By Spencer Sterritt

Nanaimo students learn why the ocean is worth saving

Jun 8, 2018 | 5:12 PM

NANAIMO — Oceans are one of the worlds most precious resources and Nanaimo students are learning how to take care of it for future generations.

Schools from across the area were down in Maffeo Sutton Park on Friday for World Oceans Day. This is the second year it’s been celebrated in Nanaimo but it started in Canada decades ago.

The City’s recreation coordinator Deb Beck told NanaimoNewsNOW she was filled with joy to see so many students taking an active role in learning about the ocean.

“It’s fantastic to see how engaged they are. The size of a whale’s heart is the size of a small car. That’s incredible for kids to try and figure out in their heads. They know we need to be doing stuff to clean up our seas.”

Snuneymuxw First Nation was involved this year, showing students traditional weaving and how their salmon weirs worked hundreds of years ago to catch salmon.

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Terry Clayton Allen Jones guided students through a small weir set up along the Swy-A-Lana Lagoon.

He said it was invigorating to see students enjoying the hands-on experience.

“I’m grateful I listened as a kid to be able to pass this knowledge on,” he said.

There’s numerous efforts to safe the oceans coming from the mid-Island area, with Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Sheila Malcolmson pushing for tougher rules and regulations around derelict vessels and Alberni-Courtenay MP Gord Johns championing ways to reduce ocean waste.

Johns has previously called Vancouver Island “ground-zero” for ocean saving efforts.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit