The Cowichan Watershed Board and Vancouver Island University present Growing Pains: Trials of Chinook Salmon in their first year in the Salish Sea, Thursday, Sept. 27.
The free, public lecture with marine biologist Will Duguid runs from 7-8:30 p.m. at VIU Cowichan campus in Duncan.
Duguid will share his research and insights into the challenges faced by juvenile salmon in our local ocean environments.
“The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project is a collaborative U.S. and Canadian attempt to understand dramatic declines in the survival of juvenile chinook and coho salmon and steelhead in the Salish Sea since the 1980s,” Duguid said. “Our own research forms part of this project, specifically focusing on the ecology of juvenile Cowichan chinook salmon in their first summer and fall at sea. I will discuss some new insights arising from the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project as a whole, and our work on Cowichan chinook in particular, and engage in some speculation regarding how factors influencing survival of Cowichan chinook salmon may interact.”
More information can be found at https://marinesurvivalproject.com
This lecture is part of the monthly speaker series and made possible with financial assistance from the Real Estate Foundation of BC and venue donation by VIU Cowichan campus.
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Island Health’s board of directors will be in the Cowichan Valley Thursday for a public forum, where they will discuss the Cowichan Valley Plan for Health and Care, including the Cowichan District Hospital Business Plan.
The Cowichan Valley is home to communities, organizations, governments and government agencies committed to improving the health and care of the people who live throughout the Valley. Island Health has been proud to partner with these groups to advance healthy communities, they said in a news release.
With a growing and aging population, an increasing burden of chronic disease, and an aging health workforce, a need exists to further coalesce the existing energy for improved population and community health in the Cowichan Valley.
The possibility of a new Cowichan District Hospital, currently in business plan development, provides a unique opportunity to develop a fully integrated plan for health and care that leverages the benefits of the provincial government’s team-based primary care strategy, links upstream services and providers working on social determinants of health, and explores opportunities for an innovative, effective and patient-centred approach to health services.
In addition, Cowichan Valley Medical Health Officer Dr. Shannon Waters will give the board and the community an update on public health.
The public forum will take place at Duncan Meadows, 6507 North Rd., Duncan, starting at 1:30 p.m.