BC Rivers Day is coming up Sunday, Sept. 27 and Langley Environmental Partners Society is encouraging people to get outside and enjoy the beauty of BC’s rivers while engaging in a self-led Stream clean up events next Sunday.
Thousands of B.C. residents celebrate BC Rivers Day every year, an annual event observed on the fourth Sunday of September and launched 40 years ago as a way of generating public awareness about local waterways through festivals, ceremonies, and stream cleanings.
Typically, a family-friendly outdoor festival happens at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum, but the Township of Langley made the decision to cancel the Langley Community Rivers Day Festival and subsequent WaterWeeks events due to COVID-19.
“It is so important to keep our small neighbourhood streams clean, as trash has a ripple effect that can have a detrimental impact on both freshwater and marine animals,” says Nichole Marples, LEPS Executive Director, “we recommend that cleans ups take place only on the streambanks, please do not try and remove any embedded items from the watercourse- this can create sedimentation or lead to stream erosion. Take safety precautions, be sure to wear gloves and sturdy shoes, and keep children close when cleaning up trash in our natural areas.”
READ MORE: Celebrating and protecting Langley’s waterways
Suggested areas to clean include;
Walnut Grove Community Park
McClughan Park
Williams Park
Brookswood Park
Noel Booth Park
High Knoll Park
Creekside Park
Vanetta Park
Aldergrove Regional Park
Pleasantdale Creek Trail
Muckle Creek Trail
Portage Park
Nicomekl Floodplain
Campbell Valley Park
Derek Doubleday Arboretum
Langley Municipal Nature Park
Jackman Wetlands Park
McLeod Athletic Park
Marples added that Langley has over 1800 km of watercourses and almost 800 km of those watercourses are important habitat for spawning and rearing juvenile salmon and many other wildlife species.
Participants are also encouraged to take photos and submit them to LEPS for a chance to win prizes.
Photos must be submitted no later than Oct. 2nd to be entered into the draw.
For more information on LEPS activities and BC Rivers Day, visit https://www.leps.bc.ca.
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Email: ryan.uytdewilligen@aldergrovestar.com
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