Ogden Point Enhancement Society

Along the breakwater...

2010-04-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

Sculpin.

One of the odder looking species of fish, sculpin are generally small fish, five to twenty centimetres in length, although some species can grow up to 100 centimetres in length. They are bottom feeders with sharp spines rather than scales.

Sculpin can live for several hours out of water if kept moist, and often inhabit tide pools. Be careful if you see one in a tide pool, their spines are very sharp and their sting can be very painful.

Photo by Scott Stevenson. To see more of his work, click here >

Unveiling of Land & Sea Murals at Ogden Point

2010-04-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the summer of 2009, a portion of the Ogden Point Breakwater inner wall has been transformed from a dark concrete surface into a series of a colorful hand-painted First Nations’ mural panels.

The Ogden Point Mural project, a collaboration between the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority and aboriginal Coast Salish artists Butch Dick (representing the Songhees First Nation) and Darlene Gait (representing the Esquimalt First Nation), and a team of aboriginal youth is a tribute to the unique artistic traditions of Canada’s first people.

The murals feature a series of undulating wave and sand forms filled with a variety of land and sea creatures common to the Westcoast which can be seen by visiting cruiseship passengers and those who walk the 2km long Ogden Point Breakwater.

The images of the land represented by Darlene Gait’s images of the cougar, the running deer, the raven and the eagle as well as the wolf are symbols of family unity, honesty, generosity, and respect, values which exemplify the dignity and nobility of First Nations people.

The artwork of Butch Dick portrays images of sea life including the salmon, the harbour seal, the devil fish (octopus), and the sea monster.

Town crier welcomes visitors at Ogden Point

2010-04-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

A town crier frozen in a permanent pose of greeting is the latest symbol to welcome visitors to Victoria.

The friendly image comes in the form of a bronze statue, erected at Ogden Point through the efforts of the Victoria A.M. Association. Also newly unveiled is an information kiosk detailing key ecosystems on Vancouver Island.

The kiosk is the second one installed by the Ogden Point Enhancement Society, which has put close to $750,000 into Ogden Point beautification efforts since its formation in 1996.

Ogden Point, located on the James Bay waterfront, is a major transportation hub. It saw a record 210 cruise ships use its docks last year and bring in a combined total of almost 400,000 passengers.

The site is owned by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.

Louise Chabros, president of the volunteer-driven Victoria A.M. Association (so named because its meetings are in the morning), said the idea for the statue came up about a year ago through her acquaintance with artist Armando Barbon of Studio 37.

"We launched the project publicly last September and began our fundraising," she said, adding that the project marks the association's 25th anniversary.

Barbon donated the statue, but fundraising is needed to pay for the bronzing of the piece, Chabros said. About $15,000 of the $50,000 cost has been collected. Chabros said the town-crier statue is life-sized and based on the venerable Tommy Mayne, a town crier and longtime Victoria A.M. volunteer who has been with the group for 19 years.

"The statue is created in his likeness, but it's been dedicated to the tradition of town crying."

Seven local town criers were on hand for the dedication.

"Town criers have always been the heralders of news and readers of town proclamations, and many of our local municipalities still use the town crier," Chabros said. "We do, as well, when we can get them down to the ships. They give the passengers a welcome while they're pulling into the port."

She said it's all part of the association's mandate -- to promote and enhance tourism in Greater Victoria.

Ogden Point gets federal funding boost

2009-11-28T22:07:00.000-08:00

Published: November 19, 2009 3:00 PM

The federal government will pump $900,000 into the deep-sea terminal at Ogden Point.

The money, which adds to a previous $1.5 million contribution from the provincial government, will help expand the port and increase the number and size of cruise ships that can dock in Victoria.

The remaining $2.3 million for the $4.7-million infrastructure project will come from the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.

The announcement was one of 27 infrastructure projects valued at more than $150 million that will stimulate B.C.'s economy through job creation.

Terrestrial Parks of Vancouver Island...

2009-07-11T21:00:00.001-07:00

Victoria is located within the Coastal Douglas Fir Biogeoclimatic Zone, which is only found on the southern and southeastern fringes of Vancouver Island and to most of the southern Gulf Islands.

The Coastal Douglas Fir Zone is home to a unique and sensitive group of ecosystems that includes seaside parkland, dry forest, rock outcrop, and wetland habitats and contains many rare plants.

One of the best places to see a remnant old-growth Douglas Fir ecosystem is on the grounds of Royal Roads University, in Colwood. Some Douglas Fir trees at this site are over 800 years old.

