Category Archives: Admin

First Nations Burial Cairns on Great Race Rock Island

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The configuration of the rocks in several stone mounds at Race Rocks are suggestive of First Nations use of this area for burials in the period AD 500. Investigation into sites on the lower part of Vancouver Island, have shown that over 400 such sites exist on the nearby Rocky Point area.
These sites have recently been the subject of a Master’s thesis by Darcy Mathews of the Anthropology Department, University of Victoria.

Darcy Matthews visited today to document these cairns.

For the complete reference to this topic go to http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/firstnations/burialmound/burialmound.htm

TIDAL CURRENT :RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR RACE ROCKS

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Complete Video Coverage of the Announcement at Pearson College

 TV and Print Media Coverage of the event.

Press Release : CANA PARTNERS TO ENABLE PEARSON COLLEGE – ENCANA – CLEAN CURRENT TIDAL POWER DEMONSTRATION PROJECT AT RACE ROCKS, BC Victoria

– Thanks to an innovative partnership between Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, EnCana Corporation and Clean Current Power Systems Incorporated, Canada’s first free-stream tidal power project will be built at the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, offshore of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The project will enable the world famous marine park to tap into surrounding ocean currents and convert tidal energy to electric power for its needs beginning in early 2006. Making the announcement were:
Gwyn Morgan, President and CEO of EnCana,
Glen Darou, President and CEO of Clean Current,
Richard Neufeld, British Columbia Minister of Energy and Mines,
and Stuart Walker, Director of Pearson College.

 

Gwyn Morgan

Gwyn Morgan

Officially known as the “Pearson College – EnCana – Clean Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks,” the project is enabled by a $3-million investment from the EnCana Environmental Innovation Fund. “EnCana is pleased to be a partner in this first-class, alternative energy project,” said Morgan. “Our investment in this B.C.-based unconventional environmental and power technology reflectsour desire to tangibly encourage innovative energy solutions.” EnCana’s Environmental Innovation Fund was established to advance new technologies and solutions that improve environmental performance associated with consuming and producing energy. Commercial proceeds from financed projects will be re-invested into the fund to ensure their sustainability.

 

Richard Neufeld

“The commitment by Premier Campbell in promoting alternative energy sources has helped British Columbia become a world leader in sustainable environmental management,” said Neufeld. “The province commends projects like this one, as they show our commitment to developing clean energy solutions that will benefit all British Columbians.” The multi-year demonstration project will involve the installation, operation and monitoring of a 65kW free-stream tidal turbine generator in the water near Race Rocks, a provincial ecological reserve located 10 nautical miles southwest of Victoria.

Glen Darou

Clean Current is a private British Columbia-based company that designs and licenses technology that efficiently converts the energy of tidal currents into electricity. Clean Current’s proprietary technology consists of a horizontal-axis ducted turbine with a direct-drive variable speed permanent magnet generator. The turbine generator is equally efficient in both directions as the tidal currents reverse twice each day. “This Canadian technology is simple, efficient and environmentally friendly,” said Darou. “We believe it is highly exportable technology, with strong potential to succeed in international settings. Our company is delighted to have the support of EnCana, Pearson College, and technical partners AMEC, Powertech Labs Inc. and Triton Consultants Ltd.”

Pearson College, one of ten United World Colleges worldwide, is the custodian of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, located three nautical miles from campus. Diesel-powered generators currently provide electricity requirements at the reserve. Students and staff will work elements of the tidal power demonstration project into their studies. “This is a terrific project for Pearson College, in that it supports our goal of making the ecological reserve a showcase for alternative, low-impact technologies such as tidal power,” said Walker. “We would like to thank Clean Current for their commitment to developing the technology and EnCana for the financial support that is making this demonstration project possible.”

Second Year Pearson College student Alyssa Holland (year 30) concluded the presentation , by thanking the speakers. As a student involved in Environmental Systems and the diving program, she shared the enthusiasm she has for the resources of the area and emphasized the great importance she and other students attach to the effort of those involved in this project in the ongoing goal of producing energy sustainably.

Dave Skilling

Communications Coordinator
Lester B. Pearson College
250-391-2479
www.pearsoncollege.ca
www.racerocks.ca

 

Environmental Protection of the Ecological Reserve with the Installation of the Tidal current Generator at Race Rocks

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This file provides information on the process used to ensure environmental protection of the Ecological Reserve with the installation of the tidal current generator at Race Rocks.

