BC Orca Awareness Month took off in Oak Bay June 4 with the Turkey Head Vigil and Walk for Dead and Captive Orcas. Several events will continue in Oak Bay this month, including the upcoming Salish Sea Night at the Churchmouse Bookshop on June 14 and the Orca Celebration and Action Day June 17. BC joined Oregon in recognizing June as Orca Month last year, while Washington’s acknowledgement spans eleven years.
Founder of the Salish Sea Biosphere Initiative Deborah Dickson said Sunday night’s walk was a success. Participants met at Chris Paul’s “Salish Sea” sculpture and held a vigil for lost whales Tilikum and Lolita. “It was a small, intimate group of passionate citizens,” Dickson said. “We had petitions signed and a couple of songs written for the orcas.”
Last year, Dickson founded the Salish Sea Biosphere Initiative alongside others involved with green and blue belt initiatives to have certain regional areas recognized and protected. Dickson says the society is in its early stages and is grateful for the awareness raised by events such as Sunday’s walk. “We’re hoping to form a new model of communications where we are collaborating with First Nations and others,” she said. She hopes in years to come, the Salish Sea Biosphere and other organizations created around protecting ecosystems and endangered species will be viewed as historical turning points.
Many don’t realize the critical condition of southern resident orca pods and other endangered species in the Salish Sea, Dickson says. Only 78 southern resident orcas remain on the planet. Oil spills, ship noise which interferes with echolocation, aquarium captivity, underwater military experiments and depleted food stocks put the dwindled population at further risk. Groups such as the Salish Sea Biosphere Initiative aim to mitigate the negative effects people have on orcas.
Executive Director Christianne Wilhelmson of the Georgia Strait Alliance (GSA) adds that now is the time for citizens to take action for orcas.
“They’re on the brink of extinction if we don’t start immediately. Orcas represent everything that is amazing, everything that is important and everything that is in trouble with the Strait of Georgia,” Wilhelmson said. “Their health indicates the health of the strait.”
Wilhelmson and the GSA take small- and large-scale action for orcas by advocating for individual lifestyle and federal government changes. “The federal government came out with their action plan [for endangered orcas]. They’re trying to say that they’re protecting the orcas, but they’re approving projects like Kinder Morgan and LNG that are going to directly affect these populations.”
Wilhelmson encourages those who care for the strait and the health of orcas to take a stand. “I know we can feel powerless, but it’s important for us to raise our voices. Our government works for us, and a democracy isn’t just every four years.”
Everyday actions can also contribute to the health of the sea. This month, tips on how to make the right choices in buying products and food orca whale facts, articles and more are shared on georgiastrait.org and through the GSA’s social media channels.
In honour of Orca Awareness Month, next week will see Churchmouse Coffeehouse’s “Salish Sea” evening, June 14. Since January of this year, Churchmouse After Hours Coffeehouse has hosted readings by audience members and live music from local singer-songwriter Caroline Wick each month. This June’s coffeehouse welcomes any ocean-related readings or performances.
Host Anita Lahey said, “We invite anybody to come and read a poem, tell a story, or play a song.”
Unlike regular open mic, the coffeehouse encourages anyone to read any written piece, their own or not, published “last year or 2000 years ago.” This month, Lahey and others will read from three books written by local authors: The Killer Whale Who Changed the World by Mark Leiren-Young, Inheriting a Canoe Paddle by Misao Dean and Last Dance in Shediac by Anny Schoone. Lahey has invited all the authors to the coffeehouse on June 14, along with UVic’s Jason Colby who will speak on the orca research involved in his upcoming book, How the Quest to Capture Killer Whales Transformed Our View of the Ocean’s Greatest Predator.
Poems from a forthcoming Canadian anthology, edited by Victoria’s Laureate Yvonne Blomer, will also be read out by Lahey and those who choose to participate. Several orca awareness members will take on a theatrical reading of BC Orca Month organizer Barbara Julian’s mini-play Janus and the Whale – similar to Jonah and the Whale, only from the perspective of the whale.
Lahey encourages any and all to read, perform or come to listen on June 14 at the Churchmouse Bookshop, 1701 Elgin Road between 7:00 and 8:30. Admissions are made by donation. “We have coffee and popcorn, it’s very low-key. We get lots of different ages and anybody can come.”
The Orca Celebration and Action Day will be held at 1525 Begbie Street, June 17. Festivities run 1:30 to 4:00 with free admission and speakers, discussions, displays, music, performances and snacks.
All are invited to take part in Oak Bay’s June events and in the province-wide stand for orca whales.
editor@oakbaynews.com
