Marine Base open house attracts visitors from near and far

More than 180 visitors attended MI's open house at the new Holyrood Marine Base on Friday, July 30. Among the attendees were visitors from Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, British Columbia and Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

The Marine Institute (MI) welcomed visitors from across North America to a community open house at its new Holyrood Marine Base on Friday, July 30. Guests from Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, British Columbia and Washington, D.C. were among the 155 visitors to the open house, in addition to 30 young boys and girls from the Holyrood Recreation Program. Also on hand was Dr. Gary Kachanoski, president and vice chancellor, Memorial University. “We are thrilled with the turnout to the community open house. It was a great opportunity for MI to showcase the research and training facilities available at the Holyrood Marine Base,” said Glenn Blackwood, executive director, Marine Institute. “I enjoyed accompanying Dr. Kachanoski on a tour of the marine base and was happy he had a chance to take in the demonstrations offered by MI instructors and staff.”

Activities and events

The open house included a number of presentations and activities related to the ocean and marine sector and the issues facing this industry today. Among the demonstrations were a brief workshop on multi-beam sonar, explaining how it works and the research for which it is used; a radar simulation program developed for MI by Virtual Marine Technology; and safety demonstrations by personnel from MI’s Offshore Safety and Survival Centre. “It’s a very impressive facility,” said Munden Pond, a Holyrood resident making his first visit to the marine base. “There is a lot of information available about the marine base and the Marine Institute. I enjoyed the survival suit demonstrations. You hear about those suits, but to actually see them in use is really something.”

Beach cleanup

Also included in the community open house was the MI Ocean Net Beach Cleanup, which saw 30 young kids from the Holyrood Recreation Program volunteer to remove garbage from the beach surrounding the new marine base. The cleanup was part of MI Ocean Net’s Friends of Beaches network, a collection of volunteers from across the province committed to cleaning Newfoundland and Labrador’s beaches, shorelines and underwater areas. In addition to helping make the Holyrood beach cleaner, the young participants also took part in classroom sessions and discussions about ocean health and what they can do to prevent the polluting of marine environments.

“It was interesting, but it made me kind of sad, actually, to hear all those sea turtles were dying because of litter in the water,” said Nick Dunphy, a 10-year-old from Arm Bay who took part in the beach cleanup. “I learned we can all help by buying the re-usable bags they sell at the grocery store or we could just carry things ourselves if they aren’t that heavy.”

The young environmentalists also took part in face painting with Derek James and music with Terry Reilly and were enthusiastic about learning the different ways they can help improve the health of oceans and marine environments.

“The biggest message we wanted to leave with the kids is that we all have a role to play,” said Justin Dearing, conference coordinator, MI Ocean Net. “Even if you are a young kid and this seems like a large issue that is over your head, you can still understand that every one of us make day-to-day decisions that have an impact. So before we go ahead and do things, just stop and ask questions: Am I hurting things or helping things by doing this? Is there a way I can make a difference? Who can I find to help me make a difference?”

The Holyrood Marine Base is a world-class facility constructed to provide education to the Marine Institute’s industry clients. It offers support for research related to ocean technology, marine biology, marine environmental studies, diving, fisheries, oil spill response, oceanography and offshore safety and survival. The Holyrood Marine Base also serves as a home for research vessels, ROVs and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).