Coast Mountain News Thursday, June 7, 2012
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Vol. 28 | No. 12 Thursday, June 7, 2012 2
Shelagh Rogers coming to Bella Coola
Serving the Bella Coola Va Valley allley all ey and the Chilcotin
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Sara Germain photo
The Science 10/11 group, SAMS Outdoor Ed Group, and Junior Canadian Rangers group on the Hakai dock, ready to leave for Bella Coola after a great week on Calvert Island!
Bella Coola Valley youth groups journey to Hakai SAMS TEACHERS Calvert Island is located east of Queen Charlotte Sound about 100 kilometres north of Port Hardy. It falls within the traditional territory of the Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv peoiple, and archaeological evidence indicates many thousands of years of habitation in the region. Just north of Calvert Island in Hakai Pass is the Hakai Luxvbalis Conservancy Area. At more than 1,230 square kilometres (300,000 acres) of land and sea, it is the largest provincial marine protected area on the British Columbia Coast. Hakai Provincial Recreation Area, 50,707 ha in size, includes
the northern part of Calvert Island and the southern part of Hunter Island, as well as numerous smaller islands in the area. The Hakai Institute occupies an isolated 87 ha site on the exposed Pacific edge of the world's largest temperate zone rainforest, surrounded by the Hakai Luxvbalis Conservancy. The austere Hakai landscape has been sculpted by the hurricane-force storms and fierce Arctic outflow winds that lash the site during much of the year. Since Kristina and Eric became the new owners of the Institute they have transformed a fishing lodge into a science educational facility to support
new scientists to further their research. From May19 through 24, three groups of Valley youth got to experience this world-class site. Following are some reports of the experience. Enjoy! Hakai: SAMS Science 10/11 I am pleased to report that the inaugural Hakai Science Trip out to Calvert Island was a huge success! This trip involved the SAMS Science 10 and Biology 11 students travelling by boat from Bella Coola out to the Hakai Beach Institute on Calvert Island for 6 days. Each day we woke up at 6am and didn’t stop until it got dark; it was no surprise that I didn’t have to
hustle these students to get to bed! The trip was a combination of learning and exploring the unique coastal ecosystem that comprises Calvert Island: from photo-documenting 50 different intertidal species on the beach, to learning scientific field skills from many of the world class scientists working out at Hakai, this was a trip to remember for a life time! Here are some of the students’ favorite moments from the trip when asked what the best part of their day was; “Finding an abalone shell, swimming in the ocean, and hiking from beach to beach,” said Melissa Brooks. “Building a raft in the
ocean…and chasing starfish,” said Morgan Durocher. “Collecting and drying edible seaweed,” said Kasey Karran. As a science educator, the opportunities for hands on, high quality instruction were endless out at the Hakai Beach Institute, whose mandate is to promote and facilitate scientific study using sustainable practices. SAMS students were treated to lectures and field tours by many of the world class scientists from UBC, SFU, and many other institutions. Topics they spoke of included “Local Effects of Climate Change,” “Sand Dune Science,” SEE HAKAI ON PAGE 3