Waterdown Scout aims to spread environmental message

Post date: Apr 26, 2012 3:32:56 PM

Friday, April, 20, 2012

http://www.flamboroughreview.com/community/waterdown-scout-aims-to-spread-environmental-message/

By Chris Funston, SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW

“Think globally, act locally” – that’s the purpose of the Yellow Fish Road Program.

“The program aims to make people aware that hazardous liquids should not be disposed of through storm drains, as these drain directly into the Great Lakes,” said 13-year-old Will Richardson, a third-year scout, “If we can get the people of Waterdown to be aware that storm drains are only for rain, perhaps the message will spread across the country.”

In 2011, John Siegner, a leader with the 3rd Waterdown Scouts, arranged for the troop to participate in the Yellow Fish Road program. Their first activity was to paint yellow fish icons on the storm grates outside of Guy Brown Public School. On May 10, they will be marking storm grates around the neighborhoods of Waterdown.

Richardson, who started scouts at age four, said he wants to get the community to be aware and help the environment.

“The troop plans to mark every storm grate in Waterdown over the next several years,” he said.

Yellow Fish first began appearing in 1991, when the program was developed and piloted nationally by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Trout Unlimited Canada. By 1993, the Bay Area Restoration Council (BARC) adopted the program into local areas along the coast of Lake Ontario.

Since 2004, BARC has taken a new approach to the program, which continues today. This includes painting a yellow fish on the storm grate and attaching a four-inch plastic disk on the sidewalk that shows BARC and Yellow Fish Road’s websites along with the message “Only rain down the drain.”

The painted fish last about two years and the plastic markers can last for about 10 years.

As part of the extra work Richardson has done while being a member of the scouts, including this program, he will be receiving a Chief Scout award (CSA), which symbolizes world conservation.

His father, Andrew Richardson, a leader for the troop, noted the award is a prestigious one.

“The scouts were green before Kermit,” he said, “Whether it be no-trace camping, leading in the community or being aware of what global impacts can be effected.”

Awarded in June, Will says that the CSA represents three years of hard work and that the recognition above all else means the most to him.