The Friends were formed as the "Ad-Hoc Black Creek Clean-Up Committee" in 1980 as a result of a petition put forth by citizens of the Black Creek area. As a subcommittee of the town council, they were fiven the responsibility of cleanin up Black, Beaver and Frenchman's Creeks. Three years later, after changing their name to include all of Fort Erie's Creeks, they became a non-profit, registered charity. Restoration work has also expanded to include 6 Mile Creek as well as Black, Beaver and Frenchman's Creek.
Since its inception, FOFEC has worked tirelessly to cleanup and restore the creeks. For the first few years, this involved only weekend cleanups during the summer months. In 1993, FOFEC began hiring student each summer for full-time restoration. Now as well as debris removal, water quality testing, streambank stabilization, purple loosestrife removal and wetland restoration takes place on the creeks.
Although students are employed during the summer, the Friends are always in need of fresh faces and helpful hands. An outreach program has been developed to inform the public about waht is occurring in their creeks. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Friends of Fort Erie's Creeks (or even just helping out when you can) please contact us. Our public education presentation is suitable for groups of any age and size, from classrooms to community groups;if you are interested, please contact us.