My visit to Maui

Well it has been a while since I wrote anything on conservation or my efforts for the Science Centre at Quilchena. Sorry.  :D

My husband and I decided to take a trip to Maui. We just returned and it was truly magnificent. I loved the fact that the state of Hawaii has a really focus on conservation of its remaining species. We swam with turtles which are on the threatened list and shared the Pacific Ocean with its many wonderful fish. I am sure it is not as populated as it should be but it was beautiful... but not bountiful.  One of our trips was a snorkel adventure to Molokini aboard the Sea Cat - recommended by Snorkel Bob's. They were a small but environmentally minded bunch of people.  :D Their hard bottomed Zodiac was jet propelled and safe for surfacing whales, dolphins, and turtles. They served fresh island fruit and recycled all bottles used on board. Really wonderful. If I find their business card I'll update this info. 

We also made a trip to the 'Twin Falls" on the road to Hana. While the mosquito repellent was dry at the entrance to the path was something we were prepared for we were not prepared for the complete lack of signage to the falls / destination. HELLO... there are 3 forks in the road which go every direction. A bit silly.

What was far worse was the conditions of the water at the falls. There was a thick slick of rainbow colored grease on every ounce of it.  I am not sure how these small black tadpoles survive. I have to say it was very distracting from the beauty of the rainforest. We decided not to do any other treks as a result of this colossal disappointment.  Sad but true. 

I guess that what I did see was what was left of Hawaii. A shadow of its former self after  total commercialisation of its culture and land. Too bad because there is beauty there. I loved my trip but will probably not return. 

More action has to take place to preserve what they have in order to filter out the damage.

Perhaps using less chemicals which are found in sun screens and repellants would be a good place to start. 

If people only knew the Dirty Dozen and what they do to the entire animal kingdom.  

What to do next? I guess it is up to each of us individually. 

www.davidsuzuki.org

Salt Spring Island, BC

We just spent a week at Salt Spring Island. What a wonderful diverse marine environment. We will be adding a spider crab and sea urchin to the marine displays at Quilchena Elementary.

We found a wonderful red - orange sea cucumber at the side of some rocks in the kelp. We carefully supported its body in our basin full of water  to observed  before releasing it again. What a beautiful specimen!

Anemone grow freely under docks where urchins dine and star fish cling. 

The kelp and seaweed were teaming with shrimp and spider crabs. Everything was treated with respect and released with love.

The Gulf Islands are full of healthy aquatic animals and a great celebration of life!

We love our trips to our Pacific Gulf Islands.

It is always a great opportunity to get in touch with nature and teach our children the importance of sustainable fishing and living.

Enormous Bull Frogs

We went kayaking at Burnaby Lake last week with the boys and scooped up some interesting things.  :D
LOTS of garbage which when seen must be picked up. It became a 'save the earth adventure' instead of an 'enjoying our environment adventure'.

We also came across some interesting Bull Frog Tadpoles!
Check out the size of these giants! They have apparently been a part of this habitat since 1940.  They are invasive and tend to take over and destroy new habitats when people are no longer able to take care of them. They grow into really enormous frogs which eat anything smaller than themselves. They prey on smaller frogs, fish, snakes and of course insects.

We caught these in a net and put them into specimen jars until we got home. Both kids showed them to their classes and now they will be released back into Burnaby Lake. Releasing them anywhere else would simply devastate that habitat and be really irresponsible.

I have to say though - they certainly were interesting and fun to share.

Ocean Adventure

Well, we decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather. What a great way to connect with nature and the boys. It is our first kayaking day of the season & what everyone wanted to do today... 

Beach bum!

The waves kicked up on our way back to the marina and got us all wet but it was definitely an adventure! Actually he worked very hard to help us all get back to a sheltered area of shore. This is much deserved rest.  :D

Afterwards, we found a couple of crab backs and shells on the beach. Great for our exhibits.

Beach combing

Tomorrow(Friday) is a district closure day for Quilchena and then we move into a long weekend for Victoria Day.  :D Hurray!
The sun is here and we can finally have some warm sunny fun!
I think tomorrow we will go beach combing. We need to pick up some fresh seaweed for our salt water tidal pool anyways.  :D
Indeed we have a tank set up at home and have a hearty group of pacific shore crabs living with us. They are wonderful! We love to watch them climb rocks and eat barnacles and chop the seaweed with their claws. They are amazing creatures! The boys love them!
I will take a few photos of our expedition tomorrow and try to find some large crab shells for the school science centre as well.
Should be fun!

We saved a bee today!

I found a bumble bee trapped in our garage today. Clinging to the window and barely moving, I gently picked the bee up and carried it outside. I brought it to several types of flowers hoping that it might latch on to it and drink and fly away but it hardly moved. this poor bee was dying. I remembered reading somewhere that if you find a starving lifeless bee that you can give it a chance to survive by feeding it. So I brought it into the house and put a tiny amount of natural honey and a drop of water onto a little plate. After gorging itself for about 10 minutes it cleaned itself and rested for another 5. Soon after it flew off my hand, circled in front of me 6 or so times and then flew away!
I actually saved a bee today!
The video is a bit boring but shows how a bee drinks and cleans itself. Quite wonderful! (Unfortunately I can not download my video)

I think i've done my good deed for the day.   :D

Kids love it!

Well,  the kids loved the one exhibit they viewed during the eco fair. I would love to be there when they have more of it revealed. 
We made the lip balm and watched a short on line video on the importance of saving the Bees. The kids soaked it all in and loved looking at the different kinds of bees, honey, honey combs, wax  and paper wasp nests. I was really delighted to see such openness from every child. This video link is the one I chose for the children to base our discussions.

The teachers were thrilled to hear that the entire science centre was an educational gift to the school. In my dedication to the life long legacy of Dr. David Suzuki who inspired me,  I mentioned that we all have a role to play in conserving our environment and my personal hope is that this Science Centre will be the seeds to future environmentalist and scientists.
We went down to the ocean with the boys for dinner to celebrate the end of this chapter in my journey. 
The next chapters will be the caring for and development of future exhibits. As some pieces will break or get lost & I will be there to infuse it with new and interesting specimens & replacement parts.


Thank you everyone who donated specimens to this very worthwhile project.
Jean - Sea World - Florida
Project Seahorse - UBC
Arthur V. Zoologist - UBC 
Menita - Greater Vancouver Zoo
B. McGilvray
Parker Family
Honey Family
Kliner Mann Family
Dr. Ian Low 


& Mme. Rushton the school Principal for being supportive and open minded to such an environmental & educational project. 
I also need to thank the Parents Advisory Council of Quilchena for financially supporting the first $500. required for this $1000 project. Thank you for support!

Last but not least, Thank you to Bep at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. She gave me advice and answered questions along the way. 
It was a trip to this museum which inspired me to do this for my kids. I really loved seeing my kids eyes light up with interest and intrigue. Scientific displays like these need to be more prevalent in kids education. They can not simply be a one time field trip. Which is why I created this Science Centre not only for my own children but all the children they go to school with. 
I strongly encourage you to find what inspires you and share it with children. They are the future and can make a difference if we allow them to and we believe in them!  :D

 &&& one last BIG & personal thanks to my own family. This project took a great deal of our time. It was all worth it because we got to share a common goal and had a ton of fun in the process!  I could not have & would not have done with without them!!!  :D