Students Acting On What They’ve Learned
Inaugural stewardship challenge connects faculty with community

On Earth Day, the Faculty joined the Stoney Creek Environment Committee (SCEC), and the City of Burnaby to clean up Stoney Creek in our first Stewardship Challenge. Students, faculty, staff, and streamkeepers from SCEC cleaned up debris from the watershed, in an effort to keep local waterways free of garbage that contaminates water and damages vital salmon habitat.

This community event was inspired by ongoing community-based field activities in the Environmental Sciences course on Methods in Environmental Science, taught by Marnie Branfireun. This course supports student exploration and analysis of a local watershed that provides critical urban habitat for salmon and other species in the lower mainland. Spending time around Stoney Creek, and seeing how impacted it is by the dumping of garbage, spread of invasive plants, encroachment, and development, inspired students to apply what they learn and act on improving stream health.