BACKGROUND REFERENCES:

Contents:

BACKGROUND REFERENCES: See Below

1.Permit Application for Research on the Ecological Reserve 2004

2. Appendix A– Energy at Race Rocks : The problems and Solutions:

3. Environmental Impact of Tidal Current Energy Generation on Marine Mammals: Addendum to Clean Current Permit Application: Garry Fletcher.

4. References on the effects of Tidal Energy Generation on Marine Life:

5. Information for the Race Rocks Advisory Board on Alternate Energy Developments In the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve: 2004.

6.Outline of Expectations for a Baseline Study and Follow-up monitoring of the Current Energy Project at Race Rocks:

7. Video of the type of organisms that grow in the area of the turbine site.

8. Pam and Jason of Archipelago Marine Document life forms along the cable path.

9. Video of impact of Concrete Anchor Placement for the Tidal Energy Project

10. Environmental Monitoring at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve related to the Pearson College-Encana-Clean Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project by Pam Thuringer of Archipelago Marine, 2006.

11. Environmental Impact of the Diesel Energy Power generation System at Race Rocks

12. Preliminary Environmental Screening for: range Expansion of generator shed for battery storage

:13. Preliminary Environmental Screening for: Installation of Electrical Cable and Conduits at Race Rocks

14. Preliminary Environmental Screening for: Installation of the Piling for the tidal energy generator:.https://www.racerocks.ca/bc-parks-impact-assessment-process/ Continue reading →

Samples of screenshots from the remote cameras.

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Observation of the scenes on the cameras often yield some interesting and varied scenes. Feel free to add to this collection of the screen shots from the video cameras. e-mail : Garry Fletcher (garryf(use the @ sign)gmail.com See further directions on this .

Telephoto of the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. This was taken on a clear day- May 18, 2001 zoomed in on the remote camera. The tail end of a tugboat-drawn barge going up the Strait of Juan de Fuca, May 18, 2001 On a calm day, the area is a very popular site for observation of marine birds and mammals by the tour boats which take on passengers in Sooke or Victoria. May 18, 2001
Captive tourists look out on the life of freedom enjoyed by the elephant seals and sea lions. May 18, 2001 May 18, 2001: Inflatable boats are used by many of the marine mammal tour boats.  We get some glorious sunsets looking out from Race Rocks.This one has the Metchosin Hills in the foreground: June 11, 2001
July 1, 2001, Canada Day fireworks over the provincial capital Victoria, B.C. Mike Slater lined up this scene on camera 3. July 4, 2001, American Independence Day fireworks over Port Angeles to the south of Race Rocks. Jean Dalphond captured this collage of images when he was staying at RR doing a project in early June, 2001.
Gull chicks hatching
July, 2001		 Pigeon guillemots – nest in burrows in the rocks – use remote camera to find
July, 2001		 There was an abundance of baby seals – born in mid July – 2001. Mike and Carol set the camera up on this scene on camera 2 .

The Brandt’s cormorants on the west shore in
January, 2002
May 2002 : yes, sometimes Race Rocks can be “golden”. This is camera 1 on the elephant seals.
June, 2002 : We have had a successful year for gull hatching: 96 counted at one time and most of them survived.
Pam Birley from England has sent us this eagle sequence, January, 2004. She has contributed her album of pictures to our daily log files. The OCEANQUEST exercises:use screen capture to contribute to a database

BC Parks Impact Assessment Process

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FIle No: 85700-35-0210206

Name of Action:       Construction and Pile Drilling for Current Turbine Project  

Proponent:               Lester B Pearson College

Review Date(s):         Nov 2, 2005             

  1. Issues and Environmental Components
  2. List any issues of concern that have been or may be raised by BC Parks, other government agencies, First Nations, or the public.

2 Identify any geographic “hotspots” at or close to the proposed action (e.g., areas of high use, concentrations of facilities, wilderness conservation zones, unique landscape features).

Below are the relevant items that we are contributing to this Preliminary Assessment, the third in a series leading up to this project. If further items are provided in the next few weeks, they will be updated here:

Location: The proposed location of the Tidal Current Generator Piling for the Cradle is shown below. This site was chosen after extensive testing of the current profiles in both channels with the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler.

