BC Rivers Day 2021
Since 1980 people all over the province have celebrated their local waterway with some kind of event. This celebration was started by the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC (ORCBC).
This year, due to COVID, the Salmon Arm NatureKids club decided to keep it small and not publicize which resulted in a close and committed group. Our membership is still small so we teamed up with both the Shuswap 4H club and Kamloops NatureKids club. The Adams River Salmon Society (TARSS) was enthusiastic to support our efforts to plant trees and learn about salmon at Tsútswecw Provincial Park.
The day began with a delivery of healthy trees (variety of species) which TARSS purchased at a great price from our local arborist, Maarten Albricht (pictured below.)
Next, we gathered and played a Salmon Life Cycle game. We had a discussion about why we should plant trees. There were lots of good ideas from NatureKids members including providing homes for animals. Then, we were fortunate to have several volunteers from Interfor to give a demonstration and a description of the best ways to plant trees. Interfor donated 200 hundred conifer plugs for the event.
(Melissa Harborne, Grizzly, and Ashley Dahl, Interfor staff)
Everyone was eager and enthusiastic to get planting! Children and parents loved digging and giving the (sometimes named) trees a new home. It all came together thanks to dedicated TARSS volunteers and the relationships built with BC Parks. Stewardship in the making!
By Molly Cooperman, Salmon Arm NatureKids club leader and TARSS board member