Get our Web feed. Login (No account? Register!)
Location: Greater Vancouver, Surrey Project Summary
BACKGROUND The concept of a Salmon interpretive park at Bear Creek in Surrey British Columbia began in August 2010 through discussions with leaders in the South Asian community, in particular the Sikh Academy School and the Deshmesh Darbar Sikh Temple. These two organizations are situated on the same property (85th Avenue in Surrey, near 128th street), encompassing approximately 15 acres of land. A portion of Bear Creek runs through their property. The Sikh Academy, a state of the art facility, currently caters to approximately 400 children from pre-school to grade 7. The Deshmesh Temple is home to the largest Sikh congregation in North America, averaging 5000 visitors a day, reaching approximately 15,000 on Sundays. Recognizing the diverse industries that have the potential to impact the salmon resource many from the South Asian derive a livelihood from, these two organizations decided to pro-actively engage the next generation. Together, these organizations will donate two acres of land towards the design, development, and construction of a Salmon interpretive park. DESCRIPTION * Desired outcomes The goals of building the Park include restoring the creek, developing educational opportunities for the community and creating a space where the community can come together for inter-faith and inter-generational dialogue that is structured around learning about salmon habitat. While education on salmon and salmon habitat will be paramount and central to this project, the Park will also provide opportunities for communities to come together. For example knowledge and history of the First Nations will be integrated into the program. The two Muslim Schools in Surrey will also work closely with the Sikh Academy to manage the site, creating opportunities for inter-faith dialogue. A key outcome from the program will include developing an increasing number of aquatic stewards in the South Asian Community. Longer term outcomes will be to re-introduce salmon to this section of Bear Creek and develop an increasing number of spawning salmon returning to the site over time. The construction of the Park will take a phased approach. The initial proposed development will include walking trails, an outdoor interpretive centre stage or amphitheatre and educational signage throughout the Park. All signage will be in multiple languages to expand the learning experience to many ethnic cultures. A 6˝ foot salmon mould is being donated by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for placement near the entrance to the Park. Much of the labour and materials for constructing the site will be donated by the South Asian Community. Future expansion could include connecting to other creeks and/or expanding the park upstream/downstream. The FSWP will sponsor the development of the Park. These funds are to be used in the initial design, set up and construction of the Park. Additional capital contributions to the project will be solicited from individuals in the community, business sponsors and other community organizations. Based on initial planned design for the Park, the total cost to develop the first phase of the Park is estimated to be $250,000 to $300,000. These costs will be finalized once the development and specifications for the Park are finalized. Much of the cost to develop the site will be in the form of donations in kind from the South Asian Community. The future sustainability and operation of the project will be overseen by the Sikh Academy School and Gurdawara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar Society. Detailed operating budgets will be developed once the Park design has been completed. In addition to the physical site being developed, an entire educational curriculum will be developed for both the operation of the Park and also associated school programs for elementary and high school students. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has already developed extensive materials for schools that support educators in their Stream to Sea program. These materials and resources have been aligned to Ministry of Education learning outcomes and are readily available for teachers wishing to adopt the program. The materials will form the core of the educational curriculum that would allow classroom learning to be integrated with outdoor learning experiences at the Park. As the Park is expanded and the community begins to use the facilities, there will be a need for an operating plan. Initially, this plan will be based on the goals and outcomes that have been identified. Processes will also need to be developed to monitor and measure the success of the goals and outcomes identified for the Park. Some measurable goals and outcomes will include tracking the number of visitors to the Park and in the future a count of returning spawning salmon to Bear Creek. And while the initial concepts of the Park have been identified above, the next steps in the development of this project include: OBJECTIVES
METHODS Organization Responsibility / contribution
|
EMAIL
PRINT
