Catching with news from about September 2020 through March 2021.
AGM held:
The Annual General Meeting was held January 19, virtually, and a new board of directors elected. On the board for 2021 are: Allison Baker, Nathan Evans, Jim Foulkes, Leana Kininmont, Nick McMahon and Don Schuetze.
How deep is Green Timbers Lake?
Someone sent this question over to the Green Timbers Society email and we didn’t know. However, Robin Landucci, the City of Surrey’s Urban Forestry Manager, had the original chart:
The lake was designed to be 5m deep at the south end and 2m at the north end. After 30 years or so, it will be somewhat shallower now, what with sediment accumulation and generations of duck poop!
SkyTrain update
TransLink’s public engagement process is planned to restart soon. Please keep an eye open for it, provide comment, and encourage others to do so too.
Here is the link to the site as well as to the poster boards for the process:
https://www.surreylangleyskytrain.ca/
But the SkyTrain project isn’t just a train.
BC Hydro is making changes to some of their power lines where they cross Fraser Highway to make sure there’s enough space for the SkyTrain. Planning for this work included geotechnical investigations the week of December 7.
And the City is also planning to widen Fraser Highway. here is the link again:
https://www.surrey.ca/sites/default/files/corporate-reports/CR_2020-R140_1.pdf
Trees in the park:
Throughout the Fall, there were about 36 trees that needed to be removed along 100th Avenue and in the beaver pond above the lake, as well as some further south along King Creek. Trees will be planted on a 2-for-1 ratio, for a total of 72 new trees, selected for their suitability for the area.
SNAP Fall 2020 program:
SNAP Fall 2020 team
This year, SNAP was able to run our first fall program with the flexibilities provided by Canada Summer Jobs for COVID-19 modifications.
Field Team
This year, the Habitat Restoration and Tree Care Teams combined into the Field Team. The Field Team helps to restore, maintain, and enhance the ecological integrity and functioning of natural areas in Surrey. They also care for Surrey’s shade trees by removing weeds and mulching tree wells.
The Field Team was comprised of three Team Leaders, each with one Team Member. In total, we had six youth on the Field Team this fall.
This fall, the Field Team worked in 21 different parks and natural areas across Surrey, removing seven different species of invasive plants. In total, the team removed 54 m3 of invasive plant material covering over 750 m2 of natural areas in Surrey.
Within GTUF, the Field Team completed a variety of tasks including planting, beaver habitat maintenance, and litter removal from the shoreline and trails. In total, the team planted 205 native trees and shrubs alone the pond and installed wire fencing around the trees to prevent beavers cutting them down.
Lastly, The Field Team spent approximately provided base maintenance to 512 shade trees throughout Surrey. They also enhanced the tree wells of and watered the Garry oaks at the Surrey Nature Centre.
Urban Forest Outreach Team
The Urban Forest Outreach team raises awareness within the community of the benefits of urban forests, promotes the adoption of stewardship behaviour in relation to urban forests and fosters a sense of community connection with Surrey’s urban forest parks.
This fall, the team consisted of two youth with one Team Leader and one Team Member. The team interacted with 620 people by roving and hosting in eight Surrey parks. Due to COVID-19 protocols, they did not attend any events or canvas homes.
Although events were cancelled due to COVID-19, the team was able to creatively engage with people through social media, nature-themed print materials, and online webinars about environmental stewardship. The team hosted an online Youth Night facilitated by the City of Surrey. They interacted with Surrey youth through fun trivia and thoughtful discussion questions about nature and provided tips about how to get work experience in the environmental field.
Lastly, the Team Leader created a video to celebrate SNAP’s 20th year anniversary. The SNAP partners and alumni were interviewed and included in the video. https://www.surreysnaturalareaspartnership.com/about
Park and people issues:
More people using the park, and not always in a responsible way: tossing garbage, using drones, lots of noise, feeding birds, etc.
Some cyclists are going off the trails, moving logs and branches to create jumps.
It’s great that people are using the park, the challenge is educating them to not wreck it for the future.
