Pass it on – The Center for Whale Research…in the park!

When I saw Erin Corra last week & asked her what was happening, she told me, “Something really great!” She told me she’d write it up (which is below), and when she told me about the way the Center for Whale Research is expanding its outreach program, I knew you’d be excited, too – here’s the scoop:

Erin, showing how brown algae is important to our ecosystem...

The Center for Whale Research is proud to announce a unique partnership with Lime Kiln Point State Park. Local park management, with the approval of the State Parks Agency Headquarters, has accepted our proposal to operate a park-wide outreach and education program. The focus will be on killer whale and environmental stewardship as well as providing basic interpretive information about the park’s main historical attractions.

Also known as the Whale Watch Park, Lime Kiln Point State Park receives over 200,000 visitors from 40 plus countries each year to view and learn about our local killer whales. Because of recent budget cuts, the park was no longer able to support their own interpretive services. It was clear to the Center that this educational potential must be protected as passionately as the whales themselves.

Park management is providing a structure that will be converted into a CWR Information Station. The station will be managed by our Outreach Director, Erin Corra, former Park Interpretive Specialist.  In addition, several CWR staff, interns and volunteers will be circulating throughout the park to answer questions and provide information to the public. This is a perennial program that will operate seasonally, April through September.

That's a sea urchin lurchin' in the tidepool....

The park is an ideal location to promote the protection of Southern Resident Killer Whales on many levels. It is one of the few locations in the world where killer whales come close enough to shore to recognize individual pod members. The frequent and regular sightings from this unobtrusive land-based viewpoint inspire many park visitors to better appreciate the environment around them.  The unprecedented history of the Center for Whale Research coupled with the park as a platform for education will create a unique and meaningful experience for park visitors.  The goal is to inform the public and inspire action to assure a healthy environment for the killer whales and the entire Salish Sea.

We hope that our Outreach and Education program will prosper for years to come. If you are interested in supporting our program to insure its success, we respectfully accept donations of any amount. If you are not in the position to contribute, but know someone who might find this a worthy cause, help us by passing this news along. You can also support our program by becoming a park volunteer.  Please contact us with any questions or thoughts.

Thank you for being a part of the solution!  Here’s to good science, good education and an even greater cause.

Cheers, Erin Corra.
erincorra (at) whaleresearch.com

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