Victoria Tourism Companies Join Forces for April 22, 2010 Earth Day and TLC!

Five Star Charters the whale watching company that three of us whale nerds have worked for in past years has joined forces with Adrena Line Zip Tours to donate their earnings on April 22, Earth Day 2010, to The Land Conservancy's Wild Hills and Beaches Campaigns help purchase Western Forest Products lands in the Jordan River and Sooke Hills area.

'Transient' mammal eating ecotype of killer whale off Sheringham Point, just down the coast from Jordan River, Vancouver Island

Five Star Charters will be running a special 'Earth Day' cruise at 2 pm this coming Thursday April 22nd and all the proceeds from that cruise will be donated to TLC's campaign. In addition to donations from cruise earnings there will be a donation box in Five Star's office at 651 Humboldt Street (how to get there) for the duration of this week. Adrena Line Zip Tours will donate 20$ of each zip line sold on Earth Day.

'Transient' cartwheel just offshore of Southern Vancouver Island...the habitat offshore of areas like Jordan River is important for marine mammals and what we do onshore affects these animals

Links

• TLC's announcement of this joint venture to fundraise money for their Wild Hills and Beaches campaign
• To check out TLC's Wild Hills and Beaches campaign go here
• Five Star Charter's blog post about their participation in this Earth Day fundraiser
• To donate to TLC's campaign online go here or call 1-877-485-2422.
• To contact Adrena Line Zip Tours phone: 250-642-1933 or toll-free: 1-866-947-9145

Earth Day – April 22, 2010 Tips for an Earth Friendly Garden in Honour of Spring

Earth Day commences April 22, 2010 and is a day that has been designed to raise awareness and appreciation of the planet and the environment. It is unique in that this day transcends all national borders and promotes unity of the world’s population to respect the earth, which we all call our home. The celebration of Earth day is only the first step of the journey to respecting the environment and the resources that it supplies us with. The important thing is to try making eco-conscience choices everyday, such as reusable coffee mugs for your morning java for all you coffee junkies out there including us “Whale Nerds” or using cloth bags instead of plastic bags for your weekly groceries. The simplest eco-friendly changes to your daily routine such as using biodegradable shampoo and condition, i.e. Kiss My Face or JASONS, will assist our planet’s health in the long run. There is truth to the statement “THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL”, for if everyone on the planet acts locally in their own backyard then a global change will occur.

Now, into the backyard we go. Earth day usually occurs in the spring for the North Hemisphere…which is the time of the year that gardening commences. A green garden would be great symbol for the go green revolution.

Tips for an Earth Friendly or in our case “Killer Whale” Friendly Garden:

(1) KEEP IT REAL – eliminate the “chemically-laden” fertilizers, pesticides and weed killers. These chemicals will either be washed away by rain water into the ocean or local lakes and build up within the food web, or will leach into the local water table…and into your drinking water supply. Instead, get healthy: use those muscles and your relaxing pass time as a work out by digging up those weeds by the root. Additionally, use an all-natural compost and promote insect warfare…it’s what Mother Nature has been doing for a long time.

(2) MAKE YOUR OWN COMPOST – kitchen scraps are the perfect tool to compost like a champion. You’ll reduce the amount of waste being trucked off to a landfill and provide your garden with the boost of energy that it desires. Compost enriches soil by providing it with nutrients that plants love as well aeration and the ability to retain water longer (less chance of wasting the precious resource of water).

(3) GO NATIVE – plant a variety of native and indigenous plants found in your area, which promotes the visitation of your pollinator pals. Native plants are easier to grow and maintain for they are already adapted to the local conditions. Additionally, they will general require less fertilizer and water.

(4) HARVEST RAINWATER & WATER WITH CARE – adding a rain barrel is an inexpensive way to capture mineral- and chlorine-free water for watering lawns, yards, and gardens. The water can also be implemented in washing cars or rinsing windows, but use biodegradable cleaning detergents. A screen on your rain barrel will help keep out insects, debris and bird’s aerial missiles, and don’t forget to make frequent use of your water to keep it aerated. The rainwater will help you save on the water bill, but also reduce erosion that can occur with storm-water runoff, plus if you live in the Pacific Northwest like us Whale Nerds….its a chance to take advantage of your winter. However, to maintain your water supply during the drier summer season: remember to compost/mulch which helps retain water in the soil much longer, and that the best place to soak your plants is directly on the thirsty roots.

