Salmon ceremony at Longfellow Creek

My series of photographs is documenting a little ‘Homecoming Celebration’ for the Salmon in Longfellow Creek. My friend Cheryln and I helped as ‘Community Scientist’ to study the impact of toxic run-off on the salmon returning to the creek for spawning. We also planted different shrubs along the creek and removed trash to create a salmon-friendly environment. We visit the Dragonfly Park often and enjoy wildlife sightings. 

The neighboring Fauntleroy Creek hosts a community event ‘Drumming the salmon home’ each year around Indigenous People Day. Inspired, we created a little ceremony to welcome Salmon back to Longfellow Creek.

My series shows the Dragonfly pavilion at the Park entrance, our cheerful flag and ceremonial altar. The salmon run usually starts with heavy rains, which we had plenty the last couple of days, so I went down to the Creek daily to look out for Salmon.

Someone reported on seeing one, but I wasn’t as lucky. I found a cup of tea on a particular rainy day down at the creek symbolizing ‘patience’ and decided to photoshop/edit a portrait of a happy salmon and a future vision of an abundance of salmon all over the creek.