The red lines indicate the Pearson College  permit access area..

 

 

 

3. Identify any important environmental, recreational, social or economic values in the area of the proposed action and/or the area surrounding the proposed action (e.g., rare or endangered species, hiking experience, midden site). Include a rationale as to why the value is considered important.

The location for the installation is in the current channel just South of North Rock, with the typical associations of organisms of the highly current swept areas of the island. Since the depth is up to 20 meters, there are few macroalgae present.

Archipelago marine has done a SIMS towed video CD . The route they took and the timing of the footage was done according to this Chart. Video taken by Pam Thuringer in the area of the chart missed by the towed video is now available from Archipelago marine

Some footage taken by the Pearson College Divers which shows the bottom fauna in the area of the turbine piling is located here:

In order to predict the best location for the installation of the tidal power generator, an ADCP ( Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) supplied by ASL Environmental Sciences was deployed. This instrument will collect current regime information for a period of one month. Rita Santos did the video and Angie Karlsen helped Chris Blondeau lift and position the concrete weights used to secure the device on the sea floor..

For an idea of the general patterns of organism distribution, the two clips below were taken from the video which was filmed at the location of the ADCP research at Station2:

Preliminary Screen Checklist (partial)

C. Level 1 report should recommend appropriate times and methods for construction to ensure birds /wildlifeimpacts are kept to a minimum.

Date of work: The installation in November is timed after the nesting and seal pupping season and in the time of the year when the Sea Lions have returned but are concentrated in the area to the East of the docks, on South Rock and on Middle and West Island. The closest population that may be disturbed by the drilling is on North Rock, and part of Middle Rock. In the past that population frequently comes and goes probably because of the fall schedule of blasting by DND .
Construction Method: We have been advised that a contract has been let by Clean Current for the drilling and installation of the piling to bear the generator to:

Fraser River Pile & Dredge Ltd. (FRPD)1830 River Drive
New Westminster, B.C.
V3M 2A8
Tel: (604) 528-9333
(Project manager Rick Gillis)
The attached .pdf file.. Construction Drilling provides the details of this phase of the project.

The amount of oil consumed in the drilling operation is approximately 5 gallons /hr. For a drilling depth of 8 m, the operation should take 4-5 hours. The drilling operation will not produce an oil slick. In the event of a spill FRPD, will employ their standard method of deploying containment booms and pads to contain the oil. Due to the challenging conditions in this area, FRPD will have additional booms and pads on board.
The drilling operation is a closed system. All drill cuttings will be brought to the surface and then processed through a cyclone which will separate the cuttings from the water. The water and entrained air will then be returned to the ocean via a pipe at a depth of approx. 20 ft. All of the cuttings will be collected on a scow that is tied up along side the drilling barge.The cuttings will be taken ashore for disposal.
Six anchor blocks of approximately 6’ x 6’ x 6’ will be used to anchor the drilling rig in position. Each of these blocks can be dropped at a predetermined location; however, depending on the current during this operation, the actual location may differ from the intended spot. Also, once all 6 blocks are in position, the anchor lines will be tensioned to firmly lock the barge in position. During this winching operation, it is very possible for the blocks to slide a short distance along the seabed until they lock in position. The thinking now is that 4of these blocks will left in place for the duration of the Tidal Generator Project. This will avoid further damage to the bottom in future operations where a barge will have to be employed for the lifting of the generator on regular (yeaarly) basis for servicing.
Equipment

Island Tug operates a large fleet of tugs and barges including one self-propelled cable layer. The principal method of cable handling utilizes one of two powered self-breaking drums. Reel number 1 has a capacity for 80,000 feet of 2-inch diameter cable with a break holding capacity of 200 tons. Reel number 2 has a capacity for 30,000 feet of 2-inch diameter cable with a break holding capacity of 100 tons.

Procedure of Cable Laying – General

Reel number 2 is mounted aboard the cable layer, Georgia Transporter. Cable is transferred from shore storage reels to the ship-mounted reel and transported to the site. Cable is taken ashore at the cable shore-end via a bow mounted adjustable ramp. A bow mounted cable chute is used to deploy the cable while the Georgia Transporter is towed astern. Two GPS systems monitor the surface position and provide feedback via digital charts. Track corrections are implemented through a variety of methods using the Ship’s power, directing the towing vessel or employing side boats. For shallow water lays, the cable tension is not monitored by equipment but by the angle off the bow, with lay and reel speeds corrected as necessary. For deep-water lays, the cable tension is monitored with on deck tension monitoring equipment such as linear tension devices or load cells. Cable weights and water depth information are pre plotted along a planned track in order to adjust for the intended tension at given positions.

