05/25/2026
BCWS was thrilled to do an interview with the Pacific Salmon Foundation and, of course, delighted to receive funding to support our next phase of riparian restoration at Birkdale farms.
Have a read of PSF's write-up on our creek below:
Multi-year restoration efforts see increased salmon on Vancouver Island farm
Brooklyn Creek may only be six kilometres long, but it traverses two golf courses, a farm, parks, and residential properties across three jurisdictions before emptying into the Comox Estuary — all while supporting coho and pink salmon populations. Mitigating the effects of urban development on this salmon stream has required long-running community efforts, led by the Brooklyn Creek Watershed Society since 1998.
With funding from PSF in 2022, the society set its sights on the stream’s upper reaches within Birkdale Farm, important habitat for juvenile and adult coho.
“This area of Brooklyn Creek had great potential, but it was a homogenous, scoured channel prone to flash flooding and drying out. Our goal was to bring back the diverse habitat features that salmon need,” says John Neilson, the society’s president.
“We’ve got a jewel here, and we want to save it. It’s been very rewarding to see a healthier watershed that is appreciated by the community, so much so that volunteers are planning a celebratory toast to the creek.”
In four years, they’ve added more than 15 pools, 20 large woody debris structures, 300 cubic metres of spawning gravel, and 4,000 native plants that are now outcompeting invasive species. A promising sign of success, the number of young coho salmon counted in the stream this spring is already the largest in 15 years. A new $39,000 PSF grant will extend this work into the last unrestored area on the farm this summer.
