Several Byrne Creek Streamkeepers took over 40 students from Gladstone High School in Vancouver on a tour of the creek this afternoon. It was a gorgeous day, and many of the participants were amazed at the beauty of the ravine.
As we walked the ravine loop, we stopped periodically and discussed various issues and what streamkeepers do. We covered CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) and its impact on the riparian zone, impacts of development on urban streams including loss of pervious surfaces leading to flooding and erosion, the spread of invasive plants species and ongoing illegal dumping of organic matter in parks, hazard tree monitoring and removal, etc.
I emphasized that there are different points of view on many issues, and we try to keep a balance and open minds. I also imparted the lesson that life is politics, like it or not, and that citizens can influence city hall :-).
I can blather on about these topics for hours, however I tried not to bore the kids to tears...