Twenty-one Bow Valley High School (BVHS) students just returned from a field trip for the history books.

Students from grades 10, 11, and 12 travelled to Bamfield Marines Sciences Centre in Bamfield, BC to learn about marine ecosystems and Cochrane’s connection to the ocean through hands-on experience.

bvhs ocean 2

“It was very, very packed full because we were only there for five days,” says grade 12 student Bryce Caldwell.  “We would be on a boat and we'd be out on the water looking at the salinity of water or the temperature and talking about what that means. We'd be talking about sustainability or marine reproductive strategies, a lot of different aspects that you could potentially look at as a future career.”

The trip west showcased the importance of the ocean to even a landlocked community like Cochrane.

“It's really big in Alberta that we realize the impact we have because a lot of people don't understand that a lot of our industry comes from the ocean.”

“We learned 80 per cent of the pollution in the oceans comes from rivers,” explains grade 11 student Taya Vlietstra. “That really shocked me and opened my eyes to how much it is just a cause-and-effect relationship.”

bvhs ocean 3

This is the first trip of its kind for BVHS and Vlietstra says it will not be the last. “ We were the first experimental group, you could say, trying it out. It was so successful they're definitely going to bring it back as soon as possible.”