Upcoming Events
Coastal Film Night
September 24, 2008
Living Oceans Society’s Coastal Speakers’ Series is literally taking the show on the road with the B.C. premiere of SEASWAP, a 30 minute film about sperm whales and longline fishermen in Southeast Alaska.
It usually takes some arm twisting to get people who fish for a living and scientists whose livelihoods don’t depend on harvesting to work together, but life is full of surprises. SEASWAP tells the story of a study that was spawned when the crafty whales began taking black cod off longline gear in the Gulf of Alaska. The fishermen got worried and asked scientists how to curb the sperm whales’ buffet dining before it cost them their livelihoods.
This event is a great opportunity to hear about the emerging issue of whales taking fish off of fishing gear, which is now happening more often in B.C. It is also an opportunity to hear how collaboration with unlikely partners can have surprising successes.
“Collaboration is something that we believe needs to happen more often, especially when it relates to how our oceans are managed,” says LOS Local Marine Planner Lara Renehan.
Lara will be presenting SEASWAP in coastal communities from October 8-11:
Wednesday, October 8 | Campbell River | Campbell River Museum | 7pm
Thursday, October 9 | Port Hardy | Café Guido | 7pm
Friday, October 10 | Alert Bay | Inner Coast Natural Resources Centre | 7pm
Saturday, October 11 | Sointula | Old Fire Hall | 2pm
Saturday, October 11 | Port McNeill | Black Bear Resort | 7pm
Admission to the event is free and refreshments will be provided.
For further information, please contact Lara Renehan at 250-973-6580 or Lrenehan@livingoceans.org.
After the film, guest speaker Victoria O’Connell will give an update on the SEASWAP project and talk about how fishermen and whale researchers collaborate. She will also share rare underwater footage of sperm whales taking black cod directly off a longline. Ms. O’Connell worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game as a Groundfish Manager, and was a key investigator on SEASWAP.
To download a copy of the event poster, click here.
Past Events
Clean-up a Success!
September 20, 2008
Imagine....this much garbage from about 5km of beach.
Volunteers spent a beautiful Saturday morning participating in the annual Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up along Kaleva Road in Sointula. Over the course of two hours, sixteen volunteers collected everything from rope to plastic coolers to propane tanks.
This is the second year that Living Oceans Society has teamed up with the local Malcolm Island Lions Club to support this event.
Thanks to all of the volunteers who came out to help keep our beaches, and our oceans clean!
The Remarkable World of Eelgrass
August 2 and 3, 2008
Remarkably there are over 150 ocean species from invertebrates to marine mammals that rely on this extraordinary marine grass. Like shallow water Sherlock Holmes, participants from up and down B.C.’s coast participated in this two day workshop, led by Nikki Wright, co-chair of the B.C.-wide Seagrass Conservation Working Group.
Nikki showed everybody how to identify eelgrass habitats and how to use the Eelgrass Mapping Manual for surveying. As well, the group learned about the threats to eelgrass and subsequently all of the marine species that depend on it – threats ranging from foreshore development to climate change.
Workshop participants included folks from Sointula, Pearse Islands, Prince Rupert, and Port Hardy. One encouraging development is the upcoming formation of a volunteer stewardship group who will be starting to map eelgrass beds in Sointula and Port Hardy in the spring.
The workshop included hands-on field training but it took the group a while to find an eelgrass bed in Port McNeill. Finally they found a small one next to the BC Ferries dock they learned how to identify the boundaries of the beds, how to classify the eelgrass ecotypes, how to count eelgrass and identify reproductive shoots. One participant was overheard saying, “very inspiring and really fun too!”
There will be some more training sessions in the spring, so if you are interested in attending, you can contact the coordinator, Lara Renehan at 250-973-6061. Email lrenehan@livingoceans.org
Every Choice Makes a Difference - Bicycle Theater Troupe
July 25, 2008
The bicycle theatre troupe - Otesha held two performances in Sointula where over 50 residents attended their inspiring message of hope and sustainability. Sointula was just one of Otesha’s many stops on their traveling theatre trip across Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. The performers come from all over Canada and dazzled with their creative props and sound effects as they performed their play – Reason to Dream.
