Join me in releasing coho smolts into Hoy Creek

I am really excited about Sunday, May 3rd as it marks 1 year that I have been volunteering with the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society in the city of Coquitlam where I live. One year ago I saw a notice on Facebook and walked to the creek system just across from the house I am renting. It was pouring rain but it was worth the walk, and made for a wonderful experience, as I got to witness delighted young children carrying buckets of coho salmon smolts over a short distance from a pond to be released in  Hoy Creek.  I even transferred a few over myself.

I had lots of questions for the volunteers, and after one of them answered me, I was asked if I would be interested in volunteering. That's all it took, and looking back now, a lot has happened in one year. My work at the salmon hatchery and in the watershed has been one of my most enriching experiences.

Not only does it get me away from this machine where I put in so many long days for my career, but I get to enjoy the forest, work amid flora and fauna, and dabble in the science of taking care of salmon from egg to the smolt stage.

Thursday is now my day to take care of the salmon feeding and stats,  so if you are ever around the hatchery mid-morning, come by and say hi.

The Salmon Leave Home event will run rain or shine, and begins at 11am running until 2pm.  Once the smolts are into the creek they head downstream, where Hoy Creek joins Scott Creek, and then it's out to the ocean.  What's even more amazing is that these salmon will travel back to the very same creek they were born in to spawn in the years to come.  Nature is so amazing!

I will be writing a more in depth feature called Salmon Story, coming soon.

The Hoy Creek Hatchery is located on Hoy Creek Trail, west of the City Centre Aquatic Complex at the corner of Pinetree and Guildford Way. Aerial view.

Hoy Trail has a several entrances: - Walk in from Princess Crescent; - Walk in from behind Douglas College; - Walk in from Guildford Way (between Johnson and Pinetree); - Walk in from Walton Avenue, or behind Walton Elementary; - Walk in from the foot of Lasalle Place. OR go to Google maps and type in "Hoy Creek Hatchery".