Stream Stewardship
We support more than 15 volunteer stewardship groups that operate in over 13 Greater Victoria watersheds, providing professional advice, access to funding, and other resources.
While helping to establish stewardship groups, we take a leadership role in teaching best practices in stream care, conservation, and restoration. To assist with complex stream restoration and enhancement projects, we conduct site assessments, plan projects, and obtain permits.
The objectives of these collaborative partnerships are to:
- Educate the public about the importance of watershed resources.
- Facilitate communication and cooperation in watershed management.
- Provide volunteers with the training and support required to protect and restore aquatic and riparian habitat.
Our dedicated stewards are also the ‘eyes and ears’ of local watershed conservation, monitoring stream conditions, counting salmon, and alerting authorities when there are problems with local streams.
These dedicated volunteers donate thousands of hours each year to restore streams, plant native species, remove invasive species, collect water samples, release salmon fry, and much more.
Our dedicated stewards are the ‘eyes and ears’ of local watershed conservation.
Watershed Groups
Angler Groups
Victoria Golden Rods and Reels
This fishing and social club is the lead volunteer organization in a joint collaboration with provincial and municipal governments to conduct scientific research into serious water quality issues at Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park. It has also led an initiative to clean up O’Donnell Creek, a major tributary to the lake.
Sidney Anglers' Association
This association fosters interest in rod and reel fishing, promotes recreational fishing in the Sidney area, and participates in activities to conserve and protect salmon and their environment. Its members volunteer in numerous watershed and projects ranging from salmon DNA science to herring spawn projects. This association was a founding member of Peninsula Streams.
Water Quality Monitoring
Our citizen scientists monitor water quality in creeks for the Districts of Central Saanich and Saanich, collecting samples on Hagan-Graham, Tetayut, Swan, Haliburton, Bowker, and other creeks as necessary.
The objective is to collect enough data to identify watershed trends and raise awareness of watershed health. Volunteers measure stream conditions by taking water samples for complex lab analyses, as well as measuring physical and nutrient parameters of the water.
Water quality monitoring is an important safeguard for local creeks. Our volunteers have discovered and reported many pollution incidents over the years, which has resulted in early remediation and prevented long-term damage.
Our public education and awareness projects, such as the Keating Industrial Park Water Quality Initiative, are intended to help businesses increase employee awareness and to improve the handling and disposal of hazardous materials.
We also work with landowners to educate them on problems associated with depositing organic matter in creeks and the importance of riparian vegetation and stream features, such as large woody debris and pool-riffle complexes, to stream health.
