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A VICTORY OVER POLLUTION IN THE HEART OF A CITY

                                                                                                           [QVRRDF photo]

This freshwater interpretive centre is unique in Canada

Imagine, a polluted river flowing through the heart of a city, channelized, devoid of life, an obnoxious smell rising from its yellowish, unattractive waters. Then visualize this same river with a few years of care and attention from a dedicated group...Now its clear waters splash over cascades and riffles; fish can be seen gliding through its deeper pools; and birds, butterflies and insects are attracted by the lush vegetation. Trees overhang the river, providing shade and shelter, while their falling leaves enter the waters as part of the food chain.

Terming the foregoing "one small environmental miracle," the Quidi Vidi Rennie's River Development Foundation in St. John's sums up its major achievement of restoring a watercourse in the heart of a city, and helping enlighten adults and children alike about their natural surroundings and environmental stewardship.

That all has been accomplished since the non-profit foundation's birth in 1985, with a number of related successes. Perhaps the most familiar is the Fluvarium, a unique institution for a Canadian city. But the foundation is also known for developing several kilometres of riverside walking trails, marsh and river observation decks, the highest population of brown trout in the world, and an Atlantic salmon restocking program that has brought these legendary fish back from the sea to spawn in the city for the first time in 60 years.

What is a fluvarium? It is a window into a stream, in this case a world class freshwater interpretive centre which describes life in and around not just the Rennie's River system, but the ponds and rivers of the entire province.

Now an award winning tourist attraction for the capital city, the Fluvarium is a three-storey multi-sided building on a hillside overlooking central St. John's in the distance and, closer in, the green-swathed watercourse described above. Nagle's Hill Brook was diverted to flow directly beside the building which has nine large underwater windows showing visitors various sub-surface views as the brook makes its way down to Long Pond, Rennie's River, Quidi Vidi Lake, and eventually the sea.

"Brown trout, salmon parr, mink, muskrat and other aquatic creatures can be seen in their natural environment through these windows," reads a Fluvarium brochure. "there are three distinct habitats: a shallow pool with slow moving water, a riffle area for spawning, and a deep pool. The Fluvarium looks different in every season, the slanting sunlight through the water in summer, spawning activity in the fall, life under the ice in winter, and the hatching of eggs in the spring." A high spot each day occurs at 4 p.m. when staff toss food to the resident brown trout, creating a period of feverish activity underwater.

Other exhibits in the centre explain the natural freshwater world of Newfoundland and Labrador, starting with a look at fossils and prehistoric animals and plants. Visitors can learn in detail about life along a river, the intimate details of bogs, barrens, marshes and ponds, various invertebrates, and the lives of the province's freshwater fish including Atlantic salmon and Arctic char. Live exhibits can include frogs, toads, salamanders, eels, sticklebacks and sometimes obscure native fish like the banded killifish which is found in ponds in several parts of the island.

Bringing the salmon back to St. John's has been a big achievement for the foundation. In 1995 about 7,000 salmon fry were released into the Rennie's River system to see if any would return to spawn. In August, 1999, at a fishway between the sea and the Quidi Vidi Lake, four adult salmon were spotted in the fish trap, marking the success of the experiment. Two females and a male were retained and stripped for fertilization, then returned to the river. In an incubator at the Fluvarium the eggs were matured over the winter and released in the spring in two city rivers in efforts to restore a native population for the first time in six decades. Other returning salmon will be allowed to spawn naturally now, but the incubator is expected to continue to help the restocking program.

A federal tourism agency, Attractions Canada, voted the Fluvarium the top indoor tourist attraction in the province for the years 2000 and 2002. As well as being popular with real visitors, the facility is generating interest through its website www.fluvarium.ca since it was set up in 1997. Its internet guestbook shows website visits from around the world, including Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil, Chile, Mauritius, United Arab Emirates, India, Norway and Estonia.

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