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I had a lot of fun visiting Noon's Creek Hatchery! There were so many memorable moments from that day but the ones that stood out were the times we were able to see the many animals that live in the area right in front of us. We managed to see a Heron swoop above our heads and land near the creek only a few meters away from us. I learned how fast Salamanders can dart around in the water when we managed to catch about five of them! 

I was really happy to be able to see a salmon up close while it was making its way up the creek and being able to see it in that stage of its life was incredible. When learning about the stages in a salmons life, I've felt there can be a philosophy behind it. We've learned that from birth, salmons have a difficult life with only 1% of a salmons eggs surviving. We have also learned that as they make their way to spawn, the freshwater breaks down their skin making their last half of their life even harder. When I was looking at these stages solely through this perspective, it was easy for me to ask if reproducing was worth all that struggle. When looking at the bigger picture though, I  noticed how important a salmon's life is to the health of the ecosystems it is intertwined with, making it one of our important keystone species. Ever since I've thought and learned about this, I have developed this admiration and appreciation for the salmon in our oceans.

Near the end of our day, we were told that the Hatchery takes volunteers and it's something I am definitely interested and I hope I will be making my way back to the Hatchery really soon with some friends! :D

We saw a blue heron and two bald eagles in the first minutes of the event, which already made my day. We also saw a Lion’s Mane Jellyfish and some cool trees and ecosystems on our walk. There we saw an invasive walnut tree. I didn’t know that their leaves and roots leave a chemical in the soil, making it difficult for other plants’ survival and allowing it to spread more quickly. Another different plant was the one that, when petted from the bottom up, was smooth but, when petted from the top-down, felt super spiky like a porcupine. It was sad that we didn’t see many salmon in the creek, but it was essential to learn the effects of the yearly decrease in returning salmon to the rivers and streams. I’ve never seen the inside of a hatchery, so it was interesting to see how it works. We saw trays full of eggs, and it was beautiful to imagine that each of those tiny eggs would become a fish. I also loved finding salamanders and looking at dragonflies larvae on the microscope. Rich biodiversity reflects the creek’s health, so seeing in the microscope that the stream is full of life shows that humans are the reason salmon are not returning. The area was filled with clam beds, a giant natural filter, and the erosion caused by human deforestation to build houses caused a sliding that covered all the clam beds. It also brought chemicals and toxins that made the clams no longer safe to be eaten. Seeing how much bad impact humans have in these ecosystems made me feel disappointed. We also walked by the trail Terry Fox used to practice for his run, which was cool. I still have to do a lot of research on hatcheries and their impact. For now, I think that if good laws and policies ensure that hatcheries are doing everything correctly, and for the best interest of the environment, it can be an ally in repopulating some species. We also did some water testing but didn’t find anything much different. When I saw and learned that not many salmon came back this year, I realized that this problem is more urgent than I thought. The creek next to my school also has issues because returning salmon are also becoming fewer every year.

During the microscope exploration, my team and I made it a challenge to find a salamander. We had been told that only one had been found with the last group of students, and we wanted to destroy their spirits. After a devastating twenty minutes, we found no salamanders, but instead a plethora of dragonfly larvae, some very interesting ancient scaled bugs, and a mysterious jellied substance still unnamed. Next to us, on microscope two, five salamanders were found by an opposing team. Ignoring our seething anger, we took photos and notes on our finds. After a small walk, a tour, and a lesson in aquaculture, my mind left the deep-seated failure of finding no salamanders to the shockingly complex world of culturing fish. With a family history set in fish culture and aquaculture, I had initially dismissed it, but the new information I found on this excursion genuinely changed my mind. The opportunities found within culturing spread as wide as the rivers they study: from boating expeditions to simple lab work, I could find a spark of intrigue in any job title. Combining work on the environmental impact fish face with the importance of fish as a food source seemed impossible to me. Mass food production seemingly had no positive outcomes, but with the introduction of the intense information steam coming in, the cycle and demand of production for seafood has a positive future ahead. Thank you YouthToSea for giving me the chance to change my mind and see new perspectives on seemingly closed-off discussions.