East Sooke Park is an excellent place to see Arbutus trees, second-growth Douglas Fir, and coastal bluffs, along the oceanside trail.

Marine Ecosystems panel at Ogden Point...

2009-07-02T22:09:00.001-07:00

A multitude of marine ecosystems together characterize the ocean. The ocean is the largest aquatic system on the planet,
covering over seventy percent of the Earth’s surface. The habitats that make up this system range from very productive
nearshore and shallow water regions to dark abyssal regions more than 4000 metres below the ocean’s surface.

British Columbia’s Pacific coast is a biologically diverse and productive temperate marine environment. Island archipelagos, deep fjords, shallow mudflats and estuaries, kelp and eelgrass beds, strong tidal currents and massive upwellings all contribute to extra-ordinarily high biodiversity. The abundance of coastal marine life not only contributes to the complexity and total biomass of the marine food web but also provides food for terrestrial animals such as otters, eagles, ospreys, bears, raccoons, mink and humans.

The Interpretive Kiosk...

2009-06-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

The Interpretive Kiosk featuring the twelve panels we have been working on for the past year is finally installed and dedicated. Please visit the area and enjoy this wonderful addition to Ogden Point.

Lighthouses and Navigational Aids...

2009-06-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Vancouver Island has 3,400 kilometres of rugged coast, much of it unpopulated. Lighthouses and other navigational aids are necessary to guide and keep all vessels, from large ships to small pleasure craft, safe.

In November 1859, Captain Nagle, Victoria’s Harbourmaster paid one hundred dollars for a lantern and placed it on MacLaughlin Point at the entrance to Victoria Harbour. By October 1860, legislation had been passed to begin construction of the Fisgard Island and Race Rock Lighthouses.

The Fisgard and Race Rocks lighthouses were both built in 1860. They were designed to work together to safely guide ships from the Juan de Fuca Strait into Victoria Harbour.

Today, the British Columbia coast has about forty lighthouses, many of them staffed by with light keepers. Four of these lighthouses, and a variety of navigational aids, located in the Greater Victoria area, are featured here.

Marine Protected Areas...

2009-06-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

Marine protected areas are regions of the ocean and its bed that have been set aside to preserve representative and special ecosystems, plant and animal species, or unique features.

There are different types of marine protected areas of either provincial or federal designation including marine conservation areas, marine sanctuaries, marine exclusion zones and marine ecological reserves. They also include formal Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as designated under Canada’s Oceans Act.

The common feature for all types of marine protected areas is that the activities allowed within the protected area boundaries, including access, development and resource extraction, are restricted to some degree for protective purposes. Unlike marine parks and recreation areas, marine protected areas are not created for recreational purposes, and access is often restricted.

Nearshore and Shallow Water Species panel...

2009-06-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Tide pools are unique habitats found on rocky areas of the coast. Rocky depressions on the coast are flooded with water at high tide, which brings fresh oxygen and food to the pools twice a day. Between tides, the pools are exposed to the sun, wind and rain, which cause changes in water level, temperature, salinity and oxygen content. On hot summer days, tide pools can completely dry up between tides.

Organisms that live in tide pools must avoid being washed away by tidal waves, keep from drying out in the sunlight of low tide, and avoid being eaten.

Typical inhabitants of tide pools include sea anemones, barnacles, chitons, crabs, isopods, limpets, mussels, starfish, snails, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and whelks.

All organisms that live in tide pools have adaptations that allow them to survive the fluctuating habitat of the tide pool.

Disturbing a tide pool can be hazardous to the organisms living there. Moving a piece of seaweed can expose organisms to the direct sun, and prying organisms that are held fast to the rocks is almost always fatal to the animal.

Stinging Celled Animals...

2009-06-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

This third panel features Stinging Celled Animals.

These exquisitely graceful animals belong to a group called Cnidarians. Based on a radial body plan with mouth and tentacles and possessing only rudimentary tissues, these flower-like creatures have successfully survived for millions of years.

They show a startling range of behaviour and adaptation for such a simple design. Their success is due to the toxic stinging cells which they use to capture their prey, and the alternation during their life between a free swimming jellyfish (medusa) and a fixed bottom dwelling sea anemone-like stage (polyp).

The Breakwater provides habitat for a number of interesting fishes, making it a popular spot for fishing and for diving.

The panels are in final production and will be dedicated officially June 19th, 2009. Come and learn more at Ogden Point by seeing the panels in person this summer.

The Ecology of Ogden Point...

2009-06-02T20:34:00.001-07:00

This second panel of the series of twelve panels created for the Ogden Point Enhancement Society for the Ogden Point Cruise Ship Terminal.