Reel number 1 is mounted aboard one of Island’s flat deck barges and used in the same manner as the description above, with the exception that the barge will start and finish on four point moorings.

Island Tug And Barge Ltd.
R.L. (Bob) Shields
President
Piling Construction:

Further details of the column construction in the figure above can be obtained from a .pdf file from Clean Current
On Site Supervision: Chris Blondeau, operations manager, and Garry Fletcher, Ecological Reserve Warden will be available to oversee the environmental concerns. In addition, Pam Thuringer and staff of Archipelago Marine have been contracted to do an ongoing environmental assessment for the duration of the construction phase of the project.
Recommendations:1. If it is possible, we recommend the temporary displacement of any of the larger motile invertebrates such as sea urchins, sea stars and sea cucumbers in the impacted area while the project is being carried out, with their return to the same approximate habitat upon completion. This may however not be feasible given the nature of the operation and the timing.

2. Working at this time of year could involve difficult weather conditions. It must be emphasized that the safety of personnel and the ecological reserve is paramount.

Prepared by G. Fletcher Nov 2, 2005

Danish Journal Article on Race Rocks

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The Danish language version of this article is published in the Journal “Geografisk Orientering”.2005 NR2 Link to this 2 page .PDF file.

By Søren Pilgaard Kristensen (PC yr 8 1983)
Associate Professor
Institute of Geography University of Copenhagen
Østervoldgade 10 ,1350 Kbh. K,.Denmark

and Garry Fletcher*

Abstract:
Af Gerry Fletcher og Søren P. Kristensen
I Race Rock, et marint naturreservat i havet udfor British Columbia, Canada, er man gået nye veje for at give skoleklasser og andre interesserede adgang til at opleve det isolerede områdes unikke natur. Artiklen beskriver hvorledes Internet, webkameraer og undervisningsprogrammer bringer havets hemmeligheder indenfor i klasselokalerne overalt i Canada, uden at overbelaste det sårbare økosystem. i undervisningen på det nærlig- gende Pearson college, hvor det blev et yndet mål for feltarbej- de og hvor klasseundervisning i biologi også kunne udnytte de unikke muligheder, som stedet rummer. Det unikke økosystem er meget sårbart overfor fiskeri og forurening, og der var behov Undervisning Som nævnt ovenfor, har Race Rocks igennem snart 30 år væ- ret udnyttet til undervisning og forskning. På grund af øernes afsides beliggenhed, der kræver bådtransport og dykkerudrust- ning for at udforske den del af øerne der ligger under havover- ningspakke drejer sig om måling af bakterievækst i ”tidepools” – tidevandsbassiner. Her bruges digitale billeder af bakteriekolo- nier i biologiundervisningen til, at elever kan måle udviklingen i forskellige miljøer. Der følger en grundig instruktion med til både elever og de lærere der benytter

Link to the Danish Language Version of this articledanisharticle

Abstract: Race Rocks, an island archipelago in the South West corner of British Columbia, Canada is an Ecological Reserve and a designated Marine Protected Area. Students and Faculty of Lester B. Pearson College, the community stewards for this park, have developed the website http://www.racerocks.com to provide via the internet, an educational resource on marine ecology using this sensitive ecosystem as a model for other areas around the world.
www.racerocks.com
A Model for Virtual Access to
Ecologically Sensitive Areas

Race Rocks Marine Ecological Reserve and Marine Protected Area protects a significant high-current subtidal and intertidal ecosystem in the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada. The reserve contains high current underwater reefs with ecologically significant populations of benthic invertebrates and fish. It protects several rare species which represent unique Canadian or North American occurrences. It also provides haul out and feeding areas for elephant seals and sea lions as well as breeding areas for harbour seals and nesting habitat and migrating resting areas for many species of seabirds. It is these characteristics that make it such a unique environment for discovery and education.

Lester Pearson College is a non-profit educational institution, one of the 10 United World Colleges with students on scholarship from over 80 countries. It has assisted in the stewardship of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve and Marine Protected Area since the late 1970’s and used it as a community outreach program. Students involved in the science and activities programs of the college have had the opportunity to participate in the operation the island as well as the building and operating of the website devoted to providing an educational resource for this unique environment.