Enjoy your eco-friendly lawn and garden this spring and summer from “recycled lawn furniture”. And don’t forget to enrol in Earth Day 365 days a year by making eco-conscience choices.

Upcoming Events!

Hi all!
There are some neat things happening in Victoria in March...

Wednesday, March 3 at 7:00pm
Alanna Mitchell, author of the amazing book "Sea Sick", will be speaking at UVic. Check out the Sierra Club website for all the information.
http://www.sierraclub.bc.ca/events/informative-and-passionate-look-at-the-ocean-with-alanna-mitchell

Saturday, March 6th at 11:00am (until 3:00pm)
FINAL Public viewing of the Blue Whale Project, 211 Harbour Road (Island Plate and Steel building). Project information can be found at: sites.google.com/site/bluewhaleproject

Monday, March 29 at 7:30pm
MARINE NIGHT
Using Seabird Diets to Track How Climate Change is Affecting Arctic Ecosystems
University of Victoria Masters student, Jennifer Provencher, studied the effects of climate change on seabirds in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Using historical and current data, she examined changes in the diet of Thick-billed Murres in the low, mid, and high Arctic. She collected samples in the summer and spent winters in the lab sorting and identifying fish bones, zooplankton, squid beaks, and some unnatural objects such as plastic and bird shot. By comparing her results with similar studies done in the 70’s and 80’s, she has tracked how their diets have changed through the years as the ice cover has moved. Meet at 7:30 p.m. in Room 159 of the Fraser Building. Everyone is welcome.

Educating Students on the Blue Whale “Blues”

The Blue Whale project is near completion and will be the twenty first completed Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) skeleton in the world. The completed skeleton will be hanging the University of British Columbia (UBC) Beaty Biodiversity Museum, which will be opening early this year. The biodiversity museum will be displaying the “richness” of British Columbia’s natural environment, with the 26 meter Blue whale being one of the “big” exhibits.

The 26 meter female Blue whale was found beached in Prince Edward Island in 1987. She was buried and basically forgotten until twenty years later. In 2007, the Blue whale project was initiated with the removal, transportation, cleaning and articulation of the whale. The articulation is occurring in a building donated by Ellice Recycling, which has had multiple open houses and school tours. The early spring announces the completion of the Blue whale, which will be transported over to its permit housing in the museum. Therefore, the Blue whale project has a few more open houses scheduled for the evenings and weekends, and the remaining school tours are occurring every Thursday until March.

On January 14, I was able to assist fellow whale nerd Natalie Bowes in the first school tour of 2010. Cedar Hill sent two grade eight classes for a tour of the articulated Blue whale. The class was split into three groups (for Jesse, Natalie and I) to tour the three major articulated areas: the skull, the ribs and spinal column, and the pectoral fins. The physiological features for living in the water were discussed, such as the ability for the ribs to collapse to deal with the pressure as the whale dives under the water.

The Blue whale skull was casted by the Royal Tyrrell Museum because the whales skull was in fragmented pieces.

Nat talking about the "food falls in technique" of the baleen whales.

Students of Cedar Hill near the tail region of the articulated Blue whale.

The importance of the school tours is for students to get an opportunity to see the multiple stages of large project such as this for exhibits. In addition, the plight of the Blue whales’ marine environment is discussed, such as the increase in noise pollution, which makes it difficult for the loudest animal on our planet to find mates. This is significant for the Blue whale is listed as an endangered species due to over-whaling, with the population dropping to a couple of thousand from a pre-whaling population of 350,000. The current estimated population is 4,500 individuals, which indicates a slow increase. The increase in noise pollution indicates an raise in ship traffic, which can result in ship strikes and likely the death of this particular female Blue whale in P.E.I.