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Welcome to Finn Slough and the Finn Slough Heritage & Wetland Society. The residents and fishers who live and work in this unique community invite you to explore the pages of this website and uncover the many delightful aspects of the "Slough"; its Finnish roots, the who's who of wildlife and plants, current events related to our community and its role in the rich heritage of the Fraser River.

Discover Finn Slough! Click on the buttons to the left and be sure to visit our Gallery to view images collected from today's artists.

Finn Slough (or sometimes Gilmore or Tiffin Slough) can be found on the south arm of the mighty Fraser River in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The Slough is bounded on the Fraser River side by Gilmour Island and on the north by a dyke built to protect Richmond. Access to homes on the Gilmour Island side of the Slough is by a wooden draw-bridge, creating a definite sense of isolation from the nearby urban areas of Richmond and Vancouver.

It is pronounced "slew".

HELP SAVE THE EVA

18^th Annual, 2018

Art about Finn Slough

With thanks to Richmond Cultural Centre and Finn Slough Heritage and Wetlands

Art about Finn Slough 2018

Our 18^th annual Art about Finn Slough show thanks to the Richmond Cultural Centre, was a great success, in so many ways: visually, artistically, and community. There were more artists than ever in the show -- 75 (and many more, if we count the preschoolers who contributed their wonderful birds in nests pictures). We also had the most pieces of art in the show this year -- 173 (again, exclusive of the preschooler’s art). Thank you to all the artists, the art groups, the preschoolers from Little Maples, and to those who persuaded them to participate so wonderfully. We had fewer pieces of writing this year and want to encourage more… poems, short reflections, essay… next year. We had and displayed articles about the EVA, which is part of the written component of the show.

This year’s show as always had the topic of Finn Slough. That answers the ‘what’ question. But the so what? question has many more interesting answers. So what? relates to the felt sense that Finn Slough itself preserves what was once a wide spread and is now an almost vanished part of Richmond. So we invite artists to consider, celebrate, enjoy, represent Finn Slough -- to capture its uniqueness and show others what is there and worth preserving. It is as important for the show to have appreciative and informed visitors as it is for the artists to show their work. This year, the audience -- the viewers -- came in numbers greater than we have ever seen. And our activities for children were very well used, suggesting that children found something to enjoy in the art and in making art back in response. Children’s works created on site were displayed as they emerged.

We were especially delighted and informed by Lenore Newman who was this year’s speaker at the Friday evening celebration of art and artists. Dr. Newman is Canada Research Chair in Food Security and Environment at the University of the Fraser Valley, where she is an associate professor in the department of geography and the environment. She spoke enthusiastically and entertainingly about her own Finnish fishing roots and the relationship of land to food, water to food, and land to water, both globally and locally, information that is not in itself entertaining but presented so listeners could put the challenges and difficulties in an appropriate perspective.

The Friday celebration would not feel complete without our musician Kevin Craig and Simon Casey whose improvisation before and after our speaker were the best ever this year, and so much appreciated for their artistry and their being there for us.

This year, as well, we celebrated the EVA, the wooden gillnetter (fish boat) that has lived its life at Finn Slough and is aging into a moment where soon we will need to raise funds to assure its survival. Wonderful images of the EVA over the years were shown and described and discussed at the Saturday afternoon Tea and Talk by Ulrich Gaede, photographer and friend and chronicler of the EVA.

The celebration had a further dimension, in addition. This year, Art about Finn Slough was able to use the Rotunda for about 3 weeks. That part of the show was curated and called “Birds and Boats” presenting an elemental view of the layers of connectivity between the environment and those makers of livelihoods, the small fishing boats of Finn Slough. Images were by natural history photographer Rob Alexander and boat photographer Ulrich Gaede. A dramatic bald eagle and red tail hawk battle was captured by Alexander as well as the contrasting delicate loveliness of Anna’s hummingbirds and fox and white crown sparrows. The EVA in all the seasons and in different contexts of environments at Finn Slough was captured by Gaede.

