THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA
MARCH 19, 1999
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THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA |
The UVic whale research lab's study on gray whale ecology in Clayoquot Sound (see story, right) involves three faculty members, six graduate students, two government researchers . . . and a village.
In the early years of the study, Dr. Dave Duffus (geography) and his research team set up their field camp in Ahous Bay on Vargas Island, about 10 km from Tofino. "At the time, the whales seemed to favour Ahous Bay," he recalls, "so it made sense for us to be based closer to them." The trade-off was the the inconvenience of being shut off from supplies, electricity and telephones, and the discomfort of tent life in wet, cold weather.
But not for long. Because Ahous Bay &emdash; and a later camp on Flores Island &emdash; is within the traditional territory of the Ahousaht First Nation (part of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council), Duffus had sought and received permission to move the camp there. It was the beginning of a working relationship between UVic researchers and the Ahousaht people that continues to this day.
By 1993, the researchers were buying groceries in the village of Ahousaht. Two years later, they moved into the village house of hereditary Chief Earl George (now a graduate student at UVic). "The move had a monumental impact on our ability to do things, like moor our boat, get a telephone, dry our clothes," says Duffus. "We were able to concentrate on doing more science."
Since then, as funding has allowed, village high school students have been hired on as research interns for the summer. "We also contribute our data to local interests," says Duffus, who notes that the sea and its resources have always been a central theme in the Ahousaht culture. "We try to make our science work for them," he adds.
That philosophy extends into the local school, too. In the past, the researchers have donated boxes of university texts to the school library. And now, funded by a UVic innovative teaching grant, Duffus and his grad student team will work with Ahousaht teachers, students and other community members to develop a marine ecology workbook &emdash; based on 10 years of UVic gray whale research &emdash; for use in the village school. The long-term goal is to get more Ahousaht students attending UVic.
"Students from rural communities typically have a really hard time at university because it's tough to prepare," says Duffus. "If we can get some materials into the library and the classrooms, it gives them a much better idea of what to expect."