On October 19, 2018, a Burnaby School District Pro-D day and a beautiful sunny day in the fall, Burnaby SWIS workers Monica, Claire and Selina brought a group of over 40 new immigrant students and parents to Kanaka Creek Regional Park in Maple Ridge. Families were from Maywood, Chaffey Burke, Marlborough, Clinton, Edmond and Cameron schools.
Many thanks go to Pacific Parkland Foundation’s generous funding for the cost of a school bus and park interpreters from Metro Vancouver Regional Park (MVRP) and Kanaka Education and Environmental Partnership Society (KEEPS), which made it another unforgettable learning and enjoying experience for the new comer families in Burnaby School District. After arriving at the Fish Fence of the park, participants were divided into two groups, each took turn to follow the park interpreters Vanessa and Ross respectively. Through the games and explanation Vanessa and Ross prepared and delivered, participants learned some basic Ecology knowledge such as animals (in the water, on the land and in the sky), water (in the creek and on the mountains), plants and their relationships, and the important roles each of them plays in our living environment. Participants also realized that however much we love the colorful fall leaves and the sunny days in the fall this year, the unusual warmth and dryness in the season is not good for the salmon which loves cold weather and water when spawning, and not good for us British Columbians who rely on the ample rainfall to accumulate water sources.
Although we didn’t see many salmon return in the creek, we learned about the reason. This trip helped to bring up attention amongst the participating new comer students and parents to the general concern of global warming and our social responsibilities towards the environment.
Enjoy the joy of journey with us through the beautiful photos.