2021 Holiday Greeting Card Contest Launched

Enter today!

CONTEST HAS CLOSED

The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society is looking for a photo or drawing of the watershed and/or salmon returns, to be featured on our 2021 holiday greeting card.

If you’re a resident of the Tri-Cities and love to draw, paint, or take photographs, you can submit an entry that depicts the wonders of nature along Scott or Hoy Creek, or the Hoy Creek Linear Park. Or, perhaps you’re an artist who can provide a drawing about the work we do as a Society.

To submit your photo or artwork, please email hoyscottwatershed@gmail.com with ‘Holiday Greeting Card Submission’ in your subject line. Provide your full name, city of residence, and contact phone number.

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 30.

Entries will be posted to the Society's Facebook page by Saturday, Dec. 4 by 12 noon whereupon the public can weigh in on favourites and the most 'Likes' will become our winner.

The winner will receive a Hoy/Scott Watershed Society hat (ball cap or a winter beanie) and your name will be credited on the card.

Contest rules:

• Must be a resident of the Tri-Cities.

• Open to all ages and abilities.

• One entry (one image OR art piece) per person.

• Must be your own image or artwork.

• Must depict nature scenes from Hoy or Scott Creeks, or watersheds of same, or the work of the Society.

• The photographer or artist's name will be used in promotion and credit provided on the greeting card.

• By providing your image or artwork, the Hoy/Scott Watershed Society has full rights of use in print and digitally (web and social media).

Questions? Email us at hoyscottwatershed@gmail.com

Photo or Artwork Sought for 2020 Holiday Greeting Card

Your photo or artwork can be featured on our first ever holiday greeting card!

The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society is looking for a photo or drawing of the watershed and/or salmon returns, to be featured on our 2020 holiday greeting card.

If you’re a resident of the Tri-Cities and love to draw, paint, or take photographs, you can submit an entry that depicts the wonders of nature along Scott or Hoy Creek, or the Hoy Creek Linear Park. Or, perhaps you’re an artist who can provide a drawing about the work we do as a Society.

To submit your high-resolution photo or artwork, please email hoyscottwatershed@gmail.com with ‘Holiday Greeting Card Submission’ in your subject line. Provide your full name, home address and contact phone numbers.

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27.

Entries will be posted to the Society's Facebook page on Saturday, Nov. 28 by 12 noon whereupon the public can weigh in on favourites and the most 'Likes' will become our winner.

Contest rules:

• Must be a resident of the Tri-Cities.

• Open to all ages and abilities.

• One entry (one image OR art piece) per person.

• Must be your own image or artwork.

• Must depict nature scenes from Hoy or Scott Creeks, or watersheds of same, or the work of the Society.

• The photographer or artist's name will be used in promotion and credit provided on the greeting card.

• By providing your image or artwork, the Hoy/Scott Watershed Society has full rights of use in print and digitally (web and social media).

Questions? Email us at hoyscottwatershed@gmail.com

Volunteers clear trash from Hoy and Scott Creeks at Aberdeen Avenue

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Fast food containers were the most common trash items collected.

Our annual summer stream clean was held on Aug. 29 and Sept. 5 and was focussed on Aberdeen Avenue, an area not necessarily noted for close proximity to nature due to it being an industrial area.

in fact, this busy street in Coquitlam has two streams running below it. Both Scott and Hoy Creeks flow under this avenue and converge where the SkyTrain crosses over just south of Aberdeen. Once the two streams converge, they eventually meet the Coquitlam River before joining the Fraser River. The Fraser River flows into the Straight of Georgia (Pacific Ocean), a total distance of 78 km.

In preparation for the work, the Society provided notice to the surrounding businesses. The notice also served to remind on the delicate ecosystem along the street which is often seen dotted with semi-trucks making pickups or deliveries.

View our photo album on Facebook.

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Hoy/Scott Watershed Society volunteers gearing up at the start of the day on Aberdeen Ave.

“Each year we focus on one area of Scott or Hoy Creek as a summer activity,” said Society president, Robbin Whachell. “It’s important that we do this work in the late summer as not to disturb salmon in the creeks. This year, our vice-president, Tyler Storgaard scouted several areas and we agreed this industrial business location would be optimal as we’d not focused work in this area before, and the streets were not marked with storm drain fish decals.”

In less than three hours on each day, the work of HSWS volunteers was evident by the piles of trash removed from the banks of both Scott and Hoy Creeks and along the street between the two streams.

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Kim clearing an area that appeared to be frequented as a lunch and/or smoke-break spot by local workers.

“We also cut back the invasive blackberry, which often grows over and hides the stream,” said Whachell. “We hope that less littering will take place if people see that the creek is just right there, a few meters from where they walk past.”

