North Van resident learns about ocean conservation aboard 117-year-old ship

After journeying aboard one of B.C.’s oldest working vessels, a North Vancouver resident has gained a newfound appreciation for the wonders of the Salish Sea.

Melina Stokes, a lifelong North Shore resident and UBC student, recently disembarked from a 10-day journey along with seven other young participants as they set sail along the Strait of Georgia and took in the marvels of Howe Sound, the Gulf Islands and the Pacific Ocean.

The journey aboard the 1903 Providence cargo and passenger ship was part of Ocean Wise’s Ocean Bridge initiative.

While venturing on the water, youth participants learned from local wildlife, Indigenous and marine knowledge experts in a bid to deepen and further inspire their ocean education.

“It was a huge privilege,” says Stokes. “From being on the North Shore, you get a sense of how important the oceans are. The ocean is very life-giving for this community in a number of ways.”

Beginning at Camp Summit in the Squamish Valley on July 31, participants went on ethnobotany walks and learned about cedar weaving from members of the Squamish Nation, according to Stokes.

“We got immersed in some wonderful local, traditional knowledge,” she says.

From there, they embarked on a Southern Gulf journey throughout the National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, which included team-building exercises, educational tours and stewardship projects such as shoreline cleanups.

Now that they’re back on land, the Ocean Bridge ambassadors are expected to bring their newfound knowledge and appreciation of local waterways and marine conservation back to their own communities.

Stokes has a few projects on the go, including an online book club where she’s promoting the work of female Canadian science writers who write about conservation.

“The learning journey is a really neat way for people to come together and get inspired,” she says.

Between July and October of this year, Ocean Bridge is leading 19 groups, each involving eight youth participants, in immersive experiences in special marine or aquatic regions of Canada.

Stokes says she recommends that anyone, between the ages of 18 and 30, apply for the program if they’re at all interested in marine and ocean conservation.

“That’s one of the goals of this program, to hopefully take people on this trip who would not normally be able to,” she says. “It’s a really, really neat opportunity.”