Stories

Learning to draw Chum Salmon at the Brunette River

October, 2026

Our latest Walk and Draw art lesson at the Brunette River was an incredible experience! Twenty-four people joined us on a sunny fall day to learn how to draw Chum Salmon swimming upstream while exploring this connected waterway. The walk was led by scientific illustrator, Dr. Julius Csotonyi.

Photo by Cèilidh Smith

Creativity in the Outdoors

With art supplies in hand, we set off together to explore this fascinating ecosystem. The Brunette River is connected to Stoney Creek amongst other streams and watersheds making it a crucial area for Salmon spawning. Participants were impressed to experience the drive and determination it takes for these fish to climb up the fish ladders.

At each stop, participants would pause to learn cool facts about local plant life. The abundance of amanita mascara and colourful maple leafs were some notable crowd pleasers.

Thank you to everyone who joined!

It was a beautiful day spent with fellow nature-lovers and art-enthusiasts. Everyone put their own Je ne sais quoi on their artwork, which you can see in the photos below.

We were also lucky enough to have a participant join us on behalf of the Stoney Creek Environmental Committee, which is doing incredibly important habitat restoration work in this area. You can check out their website to learn more here.

We are so grateful to everyone who showed up to connect with the river, the salmon, and the Sierra Club BC community. Another shout out to Dr. Julius Csotonyi for leading this Walk & Draw with so much passion and knowledge!

Photo by Cèilidh Smith

Photo by Cèilidh Smith

Want to join us next time?

We’ve got lots more events planned! If you want to join the next art lesson, sign up to our email list here and we’ll alert you when registration is open.