Students from Thomas Haney Secondary School are working together with the GVRD and the Kanaka Education and Environmental Partnership Society (KEEPS) on projects within Kanaka Creek Regional Park. Under the direction of Thomas Haney teachers, park staff, local professionals and KEEPS volunteers, students have been engaging in practical activities that provide public and environmental service as well as exceptional opportunities for learning -- for which they obtain curriculum credit.

Salmonid enhancement has been the main focus for many of the group activities in the program. Each year, students help install a fish fence and use seine nets to obtain chum and coho brood stock from Kanaka Creek. At the Bell-Irving Hatchery, manager John Heaven trains the students in the procedures for obtaining eggs and milt and supervises school crews in fertilizing 60,000 to 80,000 eggs each season. In addition to propagation projects, students have also been releasing fry, doing G-trap enumerations and food assessments throughout the Kanaka watershed.

Thomas Haney students have also taken advantage of other opportunities. Students hike the main channel of the creek and sections of numerous tributaries each year to assess habitat, map physical features and conduct surveys of the flora and fauna. Seven permanent sites are monitored monthly for water quality and trees have been planted for riparian enhancement. Students continue a long-term forest inventory on a single-hectare site. More than 20 wood duck nestboxes have been built and installed, and are then monitored and maintained each year.

Activities also touch on the historical, archeological and geological features of Kanaka Creek. The focus also extends to economic and development issues outside the boundaries that have impacts on the park. The students involved directly in the school's Kanaka Program also have outreach activities that are designed to connect their studies with the interests of other students at Thomas Haney, students at local elementary schools and community groups such as Scouts Canada, the Alouette Field Naturalists and service clubs. Some of these connections have evolved into important partnerships, such as those with the Blue Mountain Woodlot, community greenhouse owners and a private local bird sanctuary managed by Dr. Dave Rempel.

All the activities have resulted a wealth of usable resources, a significant bank of data and a broad inventory of animals and plants. This information has been shared with other schools as well as with the GVRD and municipal government; its accuracy and consistency have been acknowledged. As well as performing a community service, students also get credit for courses such as Biology 11, Earth Science 11 and Work Experience 12. The program continues to grow, with both the school and its partners looking forward to a long and mutually profitable association.

– Ken Williams, Teacher, Thomas Haney Secondary School