These panels are due to be dedicated June 19th, 2009 so stop by and see them in person.

The Shimmering Shoals of Ogden Point.

2009-05-27T20:02:00.001-07:00

Those of you following this blog know that we have been working on developing a series of interpretive signs for the Ogden Point area. The panels are now in final production and we expect to have them dedicated on June 19th so stay tuned.

This first panel features images which flourish within the first two sections of the Ogden Point Breakwater.

The semi-protected sandy beds of eelgrass and the intertidal seaweed zone along the first third of the Breakwater combine to form a productive habitat sheltering the young larvae and juvenile forms of many coastal animals.

Situated in the well-illuminated and warm photic zone, these beds of plants provide organic material which nurtures the associated kelp forests and rocky animal communities nearby. The densely matted roots of the eelgrass add stability and permanence to the normally motile sand grains, and with time, rich layers of mud build up.

Productivity is further enhanced by the rich plankton drifting through. One can observe the life forms sheltered among the waving fronds of eelgrass and seaweed, including vast aggregations of shrimps, crabs and their larvae and large schools of herring and sandlance - essential food for Breakwater fishes such as the Staghorn Sculpin, Striped Seaperch and juvenile Lingcod.

The seascape illustrated on this plaque stretches for about 110 metres to the second bend of the Breakwater. From here, the sandy bottom slopes gently to a depth of 20 metres.

This illustration allows you to understand and explore the complex seawall environment, where the spatial structure of the granite blocks, rocky rubble, kelp forest and sandy base create multiple microhabitats for communities of plants and animals.

Many of these populations vary dramatically over the seasons, showing bursts of growth and reproduction. A diver can easily spend many happy hours surveying the whole area or studying in detail the myriad lifestyles of the breakwater’s fascinating inhabitants.

Basket Star (Gorgonocephalus eucnemis)

2009-05-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

The Pacific Northwest is one of the most vibrant marine ecosystems.

The currents that flow along the shores allow for kelp to flourish and provide protection for the life that lives beneath it. Basket Stars can be found in rocky intertidal areas with fast currents, feeding off organisms that travel through the tides.

The Basket Star is the white multi-armed organism shown in this photo by Scott Stevenson and one of the featured images on our upcoming Interpretive Signage due June 19th.

Killer Whale or Orca (Orcinus orca)

2009-03-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

Killer Whales are the largest member of the dolphin family, easy identified by their large dorsal fins and distinctive black and white pattern. In British Columbia, there are three populations of Killer Whales: Residents, Transients and Offshore.

There are two populations of resident Killer Whales In British Columbia; the southern (endangered) and northern (threatened) residents. The southern population ranges
between Campbell River and Puget Sound. Resident Killer Whales travel and live
together in matrilineal pods. They are generally very vocal. Each group has distinctive, identifiable calls. They feed primarily on fish, especially Chinook salmon.

Transient Killer Whales do not have predictable distributions and they feed primarily on marine mammals, including whales and seals. They travel in silent small groups of two to six animals so they can successfully hunt their prey. The name “Killer Whale” comes from this type of Killer Whale, which is the only species of whale that kills other whales.

This is one of the features on our upcoming interpretive panels schedule to be installed this April. Come by and see them for yourself.

Photo courtesy of Christine Craft >

Sculpin (Cottus aleuticus sp.)

2009-03-12T23:15:00.000-07:00

One of the odder looking species of fish, sculpin are generally small fish, five to twenty centimetres in length, although some species can grow up to 100 centimetres in length. They are bottom feeders with sharp spines rather than scales.

Sculpin can live for several hours out of water if kept moist, and often inhabit tide pools. Be careful if you see one in a tide pool, their spines are very sharp and their sting can be very painful.

Photo by Scott Stevenson. To see more of his work, click here >

To visit the Ogden Point Enhancement Society web site, click here >

Stellar Sea Lions

2009-01-31T14:08:00.000-08:00

The male, or bull, Stellar Sea Lion is a huge animal, growing up to three metres in length and weighing up to 900 kilograms.

In contrast, the females are only about a third as large, and give birth to one pup after a gestation period of one year.

There are three Stellar Sea Lion breeding rookeries in British Columbia, and many haul-out sites located throughout coastal B.C. A prominent local haul-out site is at Race Rocks, off the Western Communities of Greater Victoria.

