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AP Environmental Science Visits the Cowichan Bay Estuary

18 October 2021
Maxine P, Alex ‘23
Here at Brentwood, we are positioned in a very special corner of the world. With ocean views from our classrooms and offices, the water plays a vital role in our school’s setting, which is why it is so important to preserve it.

On October 5, Mr McCarthy’s AP Environmental Science class traveled 15 minutes north to the Cowichan Bay Estuary Nature Centre for a unique field trip to learn about Brentwood’s local environment. It was a foggy day, but the mist falling from the clouds did nothing to quell the student’s curiosity. Upon arrival, the class split into two groups to work with different professionals and learn about the estuary. One group got their hands muddy on the beach doing biodiversity surveys, while the other was inside with naturalist Tim Kulchyski, a community member of the local Cowichan Tribes.

We learned that estuaries are very important ecosystems because they are rich in nutrients so they provide great habitats for birds, mammals, and fish to live, feed, and reproduce. Unfortunately, Kulchyski explains, in the Cowichan Bay estuary, “colonial logging activity in the early 1900s changed the ecosystem from flourishing to desolate.” The logs would sit in the estuary for years at a time and their bark would fall off and sink to the bottom, creating a layer of excess nutrients that blanketed the estuary floor and suffocated the ecosystem.

On our field trip, we observed the effects that still linger in the estuary 80 years later. The water appeared dark and muddy because of the lack of plants to anchor the seafloor. The ecosystem isn’t healthy enough to support large populations of fish and crabs and this summer’s red tide killed a lot of the aquatic animals. In our biodiversity surveys, we mostly found non-native mussels and clams that have taken over the beach.

Fortunately for the Cowichan Bay estuary, members of the Cowichan Watershed Board, including Tim Kulchyski, and other organizations are working diligently to restore this vital ecosystem. The most successful effort has been eelgrass transplants. Eelgrass is a plant that used to cover the estuary floor but died off after the logging activity. It secures the muddy bottom and is a great habitat for fish and small invertebrates. In reintroducing the plant to the estuary, naturalists have observed nothing but positive effects. “We likely will not fully restore this ecosystem in my lifetime or even yours,” concludes Tim Kulchyski, “but we are certainly moving in the right direction.”

We AP Environmental Science students walked away from this field trip with a better understanding of the significance of the Cowichan Bay Estuary. “I’ve lived in North Cowichan all my life and I had no idea about the importance of the estuary” says Lucy M, Mack ‘23. “It’s really sad what settlers have done to this ecosystem,” adds Grace D, Alex ‘22, “but I’m glad to see people working to restore it.”

We would like to thank Mr McCarthy for organizing this trip, transportation for driving us, and the staff at the Cowichan Bay Estuary Nature Centre for hosting our class. Thank you for the opportunity to get out in our local community and learn.

Maxine P, Alex ‘23

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