At the annual Civic Appreciation Dinner on
January 20, the City of Port Moody
announced winners of their
Environmental and Heritage Restoration Awards.
It was wonderful to see Kiyoshi Takahashi
receive the Environmental Award for his
significant contributions towards creating purple
martin habitat at Rocky Point Park, and for monitoring
these nest boxes plus the osprey nest and
generously providing his photography for
interpretive signage throughout City Parks. In his
acceptance speech, Kiyoshi kindly acknowledged
the work of other volunteers (including several other
BMN members) in maintaining the purple martin
nest boxes, monitoring their nesting success and
doing related banding projects. In his speech
announcing the award, Councillor Bob Elliott
explained to those present (Port Moody residents
who serve as volunteers on civic
committees) how Kiyoshi and his team
of volunteers have enabled the
endangered purple martins to reestablish
a breeding population in Port
Moody after an absence of a quarter of
a century.
It’s always gratifying to see volunteers
such as Kiyoshi, who donate so
many hours of their time to conservation
and education initiatives, receive
official recognition for their efforts.
So – our heartiest congratulations to
Kiyoshi and all those who
assist with the purple martin project!