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Renewable energy and shellfish farming, using solar energy to grow oyster seed that will then sequester ocean CO2 – what’s not to like? Our first post about our new demonstration Solar Powered FLUPSY (Floating Upweller System). We’re very excited about this project and as performance data becomes available we will be reporting a lot more but for now a rather longish post and photo essay about the design and construction. Read the rest of this entry »
(Ok, the picture above I took in PEI, but that’s not the point) We’re excited to continue our commitment to sustainability by now powering the Field Station with renewable energy through Bullfrog Power. To find out how we are, read on Read the rest of this entry »
We are excited by being featured in the current issue of Canadian Builders Quarterly. “We didn’t build a green building just because we thought, ‘We’re the university, and we should have a green building,’” Kingzett says. “We built it because we’re not going to save the earth without a shift in foundational beliefs. And that starts with education.”
British Columbia is blessed with tremendously diverse and productive ocean and freshwater habitats and resources. However, our aquatic foods sector may not currently be living up to BC’s potential. Can we have both healthy, sustainable marine and coastal ecosystems; and a thriving, innovative seafood sector that together benefit BC’s coastal communities? Read the rest of this entry »
The 4th VIU Biosphere Conversation took place this past weekend at the Deep Bay Marine Field Station. Nearly 20 people from across Vancouver Island, including from VIU, Royal Roads University and the University of Victoria gathered together to reflect on the role of the post-secondary institution in sustainability on Vancouver Island. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re feeling like proud parents around here! Originally posted on VIU webpage
The shimmering replicas of jellyfish may look fanciful but Vancouver Island University biology and art student Emily Rigney makes a serious statement with her sculpture created from shoreline trash. Read the rest of this entry »
The Urban Food Revolution. Changing the Way we Feed Cities – upcoming talk by Peter Ladner – as first event of new VIU Aquatic Foods Initiative! Read the rest of this entry »
The results are in! … Last fall, VIU Horticulture Instructor, Laura-Jean Kelly brought her HORT 131T Landscape Design Techniques class out for the start of their annual juried design project. See original post here.
In this course, students divided into groups and worked within our Landscape Architect, Victoria Drakeford’s site plan to design an entrance/reception area including a “native plant Potager”. A Potager is a classic ornamental kitchen garden, that dates back to the monasteries of medieval France. This group of VIU Horticulture students worked to give this a very west coast sustainability twist with a nod to traditional First Nations use by rethinking the Potager with local species that can be used for true locavore culinary uses. This project was inspired by Chef Craig Rogers (and colleagues) expertise in the culinary use of local native plants, the desire to demonstrate the use of native plants for sustainable landscaping, and create learning opportunities on site.
In December, the class submitted their designs to a jury . We were extremely impressed by the thought, imagination and the effort that the class put into their designs. The landscape steering committee of the CSR – Brian Kingzett, Craig Rogers, Debbie Shore, Victoria Drakeford & Laura-Jean Kelly met January to review the plans & results and were so impressed with the ideas of all student designs that they wanted to incorporate many of them into the final design. It was decided to create a composite of the student ideas that Laura-Jean Kelly & Victoria Drakeford will draw up for review.
Click through to see the original designs! Read the rest of this entry »
Landscape Architect Kate Orff sees the oyster as an agent of urban change. Bundled into beds and sunk into city rivers, oysters slurp up pollution and make legendarily dirty waters clean — thus driving even more innovation in “oyster-tecture.” Orff shares her vision for an urban landscape that links nature and humanity for mutual benefit.
While some of the extreme aspects of her ideas have practicality issues that would make many shellfish biologists cringe, the underlying concept is sound. And if you don’t believe the potential for oysters in landscapes such as this, I recommend reading the BIG OYSTER by Martin Kurlansky.
Vancouver Island University
NEWS RELEASE
Jan. 27, 2011
The Vancouver Island University Deep Bay Marine Field Station will host its inaugural culinary event Saturday, Jan. 29, with a feast of locally grown sustainable shellfish served to international seafood experts who are gathering for SeaWeb Seafood Choices 2011 Seafood Summit.
Photo by Jon Rowley – Bill Taylor white shirt, leading a previous tour.
