News Release
For Immediate Distribution
Petitcodiac Riverkeeper AGM: Opportunity for Citizens to Get Involved in Future Restoration Efforts for the Peticodiac River
MONCTON, NB – Monday, April 4, 2016 – Petitcodiac Riverkeeper will be holding a community Meet and Greet as well as an Annual General Meeting in the Port Royal Salon of the Château Moncton (100 Main Street, Moncton, NB) on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, starting at 6:30pm. The event is a great opportunity for current members of the organization as well as members of the general public to meet the new Riverkeeper and Executive Director of the organization, Daniel Bard, and learn more about priorities for the river’s restoration efforts. Members of the media are welcome to attend.
“Much remains to be done for the Petitcodiac River to return to its natural state,” says Bard as the official spokesperson for Petitcodiac Riverkeeper. “The water quality does not meet the safety threshold necessary to practise recreational activities and fish spawning grounds are far from being completely restored. The causeway must be replaced with a partial bridge. Petitcodiac Riverkeeper represents the community’s interest in continued action and lobbying to ensure the full restoration of the Petitcodiac River. We invite everyone in the community who is concerned and wants to have their voice heard in ensuring the future of our river to join us for our Meet and Greet and AGM in order to give us feedback, share their ideas and find out how they can become more involved.”
Since taking over the reigns as the new Riverkeeper and Executive Director, Daniel Bard and the members of the Petitcodiac Riverkeeper Board of Directors’ main goal has been to rejuvenate public interest in the organization and recruit new partners and investors to capitalize on the current federal and provincial governments’ interest in removing the causeway and replacing it with a partial bridge. The group is also planning a major collaborative effort in the monitoring of the Petitcodiac River as a response to the much-publicized case of leaching contaminants produced by the old riverside landfill in Moncton. Monitoring will be done in two sites, at the riverside landfill site and near the mouth of the Petitcodiac River Watershed, to evaluate if contaminants are being transported into the Bay of Fundy. The project will not only create new jobs within the leading partner organizations, but also develop a database which will be made available to all decision makers and the public, with data pertaining to the water, soil, plant and shellfish samples collected.
Petitcodiac Riverkeeper is a non-profit organization. Its main objective is to restore the ecological health of the Petitcodiac and Memramcook River watersheds, including the Shepody Bay Estuary, located in southeastern New Brunswick. Petitcodiac Riverkeeper is part investigator, scientist, educator, and advocate. Petitcodiac Riverkeeper acts as a public voice for our waterways, protecting our right to clean water and a healthy watershed.
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Media Contacts:
Daniel Bard
Riverkeeper and Executive Director – Petitcodiac Riverkeeper
Email: daniel.bard@petitcodiac.org or info@petitcodiac.org
Phone: 506-388-5337
Paul N. Belliveau
President – Petitcodiac Riverkeeper Email: paul.n.belliveau@hotmail.com Phone: 506-855-2637Cell: 506-866-2637
