These pools are located 0n the West side of Great Race Rocks. They are located at slightly different elevations resulting in different abiotic factors in the pools and different life forms in the pools as well. Our students brave the elements to get some measurements in this video
 Pool 9.. file not completed |
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| Tidepool 11: No File for this pool | |
Not every aspect of the tidal Current energy project went perfectly without problems. At one point the project was within hours of being called off. A replacement drill bit had to be flown in and weather conditions threatened to suspend operation. The most difficult stage in the installation was the breaking of the drill casing and drill bit. One morning when attempting to attach the barge, the casing which by this time was sunk in the bedrock, twisted off, trapping the drill bit in the ground.
The conditions in August were marginal for the work at sea.
The most amazing part of thew process was that whatever the problems, the engineers proved to be very capable in meeting the challenge and coming up with a problem. This was particularly impressive in that it was the first kind of such an exercise and it was in an ecologically sensitive area at a time of year when weather could cause a stop to the process.
On July 17, 2006 dredging of the overburden on the selected site was started for installation of the piling.This operation was the most environmentally invasive of the project, but it was estimated that only about 20 square metres of the bottom were disturbed. Given that this is such a high current area, within a year there were no visible changes to the are around the piling. The following pictures were captured from the
remote Camera 5. by G. Fletcher.
It is unlikely that the creation of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve in 1980 would have happened except for the efforts of an 18 year old Pearson College student from Sweden.
Johan Ashuvud, a student from 1978-1980, was in the Marine Science class and the Diving Service as part of IB his program at the college.
He devoted a great amount of energy in helping to direct a group of students in an extensive diving and research program in order to demonstrate the need for a Reserve at Race Rocks.
Johan Ashuvud SCUBA diving at Race Rocks 1979
In the fall of 1979 he helped organize a workshop to investigate the creation of a reserve at Race Rocks involving provincial and university officials. Johan was instrumental in drawing up the draft proposal with staff of the Ecological reserves branch of the Parks Department in the provincial government and even helped in guiding the Deputy Minister of Parks on an underwater tour of the reserve.
Jens Jensen from Denmark,and Johan Asuvud attach a transect line onto the top of the rarely exposed Rosedale Reef, South of Race Rocks at an extreme low tide. At that point they were standing on the most southerly point in Western Canada!
J
ohan’s underwater photography was the first done by students of the college and was to become very valuable in helping to promote conservation of the beautiful life forms there
A gallery of some of his work is available here.
When the Ecological Reserve at Race Rocks was declared in 1980 by the provincial government, the group of students who had worked on the proposal made a celebratory trip to Race Rocks to tell the lightkeepers Trev and Flo Anderson of the great news. (Johan is on crutches after returning from a holiday in Mexico where he had had a collision with a bus!)
A few weeks later, Trev and Flo invited the core group back to present the “Order of Race Rocks” for the great work done. Johan (center of photo) and other divers with whom he had worked, were given the special presentation by Trev and Flo Anderson to express their thanks for the work done.
When Johan graduated from Pearson College, he went on to the School of Economics in Stockholm, Sweden, where he obtained his Master’s degree in Environmental Economics. His first job was in Costa Rica with the International Union for the Conservancy of Nature (IUCN). There he continued his interest in getting special places preserved, as he worked to convince officials in Parks Departments of Central American governments to preserve their Natural Heritage.
Almost 10 years after he left Pearson College, on a trip back to Sweden in April of 1988, Johan died in a car accident. Our college community was deeply saddened by this tragic event. Johan left his wife and a soon to be born daughter.
Johan would be the first to urge young people from all countries to never give up with environmental concerns. He proved to us that youth can make a significant impact in the world by getting actively involved in working to preserve such special places as Race Rocks.
In 2000, The family of Johan contributed the Johan Ashuvud Memorial Fund to be administered in Trust by Lester B. Pearson College . The purpose of the fund is to support with the annual proceeds environmental activities, research and projects undertaken by present and former students of Pearson related to the Race Rocks Marine Reserve.
One of the last papers published by Johan on his work for the IUCN in Central America :
Ashuvud, Johan, “Environmental Conservation for Development in Central America” C. Folke and T. Kåberger ed. Linking the Natural Environment and the Economy: Essays from the Eco-Eco Group, (Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991): 253-270.
ASACODE, Asociación San Migueleña para la Conservación y el Desarrollo, tiene un Albergue para la recepción de turismo en una finca dedicada al manejo integral del bosque, que fue donada por UICN y que lleva el nombre de Johan Ashuvud.
