The 21st annual Kids’ Catch a Trout Day at Chapman Creek Hatchery was a big success this year with close to 250 adults stopping by and more than 400 children – many of whom got to try their hand at fishing for their first time.
“It’s amazing to see the reactions. A lot of them are like, ‘wow this is so cool!’ and they get to go home with a fish as well,” said David Burnett, executive director of the Sunshine Coast Salmonid Enhancement Society (SCSES).
This year the event raised about $2,300 for the hatchery, which Pat Moore, president of the SCSES, said was “an 11 out of 10 day for the hatchery.”
“It’s a fundraiser, but it’s an outreach too,” Burnett said, “to say thank you to the community for their support.”
The Chapman Creek Hatchery is also introducing a new series of week-long summer camps beginning on July 25.
Summer camp lead educator Jen Callaghan said the theme of the camps is to explore the wild, with a focus on salmon because of the fish’s connection to ocean, aquatic and forest eco-systems on the Coast.
“We are going to be doing a lot of nature exploration, hiking, looking at stream invertebrates, looking at salmon and their life cycle, and even doing a little fishing here at the hatchery,” Callaghan said.
“We’ll work in some wilderness skills as well, so kids can take away and be able to do more exploring on their own. Things like fly tying, fishing, knot tying, fire starting – all those great survival techniques.”
Summer camps are based out of the hatchery and run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day, five days a week. Visit www.scsalmon.org for more information.
