The weather was so hot last week that all the cows at the Little Campbell Hatchery collectively took shelter underneath a tree.

And yet, as they relaxed, not far away, university and high school students with SHaRP’s Agricultural Stewardship Program endured the hot sun, building a fence that will protect the cattle from overstepping their bounds.

Established in 1996, SHaRP (Salmon Habitat Restoration Program) is a city-run, student-based initiative promoting salmon habitat enhancement for the local creeks and streams in Surrey.

Members of the Agricultural Program, led by Erin Catherall of SHaRP’s media and public relations team, spent two days this week building a fence that will prevent the bovines from entering the hatchery’s waterstream.

If the cows enter the water, it causes sedimentation that is bad for the hatchery’s fish population.

“We’re helping out the hatchery,” said Catherall.

The group is also removing reed canary grass, an invasive plant.

“It out-competes natural vegetation and limits the habitat for wildlife,” she said.

Because Catherall’s team is made entirely of students (members are from high school, and leaders are from university), the program has taken a mentoring role as well.

All the members are from Surrey, ensuring that their message is both given and received on a local level.

“Another big goal here is community education,” said Catherall. “We want to educate the public on these creeks and streams that are salmon-bearing.”

There are more than 300 kilometres of salmon-inhabited creeks and streams in Surrey, Catherall noted.

“We are working to reduce urban impacts on these salmon habitats.”

- by Kolby Solinsky