Chilliwack volunteers were out planting trees over the weekend to strengthen riparian area of the Hope Slough.
The habitat work zeroed in on repairing the degraded riparian area, but overall there’s a multi-objective focus, said Eryne Croquet, volunteer with Save our Slough, formerly Friends of the Camp/Hope Slough.
“The other objective is to get some community engagement and give people an opportunity to participate and collaborate with the natural landscapes that we have in our city in Chilliwack,” Croquet said.
There were nearly 20 volunteers in attendance Saturday morning at Hope River Corbould Park, along with Mayor Popove, and Coun. Jeff Shields and his wife, Sherry, and Lina Azeez of Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
Typically volunteers plant in springtime, and conduct a little bit of maintenance over the summer, by walking around, pushing the weeds down.
“Anybody can come and do that part,” she said.
They also put up some photo monitoring stations where folks can take photos to assess how the new trees are growing.
“This is second year that we’ve done this,” Croquet said about the treeplanting. “So over time, like 10 or 15 years, these trees will grow up and shade the riparian area which improves the habitat quality for the things that live in the slough, and people like us who might recreate on the slough.
“It’s much nicer to paddle under the big shaded trees than it is to paddle next to collapsing banks!”
Mayor Ken Popove turned up at the little park at the end of Corbould Road to show support for the community-led slough restoration effort.
City officials have set some funds aside to conduct a study on the Bell Slough’s connection to the Hope slough, he underlined, and they contributed the trees that were being planted that morning which included willows, dogwoods and more.
“It’s a click away from the centre of downtown, and it’s our paradise,” Popove said about the park. “The work these folks are doing here, with the support of the city, is awesome.”
Although he is loathe to single out the role of agriculture runoff in the overgrown sloughs, it’s definitely a factor when fertilizers end up leaching into the riverbanks.
“Then the things that don’t normally grow there, are growing there. So it’s a challenge, and I tip my hat to the folks who put their hand up, and want to help out like this,” Popove said.
The group has been advocating for local slough restoration, and projects that promote awareness about local blueways like the Paddle the Slough event.
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