Some of the most common items picked up during the clean were face masks, cigarette packages, fast food and drink containers, bottles and cans, and small plastic bag packaging for earplugs.

Most unusual finds were toys still in good shape, clothing, bedding, footwear, car parts, a dining tabletop and railing.

View our photo album on Facebook.

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Items removed from Hoy Creek on Aberdeen Ave.

Lani holds up some of her finds from Scott Creek along Aberdeen Ave.

Ririka pounds down a fish marker near a storm drain while Robbin clears rubbish above Scott Creek on Alberdeen ave.

Salmon Leave Home at Hoy Creek on Mother's Day

A young boy releases a coho smolt on the edge of Hoy Creek, while a volunteer assists and looks on - at Salmon Leave Home 2018. (Photo: HSWS)

The Hoy-Scott Watershed Society invites the community out for their annual Salmon Leave Home event on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hoy Creek Hatchery in Coquitlam.  People of all ages will have the opportunity to help release 18-month-old coho smolts into Hoy Creek.

“Salmon Leave Home is a great way for families to connect with nature, and brings awareness to our delicate ecosystem, right here in Coquitlam,” said society president, Robbin Whachell.  “Once the salmon are released, they make their way downstream to Scott Creek, then Coquitlam River, the Fraser River - which empties into the Strait of Georgia on the Pacific Ocean. They take about a year to get to the ocean, and then return in approximately 2 years to the same location where they were spawned.”  

The family-friendly free outdoor event will run rain or shine and the society will have families engaged in fishy fun. Students from the Pinetree Secondary community club will be providing face painting, and a family walk through the watershed is always beautiful at this time of year.

The event is a great opportunity to learn about the local fish hatchery and get information on the year-round volunteer-run salmon enhancement program, which includes work with plants in the riparian area of Hoy and Scott Creeks. 20,000 coho fry will also be on display.

The hatchery is located in the Hoy Creek Linear Park behind Douglas College and north of Guildford, a few minutes walk inland, and is only a ten-minute walk from the Lafarge Lake-Douglas skytrain station.  To find the exact location, simply Google “Hoy Creek Hatchery.”

RSVP to the Facebook event page to receive updates and a reminder.

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society, (HSWS) is a not-for-profit, volunteer run environmental stewardship group, that conducts a year-round salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. We are actively involved in watershed restoration, public awareness, education and preservation.

Salmon Come Home to Focus on Watershed Protection

Salmon educator Chris Hamming

Enjoy the fall colours, celebrate the salmon, and learn about your environment at the twenty-sixth annual Salmon Come Home at Hoy Creek Hatchery on Sunday, Oct. 21.

Co-hosted by the City of Coquitlam and Hoy-Scott Watershed Society (HSWS), the free family event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with music, face painting, crafts, displays and conversation with local environmental groups, food, and Angela Brown's Nylon Zoo costume parades.

Fall is the time that salmon return to Hoy and Scott Creeks, and rain is an essential element that raises creek levels, allowing the salmon to swim upstream to the area they were born to complete their life-cycle, spawn and die. Prime viewing of returning salmon is usually from mid-October to early November.

“With no rain expected before the event, it may be unlikely that we’ll see salmon instream, however, this will not take away from the purpose of the event,” said Hoy-Scott Watershed Society president, Robbin Whachell, “that is to educate about the salmon and bring awareness to preserving our habitat to ensure its return in the years to come.”

Salmon educator and HSWS founding member, Chris Hamming will be on hand to offer interesting and fun facts on salmon, one of nature’s great wonders.  Hatchery tours will be conducted – the facility is home to 5000 young coho which will be released in May 2019. Hoy Creek is also home to wild baby salmon often visible in the shadows or seen under the bridge ways. Hoy Trail offers a beautiful walk featuring towering trees and active birdlife.

The hatchery is home to 5000 young coho which will be released in May 2019.

The Hoy-Scott Watershed Streamkeepers formed a society in 1992, with a mandate to promote watershed restoration and public awareness of the need to preserve the creek and surrounding habitat. With the support of the Department of Fisheries & Oceans, the society works to increase both coho and chum salmon populations.

A clear warm weather day is in the forecast for Oct. 21, however the event runs rain or shine.

The Hoy Creek Hatchery is in Hoy Creek Linear Park, west of the City Centre Aquatic Complex (Pinetree and Guildford Way), and is a seven-minute walk from the Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station.

Visitors can walk in from a variety of locations: from Princess Crescent, from behind Douglas College; from Guildford Way (between Johnson and Pinetree), from Walton Avenue or behind Walton Elementary, or from the foot of Lasalle Place.

Free parking is available at Coquitlam City Hall, Pinetree Community Centre and Douglas College.

Receive a reminder by RSVPing to the event’s Facebook page, or go to hoyscottcreeks.org for more information.

