The first few days here at Bamfield have been great! We have seen and done a lot and learned a lot! One of the reasons I choose Bamfield for my CFE was to learn more about marine biology so I can better teach it in a classroom. That goal of mine is definitely being fulfilled – and there is still a lot to learn!
The staff have been amazing – very friendly and so nice. They are getting a little burnt out from the field school season so many of them are looking forward to doing some “reverse shadowing” – watching us teach their classes. There are several that I am interested in – Rainforest Ecology, Marine Invertebrate Diversity, Experimental Lab Diversity, “Life at the Docks”, Marine Mammal Adaptations, and the Plankton lab (where students investigate what they collected during their oceanography trip). I would also like to lead a group on a boat… something that would be different for me (a certified boat driver would be with me).
One of the highlights so far was visiting a 5,500 yr old coastal First Nations village – led by a heredity princess of the Huy-at First Nations group here. Very cool! There were even some old whale bones (ribs) that were part of the Chief whaler’s longhouse – now covered with moss.
We also visited Brady’s Beach on the west side of Bamfield – only accessible by boat…here is proof that I am actually here:
I’ll be shadowing a few more courses and then start jumping in next week with the teaching… first week is almost gone – time flies when you’re having fun!
