Seaweeds of the West Coast - June 2022

This weekend field course will introduce participants to the world of west coast seaweeds.

Date

June 17 - 19, 2022

Organization

Raincoast Education Society

Instructor

Dr. Bridgette Clarkston

Instructor

Dr. Katy Hind

Contact

1084 Pacific Rim Hwy
Tofino, BC
T:
250-725-2560

Outline:

This weekend field course, based out of the Ucluelet Community Centre, will introduce participants to the world of west coast seaweeds. Topics to be covered in this year’s course include an introduction to seaweeds (What are they? What is their role in coastal ecology?), biodiversity of west coast seaweeds, essentials of collecting and identifying seaweeds, seaweed foraging, the relationship between seaweeds and people, pressing and preserving seaweeds, and more!

 

Schedule: 

Friday, June 17 (7:00 pm – 8:30 pm)

  • Presentation – Overview of west coast seaweeds, different seaweed groups, the role of seaweeds in coastal marine ecosystems.

Saturday, June 18th (8:00 am – 8:30 pm, with breaks)  Low tide is at 9:49 am (0.2 feet / 0.7 m)

  • Field trip to explore seaweeds on Tofino’s rocky coast and practice naturalist skills, including fundamentals of seaweed identification.
  • Collection of seaweeds at the field site.
  • Workshop to practice using dichotomous keys, field guides, and online databases to identify unknown specimens
  • Create your own scientific and artistic seaweed presses.
  • Presentation – seaweeds and people: from traditional uses to modern foraging, and everything in between.

Sunday, June 19th (8:30 am – 12:00 pm)  Low tide is at 10:40 am (0.4 feet / 1.3 m)

  • Putting it all together – field trip to identify seaweeds and their communities in nature, including opportunities to share what you’ve learned with the group.
  • Course wrap-up.

Prerequisites:

None.

Course fee:

$250 Includes lunch on Saturday and Sunday.

How to register:

Registration will open soon.