Discover Local Ocean Threats

Whether inland or on the coast, our communities harbour a number of threats to ocean wildlife. When we know what to look for, we'll see clues we've passed hundreds of times before. Here are a few examples:

Fragmented Waterways

• Look for dams, dikes, weirs, and "perched" culverts (those that discharge high above the water surface). They impede movement of aquatic wildlife and keep fish like salmon from critical spawning areas.

Riparian Disturbance
• Look for signs that your shores are disturbed. Concrete or wood retaining walls, eroding banks, buried waterways (culverts under roads), lawns within three metres of the water's edge, and parking lots or roads beside the shore can wipe out shoreline wildlife habitat and hinder the absorption of contaminated run-off.

Toxic "Hot Spots"

• Look for places where toxic material, such as oil from parking lots, or salt from bridges and roads, can enter waterways.
• Look for retaining ponds and outflows from mines, industry, storm sewers, and domestic sewage (especially those not fully treated).
• Look for municipal dumps too close to waterways.
• Look for litter in local streams.
• Look up. Smoke stacks can launch airborne pollutants seaward.

Overdeveloped Shorelines
• Look for homes, cottages, and resorts that have displaced natural beaches and marshes—critical habitats for some species.
• Look for night lighting in coastal areas that can disorient turtle hatchlings or migrating birds.

Channel Changes

• Look for straightened creeks, dredged harbours, etc. These disrupt flow patterns and change the bottom materials of waterways, affecting "bottom-dwellers" on which other wildlife feed.

Also look for signs of healthy waterways and shorelines:

• riparian areas that are natural and well-vegetated at least three metres back from shore;
• fish ways (i.e., ladders) so fish can get around dams;
• the presence of wildlife and wildlife signs;
• sewage plants that fully treat the sewage; and
• parks and protected areas.

Students who are capable of independent work can be organized into teams and assigned an area in which to conduct the scavenger hunt. Always consider safety issues, particularly where traffic and water are concerned, and brief the students accordingly. You can also run this activity as a closely- supervised field trip with groups of younger students. Your discoveries can be added to a community map and set the stage for future actions.