Ruth Foster

Ruth Foster is my hero. She is an amazing retired teacher and environmentalist. I have been lucky enough to work with her at Mossom Creek Hatchery a number of times and every time I go there I learn a little bit more about the environment. She inspires me in many ways. I hope you will become inspired too, and understand why she cares about the environment. I hope you will enjoy my presentation!

Ruth Foster started Mossom Creek Hatchery in 1976 along with Rod MacVicar and, with a little bit of help from volunteers at a local school called Centennial that Ruth taught at, it got started in no time. Many student volunteers got together and started Centennial Salmon Club too. The fall of 1977 was when Mossom got its first salmon eggs. Currently, between 100,000 and 150,000 chum salmon are released into the creek and only 100-200 return. Hey, did you know that when they got started, there were no salmon left in Mossom Creek, and they did not know why? After they started, and got salmon in the creek, they couldn't just walk away. They were afraid the salmon would become extinct again. When they started, they needed to get eggs from somewhere because there were no salmon left in Mossom Creek, so they got the first eggs from the South Alouette River, then the Weaver Creek and later the Indian River, for years. Now they're back to getting eggs from the Alouette River.

Mossom Creek is a little gem of life hidden in the forest that you might not be aware of when you're driving by. There at the hatchery, volunteers raise, help and protect Mossom's salmon. It is quite an exciting process to release them, knowing that you've succeeded in helping raise the salmon. The main problem that Ruth is trying to solve is to get the salmon to come back to the creek after they are released because for a number of possible reasons there aren't enough salmon coming back to spawn on their own.

For 33 years volunteers that work along with Ruth, have farmed the salmon and then released them when they're ready. They have done a great job in raising the fish over the years and I assume that they will keep going for as many as it takes to get enough to come back, in order to spawn on their own. Ruth Foster is also a member of the Pacific Wildlife Foundation, which helps restore eelgrass around the lower mainland. The eelgrass has disappeared so they're trying to transplant it. Eelgrass is an amazing habitat for ocean creatures and is a shelter and feeding ground.

Ruth is very committed. She has been with the hatchery for 33 years and I don't think she is going to quit any time soon. In my opinion, Ruth has done a great job on getting salmon back into the creek and an even greater job on helping the environment. She inspires me by helping the environment and I hope that one day I will become as great an environmentalist as she is. I know that when you started to read this, you had no clue who Ruth Foster is and I hope you learned a little bit more about Ruth Foster and maybe, just maybe, she is your hero now!