In 1980, the students and faculty were instrumental in having the area declared a Provincial Ecological Reserve. In 1997, with the automation of the Light Station, Lester Pearson College took over the Management of the Islands for BC. Parks. In 1998 Race Rocks was chosen as one of five areas on Canada’s shores to become a new Marine Protected Area under Canada’s Oceans Act. Presently awaiting final approval of the local First Nations, it remains one of the most unique areas in Canada’s system of Marine Parks. Details of the process of involving community stakeholders in the Marine Protected Area Process can be found at: http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/admin/admin.htm. In the year 2000, special funding from Canada’s Millennium Fund helped to launch the “racerocks.com project’ with protection of the ecosystem and the wildlife, both above and below the water, as the main guiding principle.

Racerocks.com was conceived as a project to utilize technology and the internet to bring to the educational community access to a sensitive ecosystem. Through the generous support of sponsors and partners, in March 2000, the website http://www.racerocks.com/ went live on the internet. Since that time several cameras have sent live images continuously out on the internet, and the students and faculty of Lester Pearson College have produced a large resource of supportive background materials and archived video. In addition, a portable video camera and webcast channel is available for special event programming both from Pearson College and Race Rocks. The main aim of the program was to provide a virtual website which presents as many aspects as possible of an environmentally sensitive area, allowing investigators to use the resources of the area without contributing to a negative environmental impact. The target audience is wide ranging, from elementary school to university and the general public. Some of the materials presented are interactive, some present curriculum ideas which can be pursed in the classroom, and some challenge others to use the model of this area to instill the values of environmental stewardship in others so that more areas can be protected yet made available virtually to the public. Since we at Pearson College have benefited for so many years from the resources of this special ecosystem, we feel that by making it available to all, we can contribute a great amount to environmental education and research. We welcome feedback from groups and individuals who use our resources.
From the outset we have maintained a commitment to present a non-commercialized site. I have highlighted 10 components of the website below which are particularly well-suited to demonstrate the value of the resource to education at a number of levels. Some are specifically targeted at the Middle School level, and some are appropriate for high school and even introductory level ecology classes at the university level. Of course the site is available freely to everyone with an internet connection. Copyright release available to anyone using the materials for educational purposes. The provision of two robotic cameras provide a level of interactivity unsurpassed in most educational media. If students are given an assignment where they have to quantify behaviours of an animal, and they can do that remotely by manipulating the controls of a camera, then this is a great motivational device for learning.
The following represents some of the curriculum links provided by racerocks.com
1. The Jason Program activity files on Race Rocks:
These files are designed for the Middle School Level. They provide a detailed set of objectives and a teacher information file, as well as assessment methods.
The part of the website in particular has been designed to facilitate easy implementation by the teacher, complete with specific Learner outcomes and assessment procedures. http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/jason/index.html
a. Scavenger Hunt (An introduction to the racerocks.com website)
b. Geology and Geography (Abiotic Characteristics at Race Rocks),
c. Preserving the Past and Present Culture of Race Rocks (The Thirteen Moons),
d. Maintaining our Coastal Ecosystems (An Ethology),
e. The Northern Abalone,
f. Pinnipeds,
g. Conservation,
h. Seascape – Art

2. The Apple Learning Interchange Files:
The Apple Learning Interchange is providing the distribution network on the internet making it possible for thousands of student connections per week. This exhibit provides one with a glimpse of the educational programs, the technology that makes it possible, as well as ideas to help use our resources in the classroom.
http://ali.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ALIView.woa/wa/DisplayExhibit?SiteCode=ali&ExhibitID=1000007  (link now removed)

3. The Race Rocks Taxonomy:
This class assignment allows students in environmental systems and biology to prepare a taxonomy of a species from the Race Rocks area and link to it educational videos and pictures of the species in their habitats at Race Rocks. This provides a useful activity where students can accomplish a number of objectives while contributing a permanent “digital legacy” to help in making this site an enriched educational resource.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/eco/taxalab/taxonomy.htm
We have also linked to this exercise a template to encourage other schools to use a similar approach for recognition and conservation of biodiversity in their own local ecosystems. http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/eco/newecosystem/genusfolder/studentemplate.html