The plot was about a sixteen year old boy trying to figure out what he is going to do with his life. Like most kids his age, he feels a lot of peer pressure to consume. In the play he travels into the future to see where consumer culture has all but erased life as we know it – where everything is disposable, and there is no clean water or public spaces left.
He also travels to other parts of the world where he sees how many people don’t have access to clean water for their children. By seeing all of this his feelings change and he decides he can make a difference simply by making better choices - choices that have less impact on the environment. He sees that every little choice can make a difference, like choosing to ride his bike and carry a travel mug to his local coffee shop.
At the end the audience participants were asked to come up to the stage and state one small change that they could make today to lessen their impact on the earth.
World Ocean's Day Celebration at the Living Oceans Society office in Sointula, B.C.
June 9, 2008
About 40 people braved the rain in Sointula on Monday, June 9th, to celebrate World Oceans Day at an open lunch organized by the Living Oceans Society. The theme for the celebration was “Our Shared Ocean Life.” On the menu was sustainable seafood chowder (perfect for the weather!), wholesome salads, and of course lots of Finnish pula bread.
Local fishermen brought their photo albums to share the history of their livelihood with everyone. In true community spirit, local businesses and organizations -- the Co-op Store, Wild Island Foods, Coastal Community Credit Union, Malcolm Island Lions Club, Sund’s Lodge and the Rec Association -- pitched in with supplies and a bounty of food to make the lunch a “swimming” success! A big ‘thank you’ to all who attended and generously supported World Oceans Day.
The Great Barrier Reef: How Communities can Influence Decisions about our Oceans
Two speakers from Australia came to the North Island and Central Coast to share their experiences drawn from one of the world’s best examples of community engagement in action – the re-zoning of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Living Oceans Society hosted the tour from March 25 to April 4 that featured presentations by Russell Butler and Graham Scott who shared the successes and challenges that they faced as community residents, First Nations and fishermen working to rezone the Great Barrier Reef. Because a marine planning process known as the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) is getting underway in British Columbia, coastal residents benefited from Butler's and Scott's experiences. Graham Scott lives and works in Rock- hampton, Queensland, on the Tropic of Capricorn, adjacent to the Southern end of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). In addition to having his own civil engineering consulting firm, Graham and his wife Sharyn commenced a charter boat company in Keppel Bay and the southern Great Barrier Reef. Graham’s love of the water started early, with childhood holidays spent camping on the GBR islands or exploring coastal creeks with parents and grandparents. He was actively involved in the rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef and was one of a number of community leaders that became involved in the early stages to act as “honest brokers”, connecting stakeholders to planners and dispelling mistrust and misinformation. The rezoning result in his area is recognized as one of the best because of early stakeholder involvement. He currently chairs his Local Marine Advisory Committee, as well as CAPREEF, a community-based monitoring program that continues to engage communities in the monitoring and management of the Reef. |
 Russell Butler is a Bandjin Traditional Owner who was actively involved in the rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.Bandjin sea country includes Hinchinbrook Island and the surrounding northern islands out to the Barrier Reef.Russell says being a Bandjin Traditional Owner is about following in the footsteps of his ancestors. “It’s a good feeling to know we can go back there and know that it’s our home - a place where we belong.” Russell enjoys taking special interest groups, from kindergarten kids to university students, to Bandjin country to show them his cultural heritage. He is pleased that Bandjin people are having a say in their sea country and managing it. In addition to mentoring and teaching his culture, Russell is active in helping street kids, and spends time talking to young people in the prison system. He is also active in documenting the Bandjin language, and will soon be putting his knowledge into book form so the language can be better looked after and taught to kids. |
Sointula Beach Clean-up, September 2007
Over 30 volunteers came out for the annual Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up September 15th, 2007 in Sointula, BC. It was organized by Living Oceans Society and the Lions Club, with food donated by the Sointula Recreation Association. A little rain didn't deter volunteers, who over the course of 9km collected 3764lbs of marine debris.
