This spring we were visited by a class enrolled in the Take A Hike foundation led by Dane Cox. The program uses outdoor experiential leaning as a foundation for its success and the the visitors had a chance to experience first hand how cutthroat trout are located, trapped, measured and logged. A short demonstration on how to handle the trout to ensure they weren’t harmed during measuring allowed the class members to try their hands.

The class retrieved seven cutthroat ranging from 60 to 140 mms, all close to the mouth of the creek. In addition two large sculpins were recorded. During their visit the class was given a short tour of the creek with an explanation of how the trout enter the creek, spawn and spend up to a year or more before returning to coastal waters.

An interesting discovery was a Caddisfly Larva which had hatched in a small piece of vegetation. It was spotted by Olaf who saw the piece of stick moving, as the larva emerged from its hiding place. The larvae will eventually emerge from their casing and grow into a pupae before swimming to the surface and beginning the life cycle as a Caddisfly.

Many thanks to Lyndsey McCrank of Esquimalt Lagoon Stewardship Initiative for arranging the visit.