Tag Archives: Humpback Whales

Animals

Earthday & the New Exhibits at Wild Cortes

2 Comments

It was Earth Day at Wild Cortes, Cortes Island’s centre for natural history, community science and collaborative conservation.

“It is a very exciting place to be, with new displays coming in every year, always on Earth Day. That’s probably the most important thing to say. It’s Earth Day, so let’s celebrate,” explained Sabina leader Mense, a professional advisor to Wild Cortes. 

The centrepiece of this year’s displays is the ‘Humpback Comeback’ section highlighting the stunning recovery of Humpback Whales in our local waters. 

Continue reading Earthday & the New Exhibits at Wild Cortes →
Arts, Gardening, History, Housing

Cortes Island Museum 2025 AGM

The Cortes Island Museum had their AGM on March 30th.

“We had  52 people come out despite a really nice gardening day. You could see people having conversations and lots of hugs.  Nice to see everybody out after the winter. Coffee and treats were available, a nice wide selection of home baked goods. So it’s like the social atmosphere was really positive,” explained Melanie Boyle, Managing Director of the Cortes Island Museum.

“The museum AGM business meeting takes maybe half an hour and then Iris Steigemann gave a really wonderful visual presentation of her travels in Greenland. Donations are up and membership is up, so we’re very pleased about  those facts.” 

Continue reading Cortes Island Museum 2025 AGM →
Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Whale Blitz teaches locals how to report entangled humpbacks in the area

By Louis Belcourt, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

= Cortes Island was included in the third annual Oceanwise Conservation Association’s 2024 Whale Blitz, which included events all over the Vancouver coast, educating people on whale information and how to spot whales and report on their sightings.

A booth hosted by the coordinator of the Oceanwise Conservation Association provided information on whales in our area and encouraged people to report their whale sightings to the Whale Report App.

Continue reading Whale Blitz teaches locals how to report entangled humpbacks in the area →
Environment

No spill response can eliminate risk to marine life in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

By Sidney Coles, Capital Daily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last week, Capital Daily reported that the new 74.5-metre (244-foot) Western Marine Response Corporation (WMRC) vessel named the K.J. Gardner will be docked in Beecher Bay early in the new year. The ship is purpose-built to patrol the BC coastline and respond in the event of an oil spill.

This additional response resource is being deployed in anticipation of the 34+ tankers per month (450 per year) that will soon come out of Burnaby’s Westridge Marine Terminal laden with oil from the TMX pipeline before making their way through the San Juan Islands and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Continue reading No spill response can eliminate risk to marine life in the Strait of Juan de Fuca →
Rivers & Oceans

BBC’s Planet Earth does a deep dive on West Coast whale poo

Editor’s Note: Most of what follows is applicable to our waters, doubly so because MERS operates in our waters. Stay tuned to see if there are any scenes from Cortes or the surrounding islands in the BBC story.

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Whale researcher Jackie Hildering and her colleagues never imagined their work on humpbacks would capture the attention of the globe’s premier documentary series.  

Or that whale poo would be of such interest to Planet Earth — BBC’s famous nature show. 

Continue reading BBC’s Planet Earth does a deep dive on West Coast whale poo →