Song by Intensive Care
Transition Kamloops received a grant to carry out climate actions. One of them was to form an eco-song writing group, which George Johnson helped organize. Songwriters and musicians met in November 2023, March, and April 2024. These gatherings were an energizing experience. Friendships formed and collaborations happened. Salmon Run was one of the songs George wrote, inspired by watching the draft of a documentary called If Salmon Could Talk by Peter Cameron-Inglis and Mastermind Studios, (its release pending on receiving more funding). Eco-song participants helped him perform Salmon Run along with other eco-songs developed during the workshops, at the 48th Rally for Peace Social Justice and the Environment on April 20th at the local Farmer’s Market. Leon Racicot, a musician and producer, who attended the workshop, helped him bring Salmon Run to its final state.
Salmon are threatened here in B.C. and elsewhere. As the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at UBC puts it: “Pacific salmon are of fundamental importance to the economic, social and environmental well-being of the Pacific northwest. Since the late 1990s, however, wild salmon stocks in the region have declined markedly…. A natural resource of such extraordinary ecological, socio-economic, and cultural value merits greater respect, but the present systems are failing them with little prospect for change.” Last year’s wildfires, for example at the Adams River, have only compounded the problem.This dire situation provoked me to write “Salmon Run,” released on all platforms on May 22nd, the International Day for Biological Diversity and in time for B.C. Wild Salmon Day, June 1st.