New Art Fixture Installed at Hoy Creek Hatchery

A new dragonfly metal art-piece is proudly displayed above the rearing pond at Hoy Creek Hatchery contributed by local artist, Patricia Gaspar.  All three of the pieces here were created over the years by the same artist.

The local salmon hatchery in Coquitlam, nestled in Hoy Creek Linear Park and operated by the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society (HSWS) has just welcomed a new art piece by local artist, Patricia Gaspar.

The metal dragonfly was installed in time for Salmon Leave Home on May 7th.

The sparkling and bejeweled dragonfly is mounted above the rearing pond which houses coho from May to May of each year before they are released into Hoy Creek at Salmon Leave Home.

"We are so pleased to have yet another charming piece of artwork from Patricia on the hatchery grounds," said HSWS president Robbin Whachell.  "Patricia's artwork can be enjoyed by the entire community, and is in sync with our objective of bringing public awareness and education toward the restoration and preservation of our local habitat."

View other artwork at Hoy Creek Hatchery by Patricia Gaspar HERE.

The Hoy-Scott Watershed Society executive would highly recommend Patricia Gaspar for any art projects, in particular those that benefit the community.  Visit the artist's website HERE.

The rearing pond at Hoy Creek Hatchery in Coquitlam. Home to our coho salmon from May through May.  When grown to smolts, the salmon are released into the creek at Salmon Leave Home.

The new dragonfly art piece by Patricia Gaspar, mounted above the rearing pond at Hoy Creek Hatchery.

Salmon Come Home returns to Coquitlam on Sunday, October 23rd

Hoy-Scott Watershed volunteer Kyle Uno holds up a chum salmon for others to see at Salmon Come Home 2015.  (Photo: Ed Paulino / HSWS)

The salmon are coming!  Join the City of Coquitlam and the Hoy-Scott Creek Watershed Society to celebrate the return of the salmon to Hoy Creek at the annual Salmon Come Home at Hoy Creek Hatchery on Sunday, October 23rd from 11 am to 3 pm. Bring your family and friends to participate in this exciting community event which attracts thousands of people to view spawning chum salmon in-stream, and learn about this amazing fish through educational demonstrations and displays.

Enjoy music, children's crafts, costume parade and story telling with Angela Brown, prize fish pond, face painting,  music by CKPM FM 98.7 The Point, and the Creative Café and guest artists will be serving up fun and Spirit Bear Coffee.

The free, family event runs rain or shine and provides a great opportunity to learn about the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society's salmon enhancement program, as well as the work of many other local stewardship groups who attend.

Hosted by the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society, and the City of Coquitlam who will have their Bad Seed/Urban Forestry; Park Spark; Solid Waste and Recycling; and Water Conservation Departments out. Other participants include Articipation; BC Salmon Marketing Council; Burke Mountain Naturalists; Coexisting with Coyotes; Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable; Coquitlam Riverwatch; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC; Kintec; Maple Creek Streamkeepers; Port Moody Ecological Society; and Kwikwetlem First Nation.

Hoy Creek Hatchery is located off of Princess Crescent, west of the City Centre Aquatic Complex and the Pinetree Community Centre in Coquitlam.  Parking is available at City Hall or at Douglas College David Lam Campus where you can enjoy a short walk inland to the hatchery via Hoy Creek Trail. To find the exact location simply Google "Hoy Creek Hatchery."

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society has been in operation since 2002 and is a volunteer run society that operates a small salmon hatchery, and conducts a salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, with technical expertise from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.  The Society also works to restore and maintain the riparian habitat in the watershed by removing invasive plant species and re-planting with native plant species. Learn more about the Society at hoyscottcreeks.org

Salmon Come Home is environmentally-themed and designed to promote public awareness about conservation and spawning salmon that migrate back to Coquitlam. For more information on Salmon Come Home, please visit coquitlam.ca/enviroevents

Salmon Leave Home set for Sunday, May 1st

Join the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society on Sunday, May 1stfrom 11am to 2pm at Hoy Creek Hatchery in Coquiatlam as thousands of coho smolts will be released into Hoy Creek to make their way down to the Pacific Ocean.
(HSWS Photo)

The Hoy-Scott Watershed Society invites the community out for their annual Salmon Leave Home event on Sunday May 1st from 11am to 2pm at the Hoy Creek Hatchery in Coquitlam.  Children of all ages will have the opportunity to help release 18-month-old coho smolts into Hoy Creek.

“Salmon Leave Home is a great event for families to discover firsthand the wonders of nature in their environment,” said hatchery manager, Rodney Lee.  “Once the salmon are released they make their way downstream to Scott Creek, then Coquitlam River, then the Fraser River which empties into the Strait of Georgia on the Pacific Ocean.  They return in about 2 years time to the location where they were spawned,” said Lee.

The family-friendly free outdoor event will run rain or shine and the society will have families engaged in building Mason bee boxes, and bird houses.  Music is being provided by CKPM FM Tri-City Radio, and guest artist, Etienne Sew.

Society volunteers will be providing tours and information on the salmon enhancement program which is a year-round operation and includes work with plants in the riparian area of Hoy and Scott Creeks.

20,000 coho fry will also be on display and this year’s event includes activities and/or participation by  Pinetree Secondary School, Sustainable Youth Canada, Coquitlam Farmer's Market Society, Rocky Point Ice Cream, and Kwikwetlem First Nation.

The hatchery is located in the Hoy Creek Linear Park behind Douglas College and north of Guildford, a few minutes walk inland.  To find the exact location, simply Google “Hoy Creek Hatchery.”  

More information can be found at the society’s website, hoyscottcreeks.org or at hashtag #SalmonLeaveHome.

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.

Coho smolts, approximately 18 months old, seen on display at a Hoy-Scott Watershed Societyopen house which are held the first Saturday of each month. The public is invited to help release thousands of the smolts into Hoy Creek on Sunday, May 1st at Hoy Creek Hatchery in Coquitlam.  (HSWS Photo) 

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society attends Hyde Creek Salmon Festival

Society volunteers, Malcolm, Nathen and Kyle provided information about our efforts to attendees of the Salmon Festival in Port Coquitlam

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society volunteers participated in the annual Hyde Creek Salmon Festival once again on November 15th.   The festival is held at the Hyde Creek Community Center and provides a wonderful opportunity for the community to visit the local Hyde Creek Hatchery, view the creek itself, and learn about many aspects of the environment through the myriad of community groups that participate each year.

Left to right: Kyle, Mia, Coquitlam mayor Richard Stewart, and Dulce

Thanks goes out to our Society volunteers, Dulce, Kyle, Mia, Malcolm, Nathen and Robbin who helped man our booth at the event.  See MORE photos here on our Facebook album.

Scott and Maurice from the Department of Fisheries show live coho salmon and answer questions

VIDEO CLIP BELOW:

Check out the video clip of a bald eagle with the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society