By Mark Squibb
The past year was at times a challenging one for the long running Kelligrews Ecological Enhancement Program (KEEP), says its chairperson Jenna Scott, who gave a detailed report at the group’s recent annual general meeting.
“It’s been a slower year,” allowed Scott.
The group had one new member join, but membership remains low. The group also had difficulty holding meetings from April through August as it was unable to obtain quorum. The organization had planned to hire a Green Team to monitor the Kelligrews River and collect data on water temperature, vegetation cover, wildlife diversity, and more, for two weeks in July, but was unfortunately unable to host the team due to transportation issues and a lack of an adequate, onsite shelter.
But it did get some work done. The organization submitted letters of concerns to the provincial government regarding three quarry proposals and a concrete plant proposal. Despite the group’s concerns, all four project proposals were released from environmental assessment.
“Our main problem with quarries like this is that many companies don’t have the proper remediation plans in place, or they just don’t follow through with them,” said Scott. “Why it’s unrealistic to ask the companies and the government to put a stop to development all together, we do at least ask that there are greater environmental plans beforehand and that they clean up the mess that they make.”
On a more positive note, the group made some headway in its study of siltation that occurs in the Kelligrews River after heavy rainfalls, persuading the Province to install a mobile environmental monitoring platform (MEMP) in July.
The group also purchased a drone, which it will use to search for the source of the siltation. Members suspect the silt is coming from a high dirt embankment on Incinerator Road. Determining who would be held responsible for the cleanup, said Scott, could prove difficult, as the road itself is within the St. John’s City boundary, but the silt— which can wreak havoc on fish and animal populations — accumulates in CBS.
This year also marks the organization’s 25th anniversary, and Scott highlighted a number of the group’s accomplishments over the years, including the construction of the outdoor classroom on Pond Road, the removal of concrete barriers from the Kellgirews River, and 15 years of hosting the Kelligrews Railway Folk Festival.
The group is a volunteer, non-profit organization that aims to maintain and preserve waterbodies within the town — more specifically, the Kelligrews River and the Lower Gully.
“It’s important that we protect these rivers for a lot of reasons,” said Scott. “They act as a carbon sink (something which absorbs more carbon than it releases), they can filter out hazardous materials before they reach the ocean, they prevent flooding by holding water, and they support biodiversity.”
At the end of the AGM, the group hosted its election of officers. Brad Strap was voted vice-chairman, Karen Morris treasurer, Stephanie Pink secretary, and Phyllis Smith a director. There are still some directors’ positions that need to be filled.