*” Talamancan Ecotourism and Conservation (ATEC) Association, provided training Tourism naturalist guides, who work in Talamanca (local communities). ATEC works as tour operator working directly with the community. * ASACODE, San Miguelena Association for Conservation and Development, has a Hostel for receipt of tourism in an area dedicated to integrated forest management, which was donated by IUCN and named Johan Ashuvud. * There are a number of private initiatives to develop tourism hotels which will generate pressure on the resources of the Refuge.”
In December 2014, a memorial bronze plaque was installed at Race Rocks to commemorate Johan and the work that he did to help in the creation of the Race Rocks Ecological reserve: Click to enlarge.
The plaque can be seen from the remote camera 1. It faces the tower on the rock near the path intersection below the tower.
Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss passed away in December of 2017.
From 1986, to 2005, Dr. Brinckmann-Voss of Sooke, BC assisted the students and faculty of Lester Pearson College with her understanding of marine invertebrate ecology and her expertise in the taxonomy of hydroids. These small colonial animals, the alternate stage of the life-cycle of jellyfish, occur in rich profusion underwater at the Race Rocks Marine Ecological Reserve. When the original species list was done for the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Proposal, in 1979, only 2 hydroids had been included on our species list. Now over 60 species have been identified by Anita and she continued to assist students with research projects while she furthered her research on specimens from the island until 2004. Anita has established long term research plots in a tidepool at the reserve and documents the distribution of hydroids underwater with the assistance of students and faculty in the Diving program at Lester B. Pearson College. Below: Anita accompanied Garry, Chris and Joe on a dive to Secretary Island, West of Race Rocks up the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards Sooke. The purpose was to collect samples for hydroid specimens.
Dr. Armin Svoboda and his son Hanno visited Race Rocks with Chris Blondeau and Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss in August of 2004. His pictures taken on a dive there are linked here.
See this link for the hydroids identified by Anita. https://www.racerocks.ca/tag/hydroid/
See all the posts on this website tagged with Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss
Gallery of photomicrographs of Hydroids- photos by Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss
Video on the habitat of a rare Tubularia
Photos of Intertidal Hydroid Habitat on West side of Race Rocks .
PUBLICATIONS of Dr. Voss from her Research at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve :
1. Brinckmann-Voss, A. , Lickey, D.M. , and Mills, C.E. 1993 . Rhysia fletcheri (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Rhysiidae), a new species of Colonial Hydroid from Vancouver Island British Columbia, Canada) and the San Juan Archipelago (Washington, USA) . Canadian Journal of Zoology 71: 401-406
Abstract:
Most of its female gonozooids have no tentacles. Colonies of R. fletcheri are without dactylozooids. The majority of R. fletcheri colonies are found growing on large barnacles or among the hydrorhiza of large thecate hydrozoans. 2. Brinckmann-Voss, A. 1996. Seasonality of Hydroids (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) from an intertidal pool and adjacent subtidal habitats at Race Rocks, off Vancouver Island,Canada, Scientia Marina Advances in Hydrozoan Biology , Vol 60 (1):89-97
The current at Race Rocks had just changed to a flood – it would be getting up to 6 knots in a few hours, so it was probably at about 5 knots at this time.
Tidal Current Predictions for Race Passage
Prediction: Graph
Race Passage Current tables, 2021
Along with the installation of the Tidal Current turbine, an ADCP was installed to give real time profiles of the Currents at Race Rocks. See the attached file for the type of profile that was generated:Sample of the result of the data analysis at Site 1:
The Creation of the Race Passage Current Tables
Map of Currents at Race Rocks from ADCP tests
See the video on wave and current measurement using the Acoustic Wave and Current instrument.
Water Properties in Juan de Fuca
Field Lab on Current Studies using Drogues.
Oceanographic
Research on Mixing in upwellings
of Race Rocks
Kalle Kallestrom’s essay on The biotic associations on the Current meter Block
Stratified Tidal Flow over a Bump
Richard Dewey,et al–Interactions of stratified flow on an isolated topographic feature: a bump to the east of Race Rocks.
MATLAB charts of barotropic currents to the east of Race Rocks.
Link to the Tidal Current Power Project
BACKGROUND: “Adopt an Ecosystem” involves using the internet as a means to get individuals and groups in other communities: provincial, state, national and international, involved in collaborating with others, and providing an educational resource while ensuring the stewardship of their own local ecological resources.
OUTLINE WITH POWER POINT PRESENTATION:
This 10 step outline presents the basic model of how to go about setting up an Adopt an Ecosystem Project in your school or organization.