It is important and heartfelt at this point to thank our volunteers who put up the display, sit with, and take down this show every year. Thank you for your unstinting work! It takes a village! Wednesday, to receive and hang the art uses about 60 of the team’s volunteer hours. Thursday, where the morning finished the hanging and then show opens at noon uses about 25 volunteer hours. Friday with its being open from 9 and having the special celebration ‘til closing uses about 60 volunteer hours, Saturday uses about 45 hours, and Sunday uses about 30 volunteer hours. This adds up to more than 220 hours of volunteer labour, not counting the team members who pop in to help, trouble shoot, go get more pens or paper or just bring the team sitting the show coffee.

And we very much want to start and end with our gratitude to Richmond Cultural Centre and Camyar who makes our 5 days of intensity possible in these spaces.

Submitted by Nadeane Trowse for Finn Slough Heritage and Wetlands.

Questions?: Email tr0wse@hotmail.com

Sam Halonen

One of the fishermen and residents here at Finn Slough in the 1960's was Sam Halonen.

He had a little shack which still stands (slightly modified) down by the entrance of the Slough as his base.

His daughter Päivi has posted a very nice page on her website about him here:

https://www.paivatar.com/2017/finn-slough.htm

The EVA was a big hit at the 2015 Richmond Maritime Festival in Steveston.

Some of our resident artists were also there creating.

Please go the Environment page and read,

Small is Beautiful and Other Slough Considerations

Part of a talk given by Nadeane Trowse at the 13th Annual Art About Finn Slough Show.

Finn Slough: An inspiration for creative expression over the century:

Marina Szijarto, one of our residents has presented at this event on the subject above.

The title of this particular PechaKucha is "Secrets of the Fraser: the stories, hidden histories and creative inspiration that flows from the waterway of the Fraser River".

The evening revolved around a presentation format where each presenter shows 20 images for 20 seconds each while speaking (about a 6 ½ minute presentation).

'PechaKucha' - is organized by Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site, Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site and the City of Richmond Public Art Program.

" PechaKucha events provide a platform for individuals to share ideas, network, and show work in public. The event will offer the community to meet the presenters and engage in conversations about the arts and culture.

The PechaKucha organization is a non-profit, grass-roots group. The event is free to the public and participating presenters are not reimbursed. More information can be obtained on the PechaKucha website: www.pechakucha.org."

Here is a video by Marina Szijarto called Meditation with Tides, a beautiful time lapse art piece showing the pulse of the Finn Slough tides.

In Marina's words: “At Finn Slough, Richmond, BC. 'Where history & nature gently co-exist'
This stop action movie was taken from the deck of a floating converted net-loft. It was originally taken to capture the many tourists who visit Finn Slough over its historic 90 year old bridge, but the movement of the tide, the 'breathing' of the place became the point of interest, the meditation.”

There is another small community that is in peril in the Lower Mainland.

The Belcarra South Preservation Society is trying to keep Metro Vancouver from demolishing their homes. Here are a couple of links pertaining to their struggle. One to the Society’s page and the other to a very good article by Charles Campbell.

http://www.belcarrasouth.ca/

http://thetyee.ca/Life/2013/05/14/Belcarra-Cottage/

Bridge Stories

The 2008 Art About Finn Slough Show theme "A Bridge to History" generated some wonderful bridge stories from some of the residents. Read them here. A definite piano theme seems to be running through.

Here are some videos:

Eva moves through the drawbridge:

April 6, 2008

Here Al is bringing the fish boat EVA down Finn Slough from its winter cradle for the summer. To get through the drawbridge over to Gilmour Island it is necessary to remove five planks, so David is lifting the last one just in time. Hear that sound? That's the distinctive pop-pop pop-pop of EVA's classic make and break Easthope gas engine.

There are more EVA and Slough videos here.

Here are some Mallards and Mute Swans feeding off the bottom.