running since 2021, and they plan to continue every spring and summer. They will be held in four locations across the province this year: Maple Ridge, Langley, Invermere, and Delta.
MacDonald noted that people will gain more knowledge from this workshop, such as fish life histories, fish habitats and their importance, water quality monitoring, and more.
Different training programs, such as riparian health and fish identification are also included.
Visit https://bcwf.bc.ca/fish-habitat-restoration-education/) for more information.
The BCWF partners with different First Nations communities, and every time the workshop starts, “[they] are fortunate enough for local knowledge keepers and Elders to provide an opening prayer,” MacDonald said. “We start the workshops that way to ensure that we’re acknowledging and respecting the land that we are conducting the workshops on,” he pointed out. “We are always working to bridge the gap between community engagement and fish habitat and population restoration projects.”
The workshop runs for two days, which is a short commitment, MacDonald said, reiterating that people will gain a lot of knowledge and experience from it. The BCWF has always received good feedback from the program, he noted.
“It’s a rewarding feeling,” MacDonald said. “We’re always looking to expand our team’s capacity and knowledge to provide more holistic training opportunities that leave people with greater skills to take actions in their communities.”
People are encouraged to register at https://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=2305&EID=31017.