It’s a beautiful time of year to explore Hoy Trail.

Trash Removed from Section of Hoy Creek

Ryan, Steven, Larry, Nathen, Kyle, Sandra, Maya and Robbin took part.

On August 26, 2018, volunteer members of the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society took part in an annual creek clean. Late summer is the best time to walk in-stream as it’s the time less likely to disturb fish or eggs.

Each year a section of Hoy or Scott Creek is pre-selected and volunteers walk in the creek, and along it to remove garbage as well as inspect areas that may have been overtaken by invasive species or a dam.

Focusing on Hoy Creek this year, we started at Glen Drive and ended up almost but not quite to Barnet Highway.

Items removed from the creek were: a couch, bicycle, chair, gardening tools, construction wood,  a bag of fish remains, mini barbecue, clothing, a bucket and the usual litter (bottles, cans, food wrappers, cigarettes). 

If you would like to be involved in work such as this, the Society is always looking for new volunteers. Click our “Get Involved” button to learn more or email us at hoyscottwatershed@gmail.com

Hatchery and watershed tour provided to Douglas College

Dubbed, "A Walk to Remember - Hoy Creek Salmon Hatchery Tour" students, faculty and friends of the IUE – the Institute of Urban Ecology of Douglas College in Coquitlam were given a casual and interactive 2-hour tour of the Hoy Creek salmon hatchery and surrounding area on July 19.

Led by hatchery manager, Rodney Lee, who was assisted by Hoy-Scott Watershed Society director, Lani Lehun, the tour provided information on the year-round operations of the hatchery, the salmon raised there, and the processes. 

The tour was concluded with a walk along Hoy Creek Trail were the riparian area, and invasive and non-invasive plant life were observed and discussed. 

Hoy - Scott Watershed Society, (HSWS) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run environmental stewardship group, that conducts a salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. We are actively involved in watershed restoration, public awareness, education, and preservation.

Tour at Hoy Creek Hatchery on Hoy Trail, Coquitlam.

Rodney shows the salmon rearing pond. 

Hatchery tour provided to Communities in Bloom judges

Left to right: Maya Uno of Hoy-Scott Watershed Society, Jim Baird and Evelyn Alemanni of Communities in Bloom. 

Hoy Creek Hatchery was once again a point of interest for visiting judges of the Communities in Bloom competition.  

"Communities in Bloom - Collectivités en fleurs is about greening through environmental, natural heritage conservation and horticultural actions that involve citizens, businesses, institutions, and municipalities.  The program is focused on environmental stewardship through enhancement of green spaces."

On July 19 Jim Baird (USA) and Evelyn Alemanni (USA) spent a busy day visiting City parks and locations and the salmon hatchery is one of the key places in the city that exemplify their ethos.

Leading the tour for the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society was Maya Uno, a City of Coquitlam environmental award recipient.

HSWS member and environtmental award recipient, Maya Uno at Hoy Creek Hatchery. 

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society announces 2018 executive

Left to right: Robbin Whachell, President; Lani Lehun, Director; Chris Hamming, Director; Kyle Uno, Treasurer; Sandra Uno, Director; and Rodney Lee, President. (Missing from photo: Emily Rossi and Arno Hazebroek)

The Hoy-Scott Watershed Society held an annual general meeting on May 15, 2018 at the Coquitlam library and voted in the following executive: 

Vice President - Rodney Lee
Director - Chris Hamming
Director - Sandra Uno
Director - Arno Hazebroek
Director - Lani Lehun

On June 19, Emily Rossi was voted in as secretary... 

"We have a great group of dedicated individuals on our executive, who volunteer their time to keep this Society going and progressing in our initiatives," said Robbin Whachell, the current president of the Society.  

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society, (HSWS) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run environmental stewardship group, that conducts a year-round salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. We are actively involved in watershed restoration, public awareness, education, and preservation.

Back pond reinforced at Hoy Creek Hatchery

Over a few weeks in May 2018, the back rearing pond  (west of the screened rearing pond) was partially drained and inspected. This has not been done in many years. 

A new liner was added to the pond, and the banks were reinforced with new sandbags. Work sessions took place on Saturday mornings and during the week.

It was discovered that a small channel had formed around the pond's outflow area and salmon were getting confused by it since it didn't lead to the creek. It's all good now - we fixed it! 

What the pond area looks like with most of the water drained. 

Leo and Steven working hard to fill sand bags to secure the pond area. 

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society (HSWS) is a volunteer-run non-profit society that operates a small salmon hatchery beside Hoy Creek and conducts a salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and with technical expertise from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The group stewards the Hoy and Scott Watersheds, promoting public awareness and education, and is involved in watershed habitat restoration and preservation.