May 20, 2010 - 4:50am
The rich diversity of the Nanaimo River Estuary will be on
display at the Nanaimo Museum starting in mid-June thanks to 150 hours of work
by third-year geography student Kelsey Chandler.
Chandler produced a three-panel display of the region’s
history and cultural significance for a recent international conference of the
Pacific Estuarine Research Society at Vancouver Island University.
The display outlines the fragile eco-system and its
significance to the Snuneymuxw First Nation as well as the ways it has been
impacted by coal mining, agriculture and log storage.
“It was definitely a good experience. I knew nothing about
our estuary when I started this,” Chandler said.
She not only learned about the estuary, the largest on
Vancouver Island, she also had the hands-on experience of combining
photographs, text and maps into a comprehensive and engaging display. She had
support with resource material and photographs and is grateful to the City of
Nanaimo and Nanaimo Museum archives for their assistance.
There were plenty of challenges along the way – most notably
keeping the text concise and ensuring that the display gives a sense of the
broad scope of the estuary’s value and potential threats.
The result was rewarding. “Hopefully it will raise awareness
about the estuary and encourage people to support its preservation,” she said.
In addition to the conference at VIU, the portable display
was also recently used at the Chase River Estuary Day family event. It will be
exhibited on the 4th floor of VIU’s Nanaimo campus library until it
goes on display at the Nanaimo Museum.
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Tags: In the Community
