What's new // Notes from the field
Get the stories from researchers and team members in the field. From collecting data to wading in the bog, find out how our science and collaboration is about people and place.
By Jody Weir Marine Program Coordinator Spring 2007 In early spring we left Nanaimo, aboard our research vessel, Achiever. Our goal is to survey the coastal waters of British Columbia for marine mammals (whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sealions) and seabirds in order to document the marine life in these waters and identify their most critical…
By Jennie Christensen PhD Candidate, Wildlife Toxicologist, Grizzly Contaminant Project Spring is here – sunnier days, warmer weather and the growth and blossoming of plants and flowers. It is a time of heightened spirits, and many species will begin their annual rituals celebrating a renewal of life and nature. While we may begin to clean…
by Chris Genovali January 2007 From Victoria, B.C. Last fall, Raincoast’s wolf team conducted a ten-day expedition on our research vessel Achiever. We collected genetic samples from areas in the Great Bear Rainforest we had not yet visited and to re-visit wolf home sites we had previously identified. One evening, we anchored by a wolf hot spot….
A nation’s stand against open-net salmon farming and an appeal to BC’s Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture
Hecate Strait is one of the roughest bodies of water on earth, but today we can see the reflections of clouds on its surface. We are nearing the end of a long day, which is nearly the last of our field season, which is, in turn, the last summer of our three-year whale survey. But…
A young wolf races along the shore, his gangly legs negotiating the rocky shoreline as effortlessly as an Olympic gymnast performing a tried routine. Only a fleeting glance over his shoulder betrays his fear as he disappears into the forest. We look at each other in awe as a few moments of calm descend on…
The Koeye (K’way) watershed is located about 30 miles south of Bella Bella in Fitz Hugh Sound in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest. Today, there are about three hundred of us gathered on the sandy beach to witness the opening of the Koeye Big House that has been built over the last four…
Raincoast’s dedicated research boat, a 66-foot steel hulled sloop called Achiever, is very close to being operational for 2006. We will launch her from the Shelter Island Shipyard on the Fraser River on July 15 at 10am, and as that day approaches we are ticking off the remaining tasks like items on a grocery list….
Chris Williamson, From Bella Bella, BC May 2006 First Days tend to hold a special place in our minds. The feelings, whether they are excitement, nervousness, or anticipation, burn a lasting impression in our brains that can be recalled with a vividness rarely achieved by any day thereafter. Among the First Days etched most deeply…
Briony PennSalt Spring Island, BCMay 2006 In 1916, populations of sandhill crane were pushed to the verge of extinction from overhunting in the United States prompting the introduction of the US Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In Heiltsuk memory, these cranes, called c’idawai, that typically arrived in mid-April from their southern wintering grounds in the lower…
I am master of the world’s smallest spoon. To be spoon master, one’s hand must be steady. My little spoon with its few grains of silt and sand must be placed into what seems like the world’s smallest capsule of foil. Once the sediment is inside, that capsule gets transferred to the balance. If it…
Sixteen years ago, a small team of biologists and explorers traveled north from Vancouver Island. The weeks turned into months as they quietly sailed from river valley to river valley documenting for the first time the full extent of the Great Bear Rainforest. It was a life-changing voyage for those on board, sailing through the…