The heavy rains had broken to a slight drizzle by the start of this year’s Nature Dive and the smaller crowd of 50 or so people who made it our event had an intimate view of the marine creatures on display. Specimens ranged from a cute little Grunt Sculpin, through crabs, nudibranch, sea stars and a scale worm which sent a couple of the Marine Biologists to their ID books in an attempt to identify.
Of the volunteers only Tella and myself have Bowen connections, so we are grateful for the $140 in donations received which will help offset ferry expenses for the 13 volunteers.
Thanks again to the wonderful team from Marine Life Sanctuary Society of BC (MLSS) for sharing their knowledge and passion for the ocean and its creatures:
Shore support - Adam Taylor and Ray Hryciuk.
Beach Interpreters – Gerardo Alfaro, Danika Streko, Zora Feron, Sheila Byers and Nigel Cornwall
Divers – Tella Osler, Paul Sim, Kim Ansell, Scott Meixner, Sabrina Chen and Will Hutton
It is hard to believe this was my 10th time hosting the event with the Bowen Nature Club, and the 5th with the amazing help of the MLSS. Time truly does fly when you’re having fun.
It was great to see so many familiar faces, and meet some of Bowen’s newer residents.
Being able to share what I see underwater, and sharing the experience of the Nature Dive with other volunteers makes this my favourite event of the year. There is something special about the people who come to the event, both the volunteers and the participants. For example, this year we had two new volunteer divers who realized their planned B&B visit to Bowen fell on the same weekend and contacted us. Another highlight was sharing the event with the person who inspired me to start it in the first place, long-time Bowen resident Brian Hartwick. He brought his family along with a Kenyan friend who is the office manager for his Safari company. Being able to share my ‘beach safari’ with someone who a few years ago showed me the amazing people, landscape and animals of his own country made the day extra special for me.
We are already looking forward to next year and are working on some educational material to share with students and teachers at BICS in advance of the event.
While the mandate of Marine Life Sanctuaries Society of BC is creation of Marine Protected Areas we feel the Beach Interpretation Programs play an important role in educating the public to the wonders found in our local waters. For more information on their programs please visit https://mlssbc.com/
