Whale Camp: July 2009

ARRIVING AT SWALLOWTAIL LIGHTHOUSE

The view from the Helipad on Swallowtail

Swallowtail Lighthouse and the Grand Manan ferry

Seeing Swallowtail Lighthouse for the first time from the ferry on the way over to the island

When the students arrive on Grand Manan Island, we all (campers and counsellors) head up to Swallowtail Lighthouse for camp orientation. Once at Swallowtail, Dennis and the counsellors speak to the students about Whale Camp and help them to set some personal goals for their time with us. The Swallowtail initiation is a really fun time and a great opportunity for new campers to get to know the campers who are already here, and also their counsellors. Set up at the beautiful north end of the island, Swallowtail Lighthouse remains the same as when it was originally built in the 1860s and stands atop rocky cliffs that overlook the waters of the Bay of Fundy.

Once up on the helipad students and counsellors run through a series of 'getting to know you' and leadership activities. These activities form the stepping point for other leadership activities that will be infused the students time at Whale Camp and the goal of these activities is to get the kids to start to think about working as a team.

Swallowtail Lighthouse on the peninsula at the north end of Grand Manan island is surrounded by the open waters of the Bay of Fundy and makes a beautiful and scenic place for students to relax and take in the scenery after their travel to Whale Camp.

Students playing 'getting to know each other' games on the helipad

LEARNING ABOUT THE NATURAL HISTORY OF GRAND MANAN ISLAND

While the students are with us at Whale Camp, is it not just the marine life that they have the opportunity to learn about. Grand Manan Island is a very diverse island with a whole host of really interesting natural history and culture, from the tide pools that are influenced by the huge water movements in the bay to the fisheries that has shaped the culture and development of the islands peoples.
The geology of the island is also unique, with many factors acting over many years to make the island what it has become and is today. Many parts of Grand Manan's historic and geologic past are retained on the island are provide excellent examples of how the island was formed and providing a glimpse of what life used to be like here.

FISHERIES ON GRAND MANAN

Fishing on Grand Manan has long been a very important part of the islands culture and development. For over 200 years, the island has been inhabited by those who relied on the oceans around the coast and in the bay for fishing. Many on the island still rely on the traditional methods of smoking herring and gathering dulse, these economic livelihoods have defined the island community for hundreds of years.
At Whale Camp we give the students a glimpse into the islands past and how this has shaped the island to this day. There are many remnants of Grand Manan's fishing history still remaining on and around the island, in the shape of herring smokehouses, fishing weirs all along the coastline, and the many boats in the docks.

One of the traditional herring weirs, located at the north end of the island. The herring weirs are a traditonal way of harvesting herring, using the natural behaviours of these fish. There are many active herring weirs still in use along the coastline of Grand Manan and New Brunswick.

Teaching the students about life in the herring industry!!!

Looking up into the old smokehouses located in Seal Cove at the south of the island

The old herring smokehouses only stopped operating in 1996

TIDEPOOLING

The tides of the Bay of Fundy are among the highest in the world, and flood into and out of the Bay every 6 hours, thus two tide cycles a day engulf the shoreline and rise up high on the cliffs of the island. On several of the islands great beaches, the tide rises enough that large areas of the beach are completely submerged for large parts of the day. This creates tidal zonation and thus gives rise a large variety of creatures utilising the different habitats and niches created by these tides.

Displaying some rather large seaweeds

Sea-star fantastic

Searching for tide critters in the pools at low tide

BOG, STREAM ECOLOGY AND FRESHWATER LESSONS

Exploring the life in one of Grand Manan's streams

Learning about the water cycle in a unique way!

Creating water-sheds and building communities on the banks of rivers!

GEOLOGY OF GRAND MANAN

Standing atop the Hole in the Wall. The Hole in the Wall is a unique natural sculpture, caused by the tides of the Bay of Fundy. The waters over time, have carved out the softer rocks from this outcrop of rocks, leaving a large hole in the rocks surrounded by harder rocks. At high tides, kayakers can paddle through, and at low tide the hole is accesible to hike down to. The hike out to the hole in the wall was one of the most popular hikes this summer, and the view of the hole and Whale Cove Bay provided a great place to stay for lunch.

An example of some of the geologic processes that help define Grand Manan is the columnar jointing that can be seen at various locations around the island

WHITEHEAD ISLAND AND THE INDIANA JONES TRAIL

Whitehead Island is part of the Grand Manan archipelago and can be reached by a short twenty minute boat ride from Ingalls Head harbour on Grand Manan. We try to take the students across to the island every week, mainly so that they can enjoy one of the most fun and challenging hikes, appropriately called the 'Indiana Jones hike' due to the obstacles and themed dress that some of the staff choose to wear and the scenarios they act out!

Mike, the boys dorm counsellor working his way through the trail

Uh-oh, we detect a slight problem with the ferry to White Head.... (this is not a problem in any way, we like to entertain the campers!)

Marmot, one of the instructors, squishing through a crevice on the trail

Two of the campers taking a detour off the trail....

Taking the boat over to Whitehead Island

CAMPERS

The students who come to Whale Camp come from a wide variety of places, from as far as Italy and the UK, to Canada and of course, the US! While they are with us, one of the things that makes Whale Camp so unique is that everyone has such a great time with everyone else and at the end of their time here, everyone has made so many new friends.

Enjoying the views.....

Marvelling at the giant sea stars!

All friends atop Swallowtail at the end of a fantastic week

WHALE CAMP SITE

Whale Camp is located in Seal Cove nearer to the southern tip of Grand Manan island. The Whale Camp site contains a large field, steps down to the beach right on site, separate girls and boys dorms, a lodge that is used for teaching and mealtimes as well as many great on site facilities such as our own vegetable garden and outdoor running around and games sites, outdoor picnic areas and resting areas.

Enjoying the weekly campfire out in the field, a time when the students have fun and reflect on the week that they have just had

The Whale Camp field

The boys dorms and the fender tree

The view of the field and the dorms

Students enjoying the sun on Grand Manan and helping out in the veggie patch. Taken from the front porch of the girls dorm

BECOMING A MARINE BIOLOGIST

As part of the Whale Camp experience, the campers are not just taken to see the whales, but are taught techniques and lessons in how to study whales and the importance of such studies. Every week, the campers go out to sea on two trips, once on the Days Catch, a converted lobster vessel, and once on the Elsie Menota, a sailing vessel.
While out on these trips, the group take turns to spot for whales and other marine life, and fill in 'sightings' forms to document whether or not they observed any marine life in that area at that time. The sightings forms are very similar to those used by marine researchers in the Bay and throughout the world. On each form, campers fill in the time, date, longitude and latitude, conditions of the weather and the ocean and any creatures seen and their behaviour when observed, for example foraging, travelling or socialising.
Once back at camp, the campers are taught more about the importance of such records and undergo tasks using the data that they have collected. They are shown how every piece of information that they have collected is essential for the long-term research and conservation of many species of whales and also, how the ecology and location and tides of the Bay of Fundy are so important in influencing where animals are.
From the information gathered by whale campers over several years, trends are evident that the campers can note and begin to explain and discuss, for instance, trends related to the location of certain whales feeding at a particular stage of the tidal cycle. It is great for the campers when they learn these trends and can then relate them to their own whale watching experience here at Whale Camp.

Constructing Grand Manan in the sand as part of learning about the areas around the island and how they are influenced by the tides and dictate where and when the whales will be around.