Not Just Pretty Beach - Oceans Workshop

On November 13th 11-3 at the Arts Center, you friendly Local Trust Committee is presenting a workshop called “Not Just A Pretty Beach” featuring speakers Ramona C. de Graffe and Michelle Molnar.

Come with a lunch and be ready to walk the beach. Admission is free. Bring the kids!

Ramona C. de Graaf is a marine biologist/educator from the BC Shore Spawners Alliance, working with communities to protect critical shoreline habitats for salmon and forage fish survival. Her presentation will focus on the many ecological linkages of our shorelines and a healthy marine environment. She will speak about marine prey fishes that spawn along shorelines at our very feet! Forage fish (herring, needle fish (sand lance) and surf smelt) are critical prey for hundreds of marine predators from birds and fish (salmon and rockfish) to whales! We’ll also learn about critical shoreline habitat linkages for juvenile salmon and how our actions can harm or help the marine food web.

Michelle Molnar is from the David Suzuki Foundation and here's what she has to say about what she's coming here to talk to us about.

“A different way to think about our oceans:
The dangers of human-induced damage to oceans are beginning to enter public consciousness, as society is increasingly aware of the phenomenon of “dead zones”, the existence of invasive species, and the fact that that certain marine species have been exploited to the brink of extinction. The interdependence of mankind and ocean ecosystems, however, is often not as well understood or appreciated. There are many reasons for this, but perhaps the most compelling is the current state of knowledge about marine ecosystems on the part of both scientists and the general public. This talk doesn’t seek to add to the well-established evidence about how we are impacting the oceans. Instead, it’s about the range of benefits the oceans provide to society and what we stand to lose if we don’t act now to protect marine ecosystem services.

As a society that is highly interdependent with its surrounding environments and ecosystems, we need a deeper understanding of how our oceans function and what they offer us if we hope to maintain the ocean’s essential services in the long term. The information presented in this talk, and the discussion that follows, will aim to inform ocean conservation, with a particular focus on the unique oceanic attributes and benefits of BC’s gulf islands.”

Mark your calendars and come on out and learn more about the beaches we love!

Jen Gobby