Noam Breger has made it his mission to save the animals, plants and people around the Stoney Creek trail.
You could say he has different goals than most eight-year-old boys – and he’s letting government know about it.
Breger, who lives near the trail, was out for a walk on a warm day when he noticed pockets of rusted metal fencing had started to fall into the bushes and the creek where salmon and other wildlife are known to inhabit. Some areas had no fencing in place, allowing litter and debris to fall into the creek.
It bothered him. A lot.
“We only have one habitable place, so we need to protect it,” Breger told the NOW.
He’s now followed through thanks to a final project at his school, in which students were asked to identify problems within their communities.
Using plasticine, toothpicks, twigs and toy animals, Breger recalled the dangerous metal fencing in his neighbourhood and created a model that included a suggestion to replace it with eco-friendly red cedar wood.
But that wasn’t enough.
In early February, Breger went even further by providing the City of Burnaby with photos and a letter explaining the dangerous situation at the creek.
To the amazement of Breger’s family and teachers, a man named Dave Poulin - a city foreman - called the school to speak with Breger directly about the fencing he had seen in the Stoney Creek area.
“He was just so excited that they would take his recommendation seriously,” Breger’s teacher Lindsay Causey said.
Breger, whose family has been attending the Great Salmon Send-Off at Stoney Creek for nearly a decade, said he loves animals and nature and doesn’t want to see man-made things pose a threat to the animals in his community, specifically the salmon.
The area in which the metal fencing is currently in place is actually in Metro Vancouver’s jurisdiction, said Poulin, although the city does help out with some maintenance to protect the fish that may be spawning in the creek.
The city is investigating how the metal fence got in the area as it is not a type of fencing the city normally uses. Poulin says it has had to prioritize other park-related concerns due to a busy time of year, but it does hope to implement Breger’s recommendation when possible.
