You can protect water, soil, and living things through the Yellow Fish Road™ program.

Ausable Bayfield Conservation is an official partner with Trout Unlimited Canada and delivers this program throughout the watershed.

You are invited to contact Ausable Bayfield Conservation about how you can bring Yellow Fish Road™ to your school, neighbourhood, or community.

Phone 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610 or email info@abca.ca.

The Yellow Fish Road program is offered from May to October.

Yellow Fish Road 2017

Yellow Fish Road™ comes to Lucan for first time

Local students paint yellow fish to remind people to keep oil, chemicals, waste, and other substances off the ground, out of storm drains, and out of local rivers, lake  

People in the Lucan may notice images of bright yellow fish painted beside storm drains along roadways this spring. The painted yellow fish signify a reminder to Lucan residents to protect water. The Yellow Fish Road™ program leads to cleaner water and the protection of water, soil, and living things which makes it a great program for people across the Ausable Bayfield watershed. Thanks to volunteers in local communities, yellow fish have been popping up across the watershed including Ailsa Craig, Bayfield, Zurich, Parkhill, Clinton … and now Lucan.

Local Grade 7 and 8 students from Wilberforce Public School are planning to paint yellow fish on the streets on May 3, 2017, weather permitting. It is estimated that students will mark 100 storm drains and visit an equal number of households to deliver a yellow paper fish with a message of 'Only Rain in Storm Drains' and information about the program and safe hazardous waste disposal.

“We are thrilled to partner with Wilberforce Public School and Lucan-Biddulph to bring Yellow Fish Road™ to the Lucan area for the first time,” said Denise Iszczuk, Conservation Educator with Ausable Bayfield Conservation. “The yellow fish has become a powerful symbol to educate and remind people to properly dispose of household hazardous waste so pollution is kept out of our creeks, rivers, and Lake Huron.”

Anything that runs off the ground can end up in our water, according to Iszczuk. When rain falls or snow melts there is water on the ground. That water then runs off of lawns, fields, parking lots, sidewalks, and streets. That runoff can carry oil, litter, salt, pesticides, feces, or other pollutants into storm drains and then into the lake. That pollution can hurt the health of fish and wildlife. It can also harm humans. Lake Huron is the source of drinking water and recreation for hundreds of thousands of people in small towns and cities in Canada and the United States.

“This program is a great chance to learn easy ways you can make changes that protect your local creeks, rivers, and ultimately Lake Huron,” said Iszczuk. “The small changes you make can protect plants, fish and other animals in the water and on the land, and protect people too.”

Trout Unlimited Canada launched the Yellow Fish Road™ in 1991. The program has grown across the country. More than 60,000 volunteers have taken part. Volunteers in the program paint yellow fish symbols next to storm drains and give out fish-shaped brochures to homes and businesses. The yellow fish is a recognized symbol to remind people that things that go into the storm drain end up in the water we use for drinking, fishing, and swimming. Making sure that things don’t spill onto the ground helps to ensure they don’t end up in our water.

Yellow Fish Road 2016

If you walk through the streets of Zurich and Bayfield and Clinton, Ontario, you may notice images of bright yellow fish painted beside storm drains which are found under the street along some roadways.

This spring the 1st Bayfield Guides painted yellow fish all the way down Main Street in Bayfield and the 1st Zurich Beavers painted yellow fish across the north end of the streets in Zurich. In total, there were about 80 drains painted on the streets in Bluewater.

“It is great to see young people get so excited about making a difference for water in their own community,” said Denise Iszczuk, Conservation Educator with Ausable Bayfield Conservation.

Trout Unlimited Canada launched the Yellow Fish Road™ in 1991. The program has grown across the country. More than 60,000 volunteers have taken part. Volunteers in the program paint yellow fish symbols next to storm drains and give out fish-shaped brochures to homes and businesses. This is to remind us that things that go into the storm drain end up in the water we use for drinking, fishing, and swimming. “If we teach one person to properly dispose of household hazardous waste that can keep pollution out of our creeks, rivers, and Lake Huron,” said Iszczuk.

You are invited to contact Ausable Bayfield Conservation about how you can bring Yellow Fish Road™ to your school, neighbourhood, or community.

Phone 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610 or email us through the contact page of this website. The Yellow Fish Road program is offered from April to October. It is an easy, effective way to engage youth and community members in protecting and improving the water quality of our river, streams, and lake.