Family Watershed Day is coming up on Sunday, Sept. 22 in Courtenay to celebrate World Rivers Day and share information about the importance of watershed health. Hosted by Comox Valley Conservation Partnership, the event will showcase various local groups in the Comox Valley who are working towards watershed sustainability and restoration.
Helmut Novak, vice president of Millard Piercy Watershed Stewards — the group that aided in figuring out what was killing all the juvenile coho in Piercy Creek over the past three years — said that this year, they are hoping to see a turnout from a variety of ages at watershed day.
Novak said the group previously offered watershed walks at the annual event — which mostly drew attention from adults and elderly people — but in 2022 they decided to put on a more stationary activity with canopy tents and attractions to entice the younger generation to come out.
Since then, the group still offers walks on the side for the day, but this year there are more family- and kid-friendly activities, such as face painting and crafts. There is also a raffle, so the adults don’t miss out on all the fun.
“The objective of these events is to educate and reach out to the public to inform them about topics related to watershed and habitat health,” Novak said. “We guarantee interesting information for all ages!”
There will be various CVRD-based environmental and community groups at the Family Watershed Day event and they will display and inform visitors about watershed-related topics.
These groups will focus on sharing a range of information such as drought management, the benefits of restoration work, the role and importance of forests and riparian areas and information about invasive species.
Novak also added that Millard Piercy Watershed Stewards will be sharing more information about the coho-killing chemical 6PPD-Q, which the Discourse previously reported on.
“Overall, we trust that we will be able to provide significant and valuable information to the public [including] what is being done by these various societies to restore and preserve the health of the watershed [and] what the public can do to support these goals,” Novak said.
The event is free, but those who would like to participate in the guided walks must register because there are limited spots available.
This year, Family Watershed Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. near the Courtenay River Heritage Walk at the southern end of Mansfield Drive. Novak said last year, the event was hosted at Puntledge Park, but due to construction they moved locations for this year.