4. The “Adopt an Ecosystem” project:
Environmental Education involving science students at undergraduate levels in direct action is the goal of our program at Pearson College. We have found that the production by students of internet materials on environmental issues is a vehicle for doing this effectively. This is a tool, which provides incentive for environmental understanding and encouragement of an “adopting an ecosystem” attitude that can have important consequences in education. The emphasis is on “action” and seeking methods to enable collaboration with others to help solve environmental problems. Students at Lester B. Pearson College have been learning about environmental issues by producing materials for the internet, a “Digital Legacy”. In this way, their education has the added advantage of serving as a resource for others in the educational system in British Columbia and around the world. It also allows them to participate in facilitating collaborative efforts in environmental research.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/eco/adopt/adopteco.htm

5. Race Rocks as a Resource for a Statistics exercise.
The purpose of this file is to enable a student to transfer Environmental Data being recorded at Race Rocks from a spreadsheet presented on the internet to their own computer in order to be able to graph trends and analyze relationships. Long-term databases are very important for monitoring change in ecosystems. Patterns of cyclic activity and even events such as Climate Change can be detected from the Race Rocks Data.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/education/curricula/ibbiology/labairseatemp.htm

6. Links to Race Rocks Resources for the BC Grade 11 Curriculum:
Selected Biology Prescribed Learning Outcomes are taken from the B.C.Ministry of Education K-12 Curriculum and Learning . The Outcomes which are related to Race Rocks are presented on this page with racerocks.com links
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/education/curricula/bc11bio/bc11bio.htm

7. IB Biology and Environmental Systems Ecology Resource.
The objectives of the International Baccalaureate program for secondary students are linked to appropriate activities and resources in these files.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/education/curricula/ibbiology/bioecol.htm

http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/education/curricula/ibensy/ibensy.htm

8. The Animal Behaviour studies:
This file is intended for Secondary school students. It provides ideas for taking the live images on the cameras and for doing a scientific study of the complexities of animal behaviour.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/education/ethology/ethology.htm
9. The Ecological Niche and The Transect File:
These two files demonstrate useful ecological quantification techniques and allow an interactive format for the students to study this aspect of ecology. They further provide a model for doing similar studies in ones own ecosystem.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/transect/econiche/econiche.htm and
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/transect/transrrk.htm

10. Race Rocks as a Facility for Graduate-Level Research:
Dr. Gitai Yahel is currently doing post-doctorate research at the University of Victoria. He has worked with us in doing in situ research on the Trophic Dynamics of the Invertebrate Community at Race Rocks. This video and a link to an explanation of his work is a useful example of the type of non-consumptive research that can be done in an underwater marine reserve. Other outside researchers are presently being supported by the college in the areas of tidal current energy and Invertebrate taxonomy.

Since part of our goals relate to the involvement of our own students in providing the programming live via the internet, the following account describes how one student expressed his satisfaction with the process in a project week in June in bringing a set of live programs to the internet:

“I am one of three Pearson College students currently spending 11 project days at Race Rocks Marine Protected Area. We are all year 29 students of Pearson College who decided to stay for this project after our first year, and we will soon be going home to different countries of the world. My name is Jeremias Prassl, I’m from Austria. Even though coming from a landlocked country, oceans have always had a great fascination on me. Coming to Pearson College and living on the Pacific Ocean was the realization of an old dream. Through my IB biology class as well as waterfront activities at the college I’ve learned to value marine life in all its beauty and diversity. During the year, I spent one project week at Race Rocks, studying marine mammal behaviour in relation to the DND’s weapons testing. Numerous trips led me out to the island, some for biology classes (and related fieldwork), and some for helping with tasks necessary for the island, such as bringing fuel for the generators. Every time I come to Race Rocks, it allows me to discover something new, to explore a new aspect of this gorgeous place. This has been an amazing time for all of us. Diving, learning more about the reserve and species living on it, contributing to research projects, producing live webcasts daily, and helping the lighthouse keepers in maintaining the station have just been some of the tasks we pursued during the last days”
Jeremias Prassl, June 2003

