Iona Beach
Non-Native Vegetation Removal
Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
Fish Surveys
Water Quality Testing
Non-Native Vegetation Removal
Both scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicera) are feisty non-native plants that are outcompeting Iona Beach's native vegetation for nutrients and space. Hardworking Vancouver Aquarium volunteers tackled robust scotch broom trunks with blade and saw, and never-ending fields of purple loosestrife with incredible stamina. In total 30 m3 of scotch broom and 22 bags of purple loosestrife were removed. Well done team!
Iona Beach is a sea of purple in the summertime! |
Removing scotch broom at Iona Beach. |
Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-Up
The North Arm of the Fraser River is a busy spot for tugs moving logs for the lumber industry. |
In September 2001, 34 students from R.A. McMath Secondary School in Richmond along with a handful of Vancouver Aquarium volunteers cleaned up 0.5 kilometers of the Fraser River's North Arm. They collected a total of 15 kg of trash!
Industrial Wood Removal In September 2001, the students of R.A.McMath also took part in an industrial wood clean-up. They removed 1,890 kg of wood from Iona Beach's valuable wetlands.
Fish Surveys
A group of dedicated Vancouver Aquarium volunteers have committed themselves to early Sunday mornings of rain and mud. This hardworking team began is continuing the baseline data collection that the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre's Waterway Enhancement Team began in the summer of 2001. This data will be vital in assessing changes in the health of the Fraser River Estuary over a long term basis. To see the results click here.
Water Quality Testing
A group of dedicated Vancouver Aquarium volunteers have committed themselves to early Sunday mornings of rain and mud. This hardworking team is continuing the baseline data collection that the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre's Waterway Enhancement Team began in the summer of 2001. This data will be vital in assessing changes in the health of the Fraser River Estuary over a long term basis. To see the results click here.
Plant Survivability
This summer Vancouver Aquarium volunteers assessed the health of the plants from the spring planting project. The Jack Pine were in excellent condition! The deciduous plants were a little wilted from the summer heat, but the majority of plants were doing well.
Debris Surveys
Debris surveys are conducted before and after cleanups to measure the impact our work is having on the environment. Wow! What a difference between before and after the spring clean up! Wood debris was decreased by 5% allowing the marsh vegetation to flourish and increase by 15%.
Vegetation Surveys
Carrying out a vegetation survey is not a straightforward job, but this summer a small group of volunteers headed down to the marsh and identified the plants at Iona Beach. Artic rush was the dominant plant at this site. We also saw lots of pacific silverweed in flower. Plants in the other category included sage, yarrow, thistle, great sundew, purple loosestrife, dandelions, sandwort, and sedges.
Invertebrate Surveys
We have begun a new project this fall - invertebrate surveys. Invertebrates can be used as an indicator of water quality, thus giving us another means to measure the condition of the Fraser River. The diversity of invertebrate species was low, attributed to the cold November temperature when the survey was done. Amphipods, invertebrates that are somewhat tolerant to pollution, were by far the most dominant.
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