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View from Lone Cone, Meares Island
The islands and mountains of Clayoquot Sound are covered with coastal temperate rainforest. The kind of rainforest found in Clayoquot Sound is the rarest kind of forest in the world, covering less than 0.2% of the Earth's land surface.
We are only beginning to understand the many complex interactions within and between the forest and marine ecosystems of Clayoquot Sound. Salmon are the most obvious example of this interaction, as they are born in rivers in the forest, live most of their lives in the ocean, and return to their native streams to spawn and die, thereby providing nutrients to the ecosystem from which they were born. The salmon are an important part of both the forests and the ocean, and they teach us that we need to understand forests and oceans together.
Local First Nations have understood this connectedness for a long time. Their expression for it is: hishuk'ish ts'awalk or "everything is one" or "interconnected". Not surprisingly, First Nations know a lot about their environment and the many species it supports. This knowledge has been grouped together under the phrase: "Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)" to distinguish it from western science.
The Clayoquot Biosphere Trust actively encourages and supports Traditional Ecological Knowledge and scientific research in Clayoquot Sound. Significant research, monitoring, education and training initiatives are underway in the Biosphere Reserve, through the sponsorship of government agencies, regional bodies, other local organisations and external researchers. The Clayoquot Biosphere Trust supports community-based initiatives and partnerships with external institutions to promote research, education and training consistent with Biosphere functions and themes.
This section is as a resource for people who are interested in learning about research in Clayoquot Sound. If you are a researcher, please contact us to share information and ideas.
Clayoquot Biosphere Trust
PO Box 67
Tofino, British Columbia
Canada V0R 2Z0
Phone 250-725-2219 (Tofino) 250-726-2086 (Ucluelet)
Fax 250-725-2384 (Tofino) 250-726-2087 (Ucluelet)
www.clayoquotbiosphere.org