Ocean visits the Okanagan
Vancouver Aquarium’s Aqua Van stops in on cross-Canada tour
Live sea stars, sea cucumbers and sea urchins were on display at the Okanagan Heritage Museum in Kelowna when the Vancouver Aquarium’s Aqua Van stopped by for a visit on Saturday.
“We’re spreading a message of conservation, about how important the health of our ocean is to not only the coastal communities, but also inland communities,” said Tamara Loney, co-ordinator of the Vancouver Aquarium Aqua Van. “We’re all part of the water cycle.”
Children had the opportunity to not only see but touch some of the creatures.
“It’s amazing to see the kids’ eyes light up,” said Loney. “A lot of the kids that we see have never seen a sea animal before.”
There were also tables set up with items on display, including a grizzly bear skull, killer whale jaws and a turtle shell.
Kids were able to touch all the items, as aquarium employees explained what they were and answered questions.
“The kids have had so many wonderful questions about all the different animals, as well as their connection to them and how our actions here can affect the ocean and how that in turn affects us,” said Loney.
“One of the big things that we’re trying to let people know about is that the ocean is important; we only have one, and it affects not only us in Canada, but the whole planet as well, so we really need to take care of it.”
In honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary, the Aqua Van will be stopping at 150 communities across Canada this year.
“We’re traveling all across the country, all the way to Sydney, Nova Scotia,” said Loney.
On April 15, the Aqua Van will be in Kamloops before heading to Saskatchewan.
The Aqua Van team will also be hosting 150 shoreline cleanups along the way, picking up garbage at local lakes, rivers, parks and storm drains.
“It’s a really great opportunity to come join us and take part in some direct action,” said Loney.
The shoreline cleanup in Kelowna took place at Kerry Park Saturday afternoon.
For more information, go online to vanaqua.org.