This piece was done as part of a project held by our local Watershed Education department.

The storm drains in our town lead directly into the creek. Gore Creek is currently in endangered status. Several factors are stopping the insect population from replenishing itself. This, of course, affects the fish and birds that feed on the insects, so on up the food chain. One factor is erosion. We plant native plants along the most barren edges of the creek to try and encourage new growth to return and prevent this. Another factor is littering. Refuse is regularly dumped down the drains, which then ends up in the creek. Its not just tourists who don’t realize we don’t have a treatment plant, but also locals, who have been caught dumping potting soil, leftover paint or dirty water down the drains. The weirdest thing to date was some hundred and fifty hot dogs or more.

This piece and others like it, exhibiting local wildlife that depends on the creek, will be placed over storm drains all through town, especially on popular walking routes. The hope is that, by educating passers about the drains and how they affect the creek and wildlife, we can maybe improve the conditions and take another step towards restoring our creek.