FWC Volunteer Bulletin-IV - April, 2021

We have four new FWC volunteers onboarding, with potential roles in the field and/or homeoffice. Continuing to grow our volunteer base is necessary as some of our volunteers move on, and continuity is key to keep us on track - to our new volunteers please be patient while we work on on-boarding within our “Covid backdrop”.

As at April 2021 our island’s freshwater catalogue database contains around 4,000 field locations (with flow, chemistry data, + at many sites).

We have "regular” field sampling in more than 17 of the island’s watersheds, several "Local Detail" watershed areas, where volunteers are collecting at multiple sites within the watershed, and we now have well sampling.

During the first quarter of 2021, in addition to field, surface water, data collection, we:

• Are, working on closer collaboration with the Quw'utsun, Stqeeye' Learning Society in their Xwaaqw’um watersheds restoration project.

• Are collecting SSI well data (14 to-date), as a project spin-off from our FWC - Simon Fraser University 2020 study.

• Have downloaded multiple 24/7 datasets from our six data logger sites, measuring water level (flow), conductivity and temperature within the Weston Creek and Xwaaqw’um watersheds.

• Finalised our 2020-2021 SSI Foundation grant SSIFWC equipment spending, and a SSIFWC report to the Foundation.

• Have kicked off a first “Our SSI Water” video short project with youths/schools. The video theme - the (delicate) water balance on an island…. Delivery ETA September 2021, just in time for school!

FWC Volunteer Bulletin-III - January, 2021 - the news

During the final quarter of 2020, in addition to volunteer field data collection at our usual around-island sites, we have:

• Continued Xwaaqw’um watersheds monitoring, fine-tuning field data collection sites, and deploying 24/7 temperature data loggers - to monitor watershed restoration related change!

• Added in 24/7 water-level and conductivity data loggers, and undertaken Weston Lake chemistry profiling - to support our “Local Detail” project in the Weston Creek watershed

• Established new FWC field data collection areas in the Cusheon Cove and Bullock Creek watersheds, and in the Ford Lake/Mereside area of the large Fulford Creek watershed - investigating surface water and groundwater baseflow(?) discharges into the creeks and lakes feeding the "Fulford Creek System"

• Discussed the Simon Fraser University (SFU) - FWC summer study reporting, with the SSI Watershed Protection Alliance (SSIWPA) Technical Working Group - to investigate how our FWC work may be leveraged in planned and ongoing island studies

• A key recommendation of the FWC - SFU study is touched on in this bulletin - see “Your Well(s) & Our FWC Project” below

• Explored options for SSI - FWC 2020-2021 school engagements during Covid - as a part of this a SSI Watershed Stewardship "Our SSI Water" video is currently in-planning!

FWC Volunteer Bulletin-II - October, 2020 - the news

In addition to data collection at our usual sites, during these last three months or so… we have:

• Bought additional field equipment and deployed this kit - a significant part of the “local detail” element of our 2020-2021 SSI Foundation SSIFWC grant award. We now have three 24/7 “Hobo” data loggers installed around Weston Lake supplementing that in place in the Lake (as part of a SSIWPA cross-island lake bodies and wells freshwater resources initiative).

• Ramped up sampling in the Weston Creek lakeside area, from “Weston Creek for 90 days” program to 120 days (finished end of July 2020) to gather key data logger calibration data as the creek flow declines to (low) summer levels.

• Finalised a small SSIFWC - Simon Fraser University (SFU) summer research study, with some interesting results on surface water connections back to groundwater geochemistry from wells and (critically) providing a workflow for determining the groundwater components of flow in our island creeks. The SFU report recommendations include collecting more summer data (at more intra-watershed sites), gathering well data and some continuous data recording (using data loggers) to make our FWC study work more robust. All items being addressed as our FWC volunteer and funding resources allow.

• Released our V3 Field Data collection App to allow us to streamline data capture and to allow the capture of important chemistry data from wells.

FWC Volunteer Bulletin-I - June, 2020 - the news

In addition to data collection at our usual sites, during this last month or so… we have:

• been collecting baseline and monitoring data as a contributor to the Xwaaqw’um wetlands restoration project, a flagship island watershed stewardship project with the Stqeeye’ Learning Society - BC Parks and led by Robin Annschild

• set-up a startup field programme in-place in a new “2017” (Madrone Creek) watershed

• started spending the “local detail” element of our 2020-2021 SSI Foundation SSIFWC grant award (we were successful in our second SSI Foundation grant application). Extracts from the write-up of our 2019-2020 SSi Foundation Grant spend will be in the imminent SSIFWC “Water Matters” Newsletter.

• ramped up sampling in the Weston Creek lakeside area, a “Weston Creek for 90 days” programme in support of a Weston Lake Water Budget project

• in the coming week we will install ‘data loggers” at key sites in the Weston Creek watershed area and have been "preparing the way" for doing this

• kicked off a small SSIFWC - Simon Fraser University (SFU) summer research study

At this point in the summer... we usually anticipate a slow down in our SSIFWC data collection. What with “the gardening" and less rain (aka no flow) there are a few data collection challenges. However, if the creeks near you are still flowing, and if you can still fit in a trip-out to sample the waters (as it were) the timing is right. Seasonal freshwater chemistry variations give valuable insights into the source(s) of the creek water flowing, telling us more about the potential impact of our aquifer(s) groundwater on our island’s freshwater ecosystems!

FWC Water Matters Newsletter IV - December , 2019

FWC Water Matters Newsletter III - May , 2019

FWC Water Matters Newsletter II - Nov , 2018

FWC Water Matters Newsletter I - June , 2018