I’ve never been much of an environmentalist.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the environment... y’know, like the Earth that gives me stuff like food, and the air that keeps me from keeling over onto a blue face with bulging eyes. But despite the fact that good ’ol Mom Nature has seen fit to generously feed, clothe and basically give me the gift of life — not to mention letting me use her ample backside for biking and other recreational purposes — I can’t really say I’ve done anything for the old girl.
Sure, I bought tickets to an “Enviro-Fest” rock concert once when I was in university… but I think I may have littered and smashed some beer bottles when I was there (I can’t really be certain, though, because I was light headed from broken glass wounds as the time… and possibly drunk), so that probably doesn’t really count. Let’s just say it isn’t something I’d put on an application for a job at Greenpeace.
But after seeing pictures and videos of the pod of dolphins and orcas that visited Squamish a couple of weeks ago, I could see the actual impact of people who went out of their way to do something for the environment.
In recent years, Howe Sound has seen quite a resurgence of sea life. In addition to the aforementioned and headline-grabbing visit from the dolphins and orcas, we’ve seen whales, seals and other sea life in the sound, thanks to the return of herring to our waters. And those herring would not be there if not for the diligent efforts of the Squamish Streamkeepers over the past few years. By working hard to bring back the herring, they helped create this domino effect where we are now seeing the fragile health and vitality of the Howe Sound returning. They made a real and tangible difference.
But we’ve still obviously got a lot more to do.
Squamish has vintage boat issues to deal with, as well as the possibility of incoming new industry (and the increase in vessel activity in Howe Sound that would come with it) to consider.
If we want to continue to see and be amazed by the gifts of the natural world, residents have to be careful and weigh any economic benefits from new industries versus a fragile ecosystem. We’ve got to make sure we don’t negate all the Streamkeepers’ efforts. So if, like me, you’ve never shown Mother Nature how much you really appreciate her… now is certainly the time.
