My Salish Sea Summer
Another summer has passed by. More than 7000 visitors have visited since early June and they all had the pleasure of engaging with our Summer Educators. Before they headed back to school, we posed a few questions about their summer under the Salish Sea. Here is what Cathy T. had to say.
(Special thank you to Canada Summer Jobs funding for supporting our non-profit and allowing us to assist students in skill development and work experience.)
Cathy T.
Major in University: I am majoring in microbiology and doing a minor in biology at the University of Victoria!
Favourite Salish Sea species you didn’t know much about before you worked at the aquarium? (and why)
C-O Sole, a type of flatfish! They camouflage extremely well which makes them fun to spot, and I think it is so interesting how one eye migrates towards the other during their metamorphosis. I love speaking with visitors about their development!
Favourite habitat IN the Centre:
I have a special place in my heart for our nursery exhibit which is where we keep a lot of our babies or juveniles. Be sure to not miss this habitat when you visit the aquarium!
Favourite place in the Salish Sea to go explore nature:
I really like Cattle Point on a low tide day.
Describe how your summer at the Centre connects to your schooling?
My time here at the Centre has made studying biology much more engaging and fun! Often at school we learn about different organisms and species but never actually get to see them. So being able to study marine biology with the animals right in front of your eyes has really made my learning experience extremely fascinating.
What is your best fun fact you never grow tired of sharing?
I absolutely love sharing fun facts about our California sea cucumbers. I often share that the spikes on their bodies are actually super soft and not hurtful to touch at all! I call them "pretend spikes" as they just want to pretend to look scary. I also like pointing out their feeding tentacles when they are extended because they look like feather dusters!
What was the hardest question posed from a visitor?
Sometimes questions about where certain animals belong on the food chain or what they eat can be hard. Food chains and food webs can get really in depth.
Fish you'll miss the most:
So many...the baby grunt sculpins, all of the flatfishes and Betty and Beatrice, the wolf eels.
Three words to describe your summer at the Centre:
Engaging, exciting, and rewarding.
Anything else you’d like share…
I WILL MISS THE CENTRE SO MUCH!