Current Initiatives and Projects

Esquimalt Lagoon Watershed Model
ELSI partnered with Stream Team/Opening Minds with Water to develop a working model of the Esquimalt Lagoon watershed, complete with hills, creeks and streams, roads, buildings, and golf courses and the ecological features of the lagoon. Volunteers at special events and school presentations will use the model to demonstrate how and where pollution occurs around the home and community, and how rain transports this pollution from around the watershed into creeks and ultimately into Esquimalt Lagoon. The Esquimalt Lagoon watershed model

promotes watershed awareness, aquatic stewardship and environmentally protective behaviour, while educating children and adults on alternative products and practices that can be taken to protect and restore the Esquimalt Lagoon environment. Contact Stream Team to find out how you can book the Esquimalt Lagoon Watershed model for your event or school.

Restoration Plan
ELSI is working with the University of Victoria, Restoration of Natural Systems Program, to develop a restoration strategy for the lagoon that will include a prioritized list of restoration opportunities, workplan, estimated budget requirements and a proposed timeline for pursuing various restoration activities. It is anticipated that this strategy will be completed by fall of 2003.

Volunteers are often needed for various restoration projects.

Community Contaminant
Monitoring Program
ELSI is working with the community to establish a long-term community contaminant monitoring program in Esquimalt Lagoon. The aim of this program is to monitor the long-term health of Esquimalt Lagoon and its associated wildlife habitat by observing water quality parameters and events leading up to and following the rollover event. Community members are trained in sampling protocol and procedures. Data from this monitoring program will be assessed to observe levels of contaminant inputs to Esquimalt Lagoon over the long-term, to determine if these levels are linked to rollover events and to prioritize actions required to reduce contaminant inputs to the lagoon.

Volunteers are needed to participate in the community-monitoring program.

Fish Monitoring
The ELSI fish-monitoring project involves placing Gee traps at eight locations on Colwood creek and Bee creek. Gee traps are used to safely capture fish without harming them. Each month, volunteers set the traps, leave them for 24 hours, check traps, count fish and record data, release the fish and remove the traps.

So far, Cutthroat trout and sticklebacks have been observed in Bee Creek, and Cutthroat trout, sticklebacks, and sculpins have been observed in Colwood creek.

The purpose of the fish sampling is to determine what types of fish are currently using the creek and to get an estimate of the size of the population. This information will be very important in future restoration efforts for Bee and Colwood creeks. It will also provide a level of baseline data that could be used to assess/measure the success of the restoration efforts.

Volunteers participating in the fish-sampling project include current RRU students, RRU alumni, members of Songhees First Nations band, members of the community surrounding RRU and members of the Esquimalt Lagoon Stewardship Initiative. DFO Fisheries Biologist Tom Rutherford has trained the volunteers on how to conduct the sampling.

Interpretive Signs
ELSI is working with the Victoria Natural History Society to install interpretive signs at the lagoon. The purpose of these signs is to educate visitors about the birds, intertidal communities, significant habitats and other ecological values at the lagoon and provide them with tips that will protect lagoon habitats and wildlife. The first sign will be constructed in May 2003. Partnerships and funding are being sought for two additional signs.

Mudflats

Harbour Shorekeepers
Members of the Esquimalt Lagoon Enhancement Association are participating in VEHEAP's harbour Shorekeepers. Each year, local residents map and survey the intertidal plants and animals at an established site at the mouth of Colwood Creek. The goal is to obtain standardized data over several years to monitor and assess long-term changes in the Esquimalt Lagoon intertidal community. Through volunteering in the program, community members learn the Shorekeepers survey techniques and about the intertidal communities in the lagoon, impacts to those communities and what residents can do to reduce these impacts.

Outreach Activities & Materials
ELSI has embarked on a community outreach program to provide helpful stewardship information to residents and obtain feedback from the community about Esquimalt Lagoon. This outreach program includes mail outs, home visits, open houses, displays at various events, and demonstration of an interactive Esquimalt Lagoon Watershed model. If you or your organization would like a presentation about the lagoon or ELSI, please contact us.