False Creek Field Trip

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Today’s field trip along false creek made me reflect on myself and shaped my view of the city that I live in. I have been living in downtown Vancouver for about 4 years, starting from my first year of university. One of the things my mom and I used to do everything is to take a walk along the water because the waves and the smell of ocean made us calm. We would go around and walk along false creek, from the Yaletown side near our condo, all the way to bridge and around Olympic village. Sadly, we never made it to the other side of the false creek which is the route that the class have walked from Kitsilano beach. 

 

Despite hundreds or thousands of times I have walked along False Creek, for the past four years I have neglected so many thing as I walked, the ecosystem, the birds, the fish etc. All that we learned today in the field trip which I did not pay attention in the past. As the class explore the man-made habitat island, I started to look at our city, our land in a different way. From Mark Adams’s kind speech, I knew that boulders and logs are there for a purpose. Since they are so common along the coastline of British Columbia, I never thought deeply about their position in the ecosystem. Now I am grateful for the boulders and logs to provide a safe home for plants, small animals, insects, crabs, barnacles and all other wonderful creatures. 

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Picture1. Barnacles resting on the bottom side of the boulders in false creek island habitat. 

 

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Picture 2. Blue mussels shells found on the rock beach in false creek island habitat. 

 

As a resident in Vancouver, I , just like many other people in the neighbourhood, take our environment for granted. Until the field trip, I learned that biologists, conservationists and engineers have been working very hard to maintain and improve our environments against industrialization. The contrast of what false creek looked like 100 years ago vs. now is astonishing. What used to be beach is now dockside; what used to be west coast rail is now full of skyline buildings. While I am amazed by how people’s lives have been shifted in history, I also noticed the shift in the ecosystem reflected by the decrease of natural habitats. Nowadays people like Mark Adams are working very hard to rebuild habitats for animals. These habitat islands have high biodiversity because of thoughtful designs and planning. About 60,000 cubic metres of rock, gravel, sand and boulders was used to build Southeast false creek habitat island, shoreline and inlet. Furthermore, native trees, shrubs 

and flowers that grow naturally in British Columbia have been planted along the waterfront trail and on habitat island. When visitors or local residents walk along false creek, these habitat islands are not only beautiful stops along the waterfront, but also serve as representative for BC native species. 

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Picture 3. Lots of biodiversity on the habitat island. Deep layers of soil have been added to the area to support nourishment for new trees to grow. 

 

Other than the beautiful habitat islands, the field trip also connects me to what my parents encountered when they were young. In the morning when Mr. Fraser MacDonald gives us an informative and interactive talk on fisherman’s wharf near Granville island, I stand on the dock and start to think about the importance of commercial fishing in Vancouver. We criticize commercial fishing, the damage it brings to the ecosystem and related species. However, I hardly recognize the importance of commercial fishing until Mr. Fraser MacDonald reminds us. Fish is a crucial source of protein in this planet, about 2.6 billion people rely on fish protein for food. There are many parts of the world that are not developed as Canada, and they might use the most primitive way of fishing like substance-based fishing which is actually more harmful than commercial fishing because people would just catch until water is depleted. My family origin is from China, and I would often hear stories about my parents’ childhood when they grew up. 40 years ago our hometown was not as advanced as it is now, so in the rural area that’s the way how local fishermen fish! Because people are not informed enough to know the importance of sustainable fishing, they just catch whatever they can and this would eventually lead to depletion of the ecosystem. 

 

Now the responsibility of education people about sustainable fishing is passed on to me, and there are certainly areas in my hometown where people still practice traditional subsistence-based fishing. I started to thinking about what I can do based on what I learned from this field trip. I wanted to spread the words and educate people in rural area of China the better way of fishing, to maintain ecosystem well-being and meet people’e demand at the same time. Thank you for organizing this wonderful experience and I and thankful to be here in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

 

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