Oskar Von Wahl

Watershed Watch is happy to welcome Oskar, our new field and research assistant, to the team this summer! Oskar is a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia’s Bachelor of Science program, with a focus on conservation and biology. 

Since moving to B.C. in 2014, Oskar has been captivated by B.C.’s wild places, and by the salmon that sustain them.

“Salmon are an integral part of the forests and wetlands where I walk, bike, paddle, and swim. Without salmon, these places would lack the nutrients they need to flourish.”

Over the next couple months, Oskar will be canoeing waterways on the lower Fraser, collecting data on water quality and fish in support of the Resilient Waters project, to improve habitat connectivity in waterways impacted by outdated flood control structures.

He is excited about the impact his work on the Resilient Waters project will have on local waterways and the communities of animals, plants, and people that rely upon them.

“By reconnecting waterways we not only preserve wild salmon habitat, but we are also protecting the habitat of many other fish, mammal, amphibian, bird, and plant species.”

Stay tuned to hear about Oskar’s experiences in the field over the coming months!

What is Resilient Waters?

Resilient Waters is a project we developed, in collaboration with MakeWay, to identify and prioritize flood control infrastructure upgrades for disconnected waterways that once functioned as salmon habitat in the lower Fraser River. We are collecting baseline data on fish and water quality at approximately 20 sites to show how outdated flood control infrastructure negatively impacts water quality and creates conditions that do not support indigenous fish species. (And build support to restore and reconnect these waterways!)

This project supports our Connected Waters campaign which aims to reconnect vital salmon habitats in the lower Fraser.