The Fluvarium, meaning "windows on a stream", is a public centre for environmental education, located in

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

, and is operated by the Quidi Vidi/Rennie's River Development Foundation. The lowest level of the Fluvarium features an underwater view of Nagle's Hill Brook through nine large viewing windows. Visitors can observe

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

and salmon living in their natural habitat. The center also has a series of natural water aquariums and terrariums that showcase fish and

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

species found throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

History

Quidi Vidi/Rennie's River Development Foundation (QVRRDF) was established as a registered non-profit charitable organization in 1985. It was formed by a group of environmentalists and conservationists who were motivated to protect and enhance Rennie’s River, a major waterway flowing through the heart of St. John’s into Quidi Vidi Lake. The QVRRDF started with the goal cleaning up the polluted Rennie’s River and building a walking trail along its meandering path. To clean up Rennie’s River, a series of projects were undertaken including

stream stabilization A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ar ...

, general environmental restoration, and construction of a fish ladder. Since its inception, over 7.5 km of walking trails, including boardwalks and look-out areas, were completed along the banks of Rennie’s River and around Quidi Vidi Lake. In 1985, the foundation also received approval by the St. John's City Council to build an interpretation centre at Long Pond with a

stream tank A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ar ...

to "allow visitors to view, through a glass wall, the surface and bed of the river, where they will be able to observe trout spawning."Quidi Vidi Rennies River Development Foundation (December 2003) A Look Back. Ripples Newsletter. Vol 18, Number 1. FluvariumWindow

By 1987, the QVRRDF began delivering environmental outreach programs to school children. The program focused on giving children a better understanding of the ecosystem of the river. The foundation spent the majority of 1988 securing funding for the construction of The Fluvarium. In June 1988, Prince Edward "turned the sod" at the site where the centre would be constructed. In November 1990, The Fluvarium opened to the public with the goal to educate the public and in particular school aged children about the importance of watersheds and how to treat them properly. It was officially opened by

The Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of Ki ...

, on July 2, 1991. The opening celebrations included the unveiling of a commemorative plaque, and a tour of the building and grounds.

Exhibits

Water: Past, Present, and Future

The second level exhibit area features a view of the Nagle's Hill Brook and has a number of educational exhibits concerning freshwater environments. This includes interactive displays on water, glaciations,

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

, riparian zones and

water monitoring Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

Fluvarium

The Fluvarium level features a panoramic view through nine large viewing windows, into Nagle's Hill Brook. A tributary of Rennie's River, this brook originates 3 kilometers north of The Suncor Energy Fluvarium, at Three Pond Barrens. It was diverted to flow past the "windows on a stream" for visitors to explore the life of a river and the ecosystem of which it is part. The windows allow visitors to see typical areas in a river system, including deep pool, shallow pool and riffle areas. The majority of the fish seen in the brook are brown trout, a species introduced into Newfoundland in 1884. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/zone/underwater_sous-marin/trout/trout_e.htm Fish can enter and exit the diverted section using a fish ladder. During the fall, visitors can watch brown trout prepare their nests ( redds) and spawn in the riffle areas. The centre also houses a number of aquariums, fed with stream water from Nagle's Hill Brook. These contain species of typical freshwater fish and amphibians from around Newfoundland and Labrador, including

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...

American eel The American eel (''Anguilla rostrata'') is a facultative catadromous fish found on the eastern coast of North America. Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the elopomorph superorder, a group of phylogenetically ancient teleosts. The America ...

s, Arctic char, wood frogs and green frogs.

Partnerships

Research

The QVRRDF began its first research project at The Fluvarium, March 1992. Research into the pigmentation of

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

flesh using '' Rhodotorula'' in prepared diets was investigated in partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador

Institute of Fisheries and Marine Technology The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland, popularly referred to as the Marine Institute (MI) or simply Marine, is a post-secondary ocean and marine polytechnic located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

Aquaculture Unit.Quidi Vidi Rennies River Development Foundation (March 2004) A Look Back. Ripples Newsletter. Vol 18, Number 2. From 1995-2002, The Fluvarium took part in an Atlantic salmon restocking program in partnership with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Salmon eggs were incubated on site and each year about 8000 salmon fry were released into the Rennie's, Waterford and Virginia Rivers. In 1999, salmon were found in a fish trap at Quidi Vidi Lake. They were believed to be from the first batch of fry released in the system in 1995 and were the first salmon seen in the rivers since the 1930s.

Salmon program

The Suncor Energy Fluvarium continues to play a small part in Atlantic salmon restocking with the Atlantic Salmon Federation's Fish/Friends program. Each spring The Suncor Energy Fluvarium delivers about 1600 salmon eggs to various schools that raise the eggs in special classroom incubators. In the late spring, classes go to The Suncor Energy Fluvarium to release salmon eggs into Nagle's Hill Brook.

The Duck Race

The Annual Rennie's River Duck Race is a popular fundraising event for the Quidi Vidi / Rennie's River Development Foundation that helps to support their environmental initiatives. An annual tradition since 1988, the event attracts large crowds to the banks of Rennie's River, to watch up to 2,500 "sponsored" yellow

rubber ducks A rubber duck or a rubber duckie is a toy shaped like a stylized duck, generally yellow with a flat base. It may be made of rubber or rubber-like material such as vinyl plastic. Rubber ducks were invented in the late 1800s when it became poss ...

make their way down the river and through the city, to the finish line. The first three ducks across the finish line win prizes for their sponsor.Quidi Vidi Rennies River Development Foundation (2010)Duck race information. Retrieved from http://www.fluvarium.ca/pg.php?p=19. Last accessed December 26, 2010.

Gallery

Image:Entrance to Fluvarium, St John's.jpg, Entrance to The Suncor Energy Fluvarium Image:Copy of Flvm Pictures2 025.jpg, Green frog (''Lithobates clamitans'') Image:Green frog tadpole.jpg, Green frog (''Lithobates clamitans'') tadpole Image:Fluvarium American toad.JPG, American toad (''Bufo americanus'') Image:Fluvarium Brown Trout.jpg, Brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') Image:Stickleback_Gasterosteus_aculeatus.jpg, Threespine stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') Image:Fluvarium Fossil, St. John's, Newfoundland.jpg, Fluvarium fossil

References

External links

The Fluvarium Official Website
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Fluvarium The Fluvarium, meaning "windows on a stream", is a public centre for environmental education, located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and is operated by the Quidi Vidi/Rennie's River Development Foundation. The lowest level of the Fluva ...

Museums established in 1990 Nature centres in Canada 1990 establishments in Newfoundland and Labrador