Jenny Howell
Yellow Paint, Fish & Stormdrains
July 12, 2007
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Jenny HowellYellow Paint, Fish & StormdrainsJuly 12, 2007
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What happens when you mix yellow fish, two grade 4 classes, and city storm drains together? Well, earlier in June, after many cancellations because of weather, we managed to connect the three. . . and the result? Along the residential areas around 11th and 12th Avenue, and also in the areas around Nesika Elementary School, you will now come across many storm drains with pictures of yellow fish beside them. Many fish will be works of art (complete with dorsal fins and clearly identifiable eyes), while our earliest efforts may appear as artistic oval yellow blobs… but most will fall somewhere in between. Definitely fish, definitely yellow, and definitely beside a storm drain.
What made these grade four classes grab the tiny window between rain showers in June to paint yellow fish with such enthusiasm along your streets? These were two classes that had been part of the classroom Water Wise program offered by the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society (CCCS) to elementary school classes throughout the school year. Both Mr. Taylor’s Nesika class and Mrs. Cornett’s Kwaleen class took on the challenge of doing something practical to help preserve water quality in our area, and that is how we ended up with yellow fish.
The storm drains in our city are there to collect the water that runs off our roads. Along with the water, they also collect everything else that builds up on the roads: the bits of oil and other pollutants from car exhausts, the fertilizer that runs off your lawn onto the road, the soap from washing your car, etc. This water then enters Williams Lake River Valley and drains into Williams Lake creek, without any treatment. That means that whatever goes down the storm drain ultimately ends up unchanged in the creek, directly affecting the environment in which all those creek species live. And that includes fish; maybe not many yellow ones, but fish all the same… and of course many other species (but painting a caddis fly larva beside a storm drain might create an even more indecipherable yellow blob), which is how we get back to the fish.
So the kids, teachers, several intrepid parents, and I went out armed with yellow paint and orange vests. The kids painted fish, handed out information to residents, and informed passersby about their project. They concentrated on painting the best fish possible (the eye is the tricky bit), keeping yellow paint off their clothes, and getting as many drains painted as they could. I would really like to thank them, their teachers, and all the parents who came and helped, as well as all the people during those two days that came and talked to the children and commended them for their efforts. The original storm drain painting project was initiated by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and we at Water Wise are very grateful to them for supporting us in our efforts locally.
So to those of you with a yellow fish near your house hopefully it will act as a reminder not to pour anything except pure water down the drain. Those of you who don’t yet have a fish by your drain, the kids and I hope to get to yours too over the next school year, but in the meantime please think twice about what goes down there and where it will end up. After all, it is the same set of water molecules continuously cycling around our planet, so the cleaner we can keep that water, not only do we benefit all the wildlife around, but also the whole ecosystem, of which we are an integral part. Water makes up 70% of our bodies, and this water comes directly from our environment. The safer and purer we keep the water around us, then the safer and purer will be our drinking water. And clean drinking water is in everyone’s best interest, as this water in turn becomes part of our own bodies and directly affects our individual health.
Water is Life… Use Responsibly. For more information on the Water Wise Program of the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society (www.ccconserv.org/water-wise.html) please call 250-398-7929, or e-mail ccentre@ccconserv.org.
Jenny Howell, Water Wise Instructor, Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society
Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society
Unit 201, 197 2nd Ave North Williams Lake, B.C., V2G 1Z5
Phone/Fax: 250 398-7929 • ccentre@ccconserv.org • Coordinator: Marg Evans
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