Workday Report - Nov.2, 2013 - Mill Creek

Site:  Mill Creek, Cayuga - Blue Spring Area

“Wanna be in a TV Ad?”

What an attention getter!  We already had a crew restlessly waiting to see when our recently purchased pea gravel was going to be delivered to the site above Blue Spring at the Rail Trail. This sprung eager volunteers into action: not for the video, but to finally put the finishing touches onto the work we had done to aerate the anoxic spring flow this summer.

We were one step closer to getting a resident brook trout population in this gem of a stream, after six YEARS!

The other issue we needed to address was how to get this dynamic message to the public. That opportunity came when TU in Calgary issued notice of a CONTEST for a two minute Public Service Announcement.  Hmmm, first prize a cool $1,000 also got our attention.

With perfect timing, the executive approved purchase of a suitable camcorder for our workday, so we could capture this exciting event! The prize will be ours, we thought! All we needed was for photogenic spokesperson, but who?  Not I said piggy #1, all on down the line. Piggy #1 (Me) was proposed, but Piggy #1 had a better idea. Lets get ma couple of our young, personable Mill Creek VOLUNTEERS to do the honours? Who else but volunteers Andrea Court and Ian Howe!! Yup.



Brilliant! Except for Mother Nature. She decided to rain on our parade. Undaunted, we went ahead: fearless camera operator, soaking wet, along with onscreen types, we shot 10 short scenes to create our required Story Board as the work proceeded.  Head cameraman was chided for avoiding the heavy (not so heavy) lifting, but he managed a couple of shovels of gravel between takes. His film audio was lousy.

In the end, we made a big dent in the 5 tons or so of gravel before the mandated noon quitting time. There is some dispute how much is yet to do, but it has provided ideal spawning grounds for any brook trout that should find themselves “In the mood”. Nonetheless, we 10 peons scuffed our way a mile or so to the cars and skedaddled, JUST as the clouds really opened up.

Dodged another bullet folks. We just have the knack for it! See you again soon and thanks for coming out and making a difference!

Lets see…silt fence, Xmas tree deflectors, fallen trees, Hmm: the list goes on, but we have already overcome the biggest obstacles.  Enjoy some pictures and movies.

Bill Xmas