Tracking Pacific Gray Whales
Destination: Flores Island, British Columbia, Canada
Tucked serenely into Clayoquot Sound near Vancouver, Flores Island is home to the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations as well as some of largest yet gentlest creatures on the planet.
This is a team trip for families with kids aged ten and up -- who should be very excited to track and protect Pacific gray whales in their summer habitat. Your family will get to know the waters of Vancouver Island's Clayoquot Sound quite well as you paddle kayaks or head out in the converted fishing boat/research vessel, gathering data that will help scientists refine their conservation and protection strategies. While gray whales are no longer on the endangered species list, ensuring their survival can still be quite challenging. Science is showing that mating and migrating patterns are being radically altered, and no one is sure if it's a natural progression or a by-product of global warming. Access to prey, as well as certain behavior patterns, can be thrown out of balance by a change of just a few degrees in water temperature.
Your family team will map gray whale prey with sonar and underwater video, track and identify whales (and learn how to tell one from another), record field data, and even help with navigation. Back on shore you'll work in the lab with the researchers to digitize and log photographs to supplement the database. Facilitators are assigned to each family team and will cater learning programs and research activities to the age of your children, so that kids and adults will all be challenged and can contribute at a level appropriate to their ability. Once the day's work is done, there is lots of time to spend together, or with other families, enjoying organized activities and some well-earned relaxation.
Home base is a somewhat rustic youth hostel with shared dormitory-style rooms and shared social/laboratory space. The families eat together and pitch in with food preparation. There are kayaks to take out, when not needed for research purposes, so you can explore the scenic inlets and small islands, or take some great hikes. There are also opportunities to go to the village and learn more about the Nuu-chah-nulth (or Nootka) First Nations people who live there. Keep your eyes peeled for bald eagles, orcas, sea lions, and even wolves and black bears, which all populate the temperate rainforests along the coast of the sound.
Your Next Step: Earthwatch (tel.
800/776-0188;
www.earthwatch.org). A 7-day project with a minimum family contribution of $2,850 (fees change depending on number of adults and children in your group) includes shared dormitory-style accommodations, meals, field research training and learning activities, and full project support with assigned team leaders. A $35 Earthwatch membership is required.
Don't Miss: The town of
Tofino is perched on the edge of
Pacific Rim National Park, and boasts more than it's fair share of good eco-lodges and high quality coffee joints. The real action, however, is where the sand meets the crashing ocean waves of Long Beach and Chesterman's Beach, as this one of the best places in Canada to learn to surf -- several businesses in town have everything you need to play in the waves.
Official Tourism Website: www.hellobc.com