THE PROCESS:
We are urging individuals, school groups and service groups in communities to establish internet files on a local natural area which they are able to document easily at a number of levels of scientific sophistication. This natural area may be a small corner of a school yard, a piece of coastline, a local stream or pond, or it could be an established ecological reserve or park. Valuable long-term baselines can be established with students of each year or individuals leaving a “digital legacy’ or a permanent on-line record which is available for other classes to make additions and updates in the future.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE “PROCESS”
By involving individuals in the documentation and monitoring of their adopted ecosystem, a sense of “ownership” of one’s ecosystems and responsibility for their stewardship is experienced. In addition participants are encouraged to use technology to assist in the accumulation of valuable long-term ecological information which can serve as baselines for environmental impact decisions in the area, and as a valuable baseline on the area’s biodiversity.
OBJECTIVES: (The teacher and class may decide on setting their goals for this project, using only a limited number of the suggested activities.) After doing this assignment, students will be able to:
a) Design a plan and procedure for the creation of a local : “Adopted Ecosystem”
b) Use field methods involving quantification to document the chosen ecosystem with a baseline inventory.
c) Use a Spreadsheet program for the analysis and recording of locally collected data.
d) Set up a weather station for collection of weather data.
e) Construct a species list and/or taxonomy of the local organisms in the “Adopted Ecosystem”.
f. iNaturalist contributions Recently I opened an account on iNaturalist.com . I have been able to add many pictures of species taken around the Metchosin coast, as well as other locations. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/garryf
It is a great idea to contribute to iNaturalist so by opening a free account on iNaturalist.com it is a good way to do establish a baseline for organisms in your ecosystem and get professional assistance from experts for identification of species. for instance for the biodiversity project the following entries are recorded by various individuals, https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/metchosin-biodiversity
f) Setup a website dedicated to the collection of resources relating to your locally adopted ecosystem.
g) Outline the Ecosystem Services and the value of the Natural Capital of your adopted Ecosystem.
PROCEDURE:. Identify the area and describe the ecological features that make the area unique, important or just representative of other surrounding ecosystems. Also indicate what your group intends to do with it.
2. You may indicate time lines for your goals, and even designate responsibilities to different group members in order to help you plan your strategy.
3. Establish a good “baseline inventory ” of what is there presently. Many ecological techniques are available to quantify organisms and their distribution. You may use our Transect Files as an example.
4. Establish a class project to provide a taxonomy of the species of your local ecosystem.
5. Include dated maps, databases, taxonomic inventories, checklists, photographs, videos or drawings to document your site. Open a project on iNaturalist.com that enables you to enter photos of species and have experts help in making identifications
6. Begin monitoring the site for aspects of its structure and function. For structure: what living things are there, how they are distributed, what relationships or biotic associations exist. Also, the structure includes physical factors such as temperature, salinity, etc. –start gathering long term data, enter it into a database (such as excel), and save it to the internet site so that others can download and manipulate the data.
7.Download Google Earth and make a 3 dimensional image of the area with your ecosystem.
8. Search for historical and other recent maps or charts of your area. Include these as part of the information recorded.
9. If you have access to your own internet site, assemble the information on the site, let us know its location and we will provide a link to your site from racerocks.ca.
10. Establish a Project to list and value the Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital of your ecosystem. In recent years, we have started to acknowledge that “ecosystem services ” are something to which we must start paying attention as to fail to do so leads to a decline in quality of life:
This file explores that idea further and invites you to contribute to a new project : Defining the Ecosystem Services of Race Rocks. By looking at the model of such services developed for Race Rocks, you might also get an idea how you could choose a part of your own local ecosystem and do a similar analysis.
11. In the fall of 2005 we installed a Davis Weather Instrument at Race Rocks for real time monitoring of a number of meteorological events.
From this environmental data index page, you can see how we are developing pages for each environmental abiotic factor and interpreting how that factor is important in the ecosystems of Race Rocks. Many schools already have weather stations installed. Here are some examples from the Victoria area:
Send inquiries to: Garry Fletcher
Underwater Webcasts by the Divers
The Underwater Environmental Data Sensor Bar.
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| In December 2000, the students and faculty of Pearson College install the first of the underwater environmental data sensors | Fouling -or succession– depends on how you look at it. |
Underwater Work for the Tidal Energy Project
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| ADCP deployment for the Tidal Power Project | Deployment and Retrieval of the ADCP from the Bottom of the Channel | Succession Study of coatings and materials | Chris Blondeau and Juan Carlos video the substrate at the site of the piling installation, and test the depth of the overburden. |
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| Turbine site hydroid survey by Chris Blondeau and Juan Carlos Yabar, 2006
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Pam and Jason from Archipelago Marine do their underwater survey of the location of the Piling Drilling for the Current Energy Project. | Video on the Pearson College, EnCana, Clean Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks
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In December of 2007,The Pearson College Divers installed a set of junction boxes as part of a materials testing experiment for the tidal energy project. |