Although so many people get to use the wonderful educational resources of the Race Rocks area by going there virtually on the internet, the wildlife is not harmed and the environment remains pristine. If we can say this after another 20 years and if other places have taken this technique and applied it in a similar way, then the experiment will have been worth every bit of the volunteer time and effort to make it successful. The program takes advantage of new media and new technology in a original and creative way which will hopefully form a model for education in conservation ecology in many parts of the world. When young people are given ownership of an idea they tend to internalize the values and end up with their own real commitment. Perhaps this is the aspect which we are most proud of in this project. From the examples we have seen of what our own students have gained and contributed in this venture, we know how effective this process can be and how powerful it is an educational tool. Because the project involves a creative approach to conservation education never tried before on this scale, and because it gives the confidence to our own international students knowing that their efforts can have a wider effect, influencing conservation practices beyond our local example, we feel this program has a major value in Distance Education.

We have recently started to build a set of pages which contain the translations of our racerocks.com website sitemaps. These are portrayed by flag icons at the base of the home page http://www.racerocks.com. The pages were done by the students of our racerock.com activity. It is hoped that we will be able to expand this coverage of languages in order to provide a start to multilingual access to the resource.

It is a difficult job securing at least $100,000 a year to keep the island operational. What is really needed is an endowment, and this we are determined to build up over the next few years. Keeping observers and cameras on the island has in the last few years served to keep the many users of the area such as whale watching boats accountable, so that the ecological integrity of the resource may be sustained. On the home page of racerocks.com is written: “we humans are never content just to know that a special area exists on this earth. We strive to be there, to touch, to feel, to consume. But therein lies the paradox. In so doing we can destroy the very thing we love.” The aim of the racerocks.com program has always been to make this special ecosystem available to all through the Internet. We have been fortunate to have this opportunity to establish a window into the daily lives of the creatures of a rugged marine island ecosystem. We just hope that we can continue to make the amazing life of these islands available to all. Last spring with the further assistance of Apple Computer, we upgraded our computers and added a new 340 degree robotic camera which provides a much more thorough survey of many parts of the islands from your own computer.

——————————————————————————————-

Author: *Garry Fletcher has worked with the Race Rocks project as a teacher since 1978. He has recently retired after teaching for 36 years, The last 28 of those years have been spent in teaching Biology and Environmental Systems and in the SCUBA Diving program at Lester B. Pearson College. He has always valued the role of hands on involvement in environmental projects to stimulate students. Garry now continues as the Educational Director of Race Rocks and continues development of the website at http://www.racerocks.com. He also serves as a marine education consultant from his home in Metchosin, British Columbia, Canada. )

In June of 2000, at their annual conference in Dunedin New Zealand, The Commonwealth Of Learning presented it’s Award for Excellence in Distance Education materials under category B: multimedia materials supporting non-formal education, to Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, Canada for its on-line materials “Racerocks.com”. They recommended this multi-media material for the award because it is fitting for a variety of clientele needs in non-formal education in the very important area of the environment, it has adopted a sound learning and instructional design, and it uses a variety of media which can be integrated in a flexible manner according to individual learning needs and interests. (http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/events2004/col/colaward.htm)

the Racerocks.com Activity 2004-2005

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The racerocks.com  activity was designed to accommodate those students who had an interest in internet technology and webcasting live activities from Race Rocks and from  Pearson College Campus. This set of photos show some of their activities 

The Race Rocks Weather Station

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October, 2005 Chinyere and Juan Carlos inspect the Davis Weather Instrument that we have installed at Race Rocks for real-time monitoring and archiving of meteorological events.

 

Several individuals and groups have helped us in implementing this weather station. In particular we must mention the anonymous gifting to Race Rocks of two G4 Computers from our friend Julia from Boston. The weather instrument console originally interfaced with one of these computers and regularly transmitted the data by FTP to the Telus internet server.  Now a computer supplied by Pearson College transmits this data to a different server used by this website.
Thanks also to Mike Slater for an excellent job of installing the mast and the conduit for the instrument, and for the remote help in keeping the software running through our internet connection.

Funding of the weather instrument and installation work was originally funded byThe B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines to assist in the upgrading of Internet services from the Island and to up-date monitoring of the environmental factors as part of the Pearson College, ENCANA, Clean Current Demonstration Tidal Power Project.

You may be able to find a Davis Weather Instrument in your neighbourhood too !

Imagine my surprize in April 2007 when I came across this Davis Weather Instrument operating behind the Bayon Temple at the Angkor Wat World Heritage Site in Cambodia.