This is just one of the highlights of the ecological signage OPES has planned for installation in spring 2009. To learn how you could sponsor part of this initiative, visit www.ogdenpoint.org

Opalescent Nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis)

2009-01-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

Nudibranchs are small, soft-bodied, shelless molluscs, known for their extraordinarily bright colours and interesting body forms. This nudibranch, found off the Ogden Point Breakwater by Scott Stevenson, stands out with luminescent blue bands and bright orange tips.

This is one of the highlights featured on the first series of panels installed at the Ogden Point Breakwater new kiosk we've installed in front of the dive shop with the bright red roof.

The OPES Web Site

2009-01-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

The Ogden Point Enhancement Society was established in 1996 when then Mayor, Bob Cross, organized a group of volunteers to beautify the Ogden Point area and create public space.

As a result of these meetings, the Ogden Point Enhancement Society was formed to initiate the Concept Plan. The Concept Plan defined the areas to be used by vehicles and pedestrian access corridors to improve safety and security. It also took into consideration the importance of an aesthetically pleasing public port facility and related tourism activity.

Since those beginnings, the Ogden Point Enhancement Society has completed several phases of 'enhancement' and will continue to do so with several new intiatives planned.

Take a look through our web site for more information here >

The Ecology of the Ogden Point Breakwater

2009-01-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

The Ogden Point Breakwater was built between 1914 and 1916 from more than one million tons of rock and ten thousand granite blocks. The granite blocks were quarried on Hardy Island, off the Sunshine Coast.

These blocks form a series of steps along the outer edge of the breakwater, which provide a variety of habitats at differing water depths.

This, along with the cold, nutrient-rich water that passes through the Strait of Juan de Fuca with every incoming and outgoing tide, helps to support a large variety of marine life, including a Bull Kelp forest.

Divers enjoy the breakwater as one of the best dive sites in Canada due to the concentration of marine habitats and organisms along its 800 metre length. The breakwater is also a popular spot for line fishing, and for people walking and enjoying the view. This series of panels is a representation of five underwater plaques located along the breakwater as part of a marine diving trail.

Each panel the OPES has created focuses on either a specific habitat found along the breakwater, or on a type of marine animal found at this location.

Many consider the breakwater to be a marine sanctuary, but there is no such official designation here.

The First Series of panels...

2008-12-31T16:59:00.001-08:00

We continue to develop this very special series of interpretive displays and are still seeking sponsorship for the last series of panels. This is a very worthy educational project aimed not only at the 400,000 + Cruise Ship Visitors which spend a day within the Ogden Point Terminal annually, but the very large local population who spend weekends walking along the Breakwater as a place to stretch their legs and enjoy the scenery and who also bring their out-of-town friends for the day.

I have always felt that The Ogden Point Breakwater was a very special place in Canada and creating this set of interpretive signage will provide close to 500,000 people annually with a better understanding of the ecology of the Ogden Point Breakwater and the surrounding areas.

Above is an example of the first series.

To donate to this worthy cause, visit our web site at www.ogdenpoint.org.

OPES Current Initiatives...

2008-11-24T13:41:00.000-08:00

As part of the enhancement and public use of the South Shore of Ogden Point, and a link to the Harbour Pathway project, the Ogden Point Enhancement Society (OPES) is presently involved in the design, development and installation of an ecological information kiosk with a target completion date of April, 2009. This project will compliment the present historical land-use information kiosk located at Confederation Point and the underwater plaques located along the outer base of the breakwater.

This interpretive display, in keeping with the stated objectives and mandate of the Ogden Point Enhancement Society, will serve to enhance recreational uses of the breakwater precinct as well as the cruise ship receiving area for the benefit of both visitors and locals.

The kiosk at Confederation Point focuses on the cultural history of Victoria as related to the Harbour and Ogden Point, and describes the physical location and surroundings visible from the kiosk and breakwater. This kiosk emphasizes the role of the port of Victoria in shaping local history and situates Victoria within Canada and the world.

Read more about this on our web site at www.ogdenpoint.org >

The Ogden Point Enhancement Society

2008-11-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

The Ogden Point Enhancement Society was established in 1996 when then Mayor, Bob Cross, organized a group of volunteers to beautify the Ogden Point area and create public space.

As a result of these meetings, the Ogden Point Enhancement Society was formed to initiate the Concept Plan. The Concept Plan defined the areas to be used by vehicles and pedestrian access corridors to improve safety and security. It also took into consideration the importance of an aesthetically pleasing public port facility and related tourism activity.

Since those beginnings, the Ogden Point Enhancement Society has completed several phases of 'enhancement' and will continue to do so with several new intiatives planned.

We are very pleased to have launched our web site this year. Please visit us online at www.ogdenpoint.org >