Long before the advent and explosion of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Netflix, a small group of passionate people got together to bring salmon back to their neighbourhood creek.
It was 1991 and Noons Creek in Port Moody, once the site of First Nations fishing grounds, was empty of salmon. It was so bad that an area resident collected salmon eggs and built a mini hatchery.
That spark ignited plans for the Noons Creek Hatchery.
Today, generations of young people are learning about salmon and the importance of fish to the environment, getting up close to the creatures, leaving technology behind, even if just for a couple of hours, thanks to the Port Moody Ecological Society (PMES), which is celebrating its 25th year.
Executive members Dave Bennie and Brian Wormald say people show up at the hatchery, built by PMES volunteers, while on a walk around Shoreline Park. The visitors are always impressed that salmon are being raised from eggs to fry at a hatchery just minutes from downtown PoMo and a short stroll from the rec centre.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING
Port Moody Fingerling Festival: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 7; 40,000 salmon fry will be released into Noons Creek at the hatchery, and displays and activities at the Port Moody rec complex.
More than 100 volunteers are needed for a variety of jobs on the day of the festival (minimum two-hour commitment between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.).
Call the Noons Creek Hatchery office at 604-469-9106 for more information.
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"It's amazing," said Bennie, whose father, Doug Bennie, was an original PMES member and has an interpretive trail named for him. "I'm seeing children of the kids who first visited here when we were just getting started."
In fact, not a day goes by without some visitors showing up to throw fish food pellets into the coho rearing pond and watch the tiny fish gobble it up in a frenzy.
"We get a lot of local people that didn't know it existed," said Brian Wormald, PMES president, of the hatchery."We do a lot of community outreach."
In fact, over the years, PMES become a voice for environmental stewardship in the region, promoting care for trees, plant life and creatures. Elaine Golds, one of the region's preeminent environmentalists, is one of its directors and members include people who are also involved with nearby Mossom Creek Hatchery.
Volunteers have dug ponds to raise fish, built a shelter to house tanks and troughs, and carved out interpretive trails, complete with boardwalks, to encourage people to get close to the creek and marvel at the salmon life cycle.
A BUSY PLACE
There is also a water quality testing lab on site and bursaries are given out to qualified students to help them with their post-secondary education.
But what really gets PMES volunteers in front of the community is the Fingerling Festival, held each May when the chum salmon fry are released into Noons Creek. This annual event, which started with 5,000 fish fry being released 25 years ago (at the time the fry had to be trucked to the event because there was no hatchery), has become a major attraction in Port Moody, with 5,000 people expected to attend.
This year, the free event is slated for Saturday, May 7, with as many as 40,000 chum fry to be released into the creek, mostly by children, dozens of displays and activities offered, as well as entertainment by children's performers Bobs and Lolo, and a by-donation barbecue.
"This is really our premier event and we can expect a good crowd," Bennie said. "In fact, it gets nuts around here."
People who wish to attend (the event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) are encouraged to walk, carpool or take transit because parking at Port Moody rec complex is limited.
Rain or shine, this is a great opportunity to see nature at work, and to leave the tech toys at home, even if just for a little while.
For more information, visit www.noonscreek.org
