July 18, 2009 - The title of Orca Day was also the events primary goal: Get to Know Your Local Whales.

The strategy to achieve this goal was to host an event that would stimulate new and broader interest in our resident Orca community, interest which might, over time, grow into feelings of affection. We hoped that a “connection” would develop between the adults and children who attended Orca Day and these marine mammals that so badly need their help. We hoped that connections like these would lead to personal lifestyle changes that would improve living conditions for Granny (J2), Ruffles (J1) and the 83 others, in particular breeding age females like Princess Angeline (J17) and her newest calf, J44.

More than 300 people gathered at Thieves Bay Park on Orca Day. They listened intently as expert guest speakers reminded them of the impact that their daily choices have on the lives of these beautiful wild, but dependent, animals. We all learned that eliminating farmed salmon from our diets improves the resident Orcas chances of finding a sustainable food supply. We learned that we must speak out against BC’s expanding fish farm industry (see http://www.adopt-a-fry.com/). We learned that agricultural pesticide and herbicide, and pharmaceutical runoff leads to contamination of the resident Orcas habitat and that tidal power projects damage or destroy parts of this habitat. And we learned that naval and government sonar blasts kill whales and dolphins and who knows how many other marine species.

The learning lasted 4½ hours. Shouldn’t school always be outdoors?

As I sit in the park this morning, a month later, I think back to the lessons of Orca Day and feel mixed emotions. I feel sad that we’ve so badly failed our friends and equals that live in the ocean, but this sadness quickly gives way to feelings of optimism . . . optimism that one or two, or maybe two hundred people who attended Orca Day are thinking and acting differently because of this one afternoon in the park.

What did you think of the first Orca Day? Did we achieve our Orca Day goal?

Photos by Jacquie MacDonald
(from top to bottom)
First: Crowd gathered at Thieves Bay
Second: Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research
Third: Jeff Hogan, Killer Whale Tales
Fourth: Natalie Bowes, Straitwatch; Kari Koski, Soundwatch
Fifth: Ask the Experts panel