Holiday Newsletter 2022
In this newsletter:
- A Major Milestone: The Wendy P. McCaw Foundation commitment of $5 million toward construction of sanctuary buildings and infrastructure, and the sanctuary perimeter net;
- The Sanctuary: Completing the two-year environmental studies and preparing for construction;
- An End to Captivity: Canadian Parliament forges new ground;
- Whale Aid Programs: How a new life is opening up for Tokitae (“Lolita”);
- Lessons for Life: Inspiring compassionate future citizens.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Wendy P. McCaw Foundation Commits $5 Million toward Construction of Sanctuary Buildings
The Wendy P. McCaw Foundation has made a generous commitment of $5 million toward the Building Fund for construction of the sanctuary buildings, the state-of-the-art perimeter net that will surround the sanctuary waters, and the sanctuary infrastructure, including power, water and internet.
Wendy McCaw’s foundation has been the major supporter of the Whale Sanctuary Project since 2017. And her commitment of $5 million toward the Building Fund comes as we complete the final environmental studies of the sanctuary waters, lands and seabed and move ahead with permits to begin construction.
She hopes that her commitment will encourage other foundations and individuals to join in meeting the capital costs of construction, and that everyone who wants to see a better future for whales will donate toward the operating costs of equipment, staff, travel and the many other day-to-day expenses of this groundbreaking work.
Wendy’s concern for captive whales dates back to the 1990s, when she took up the cause of Keiko, the famous “Free Willy” orca, and made it possible for him to return to his home waters. Her passion for Keiko connected her with Charles Vinick, our executive director, who managed the Keiko Project.
Twenty years later, when Charles approached Wendy about creating a sanctuary for captive whales, she was “more than interested.” She says that with public opinion changing over keeping whales at marine entertainment parks, “the idea was exciting for me.”
Wendy has a special concern for all keystone species, including wolves, bears, mountain lions, coyotes and orcas.
“Everything flows from these creatures,” she says. “Without them other species would not exist. This is not only unfair; it’s not right.”
(For more about Wendy McCaw and the work of her foundation, see this blog post. And for more information about participating in the Whale Sanctuary Building Fund, contact our executive director at charlesv@whalesanctuary.org.)
WORK AT THE SANCTUARY SITE
You’ve seen it from the shore, but in this video, Charles Vinick, our Executive Director, takes the new work boat along the path that will be the perimeter net of the sanctuary:
And as a dive team prepares for a study of the seabed to help determine where the perimeter net should be anchored to the ocean floor, here’s some raw footage from a dive close to the shore to study plant and animal life and to collect samples for analysis:
Final Studies of Seabed, Soil and Sediment
Nothing is more important than ensuring that the sanctuary area of the Port Hilford Bay is a healthy habitat for whales. Some of the environmental work we’ve been doing requires conducting studies through every season over two years. This is detailed, complex work that involves expert analysis of everything from water pressures to microorganisms.
Here is a brief extract from one of the extensive reports on sediment samples that we commissioned from Envirosphere Consultants Limited earlier this year:
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In another study, Environmental Analyst Amanda Babin sets up a logger line to collect data on water temperature and pressure over a full year and explains it in this video:
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What the Studies Cost
Among the day-to-day operational costs that your donations support are the external costs of these studies and analyses. By “external”, we mean what’s paid to outside consultants and contractors. So, these don't include staffing, purchases and rentals of equipment, and other additional operating costs. Here are a few examples. (The numbers are in Canadian dollars.):
- Hydrodynamic Analysis Phase I: . . . . . . . . . . . . C$25,000
- Hydrodynamic Analysis Phase II, Lidar: . . . . . C$33,000
- Mi’kmaq Environmental Knowledge Study . . C$50,000
- Ambient Sound analysis: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C$10,200
- Environmental Site Assessment II: . . . . . . . . . . C$41,900
- Wetlands Delineation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C$13,200
- Preliminary site design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C$50,000
In earlier years, work on the water involved renting boats at an average cost of C$4,000 a day, plus paying their crews. This year, your donations provided for the purchase of a work boat at a cost, including essential equipment and delivery, of C$111,000. Having our own boat is a major saving. It is currently used for our environmental analyses of the bay waters and for consultant studies. After that, it will be used in setting up and maintaining the perimeter net and maintaining other structures on the water.
When Will We Welcome the First Whales?
We’re still shooting to have the necessary infrastructure and facilities ready by the end of 2023. But once you get into the late fall season in Nova Scotia, you start running into winter weather, which is not the best time to be transporting whales. So, it may be 2024 before the first whales arrive.
As is the case with almost any first-time project, there’s no prior documentation that outlines all the necessary steps in creating this first sanctuary for orcas and beluga whales. This is not only the case for us; it is especially the case for the government agencies and departments that oversee our work and are required to approve every aspect of the project.
A recent example was to do with our application, in April, for a permit to take 18 core samples of submerged soils – each about the size of a 16-ounce water bottle. The purpose of this study is to determine where best to place the anchors for the sanctuary’s perimeter net. Four months after we applied, we were told that before we could begin the study, we would need to do an Archeological Resource Impact Assessment as part of First Nation consultation. That work is now completed and if there are no further delays in getting the permit, we aim to take the samples before winter sets in.
Delays are always frustrating – especially when, for example, we see the orca Kiska still swimming in lonely circles around her tank. But they are inevitable when it comes to obtaining the numerous permits that are required for a project of this size and scope. And we greatly appreciate the encouragement we receive from government at all levels – federal, provincial, local and tribal – in bringing the sanctuary to fruition.
Your support is helping to create the first sanctuary for orcas and beluga whales. Please donate today!
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Letter from the Executive Director
“Two kinds of funding are needed to create a sanctuary. Grants for the Building Fund come mostly from foundations and individuals who can provide funding like the commitment of $5 million from the Wendy P. McCaw Foundation. Operating funds, which provide for equipment and staff, the surveys and studies, the contractors and consultants, come from your continuing support. That’s what we mean when we say that ‘Your donations make this work possible.’”
Letter from the President
“It’s no coincidence that the development of the whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia continues to dovetail with the work of Parliament in Canada. Parliament’s objective is to make it illegal to keep whales and dolphins captive for the purposes of entertainment. And the Whale Sanctuary’s mission is to provide sanctuaries so that these captive whales can be retired to a better life.”
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Canadian Senate Presses Ahead to End Captivity of Whales
Over the last seven years, Canada’s Parliament has been forging new ground in the protection of whales and dolphins and, most recently, other animals in captivity, too.
This highly progressive legislation has been largely synchronous with the development of the Whale Sanctuary, the idea for which was first explored at around the same time as the launching of the first of these laws. Senate Bill S-203, The Ending the Captivity of Whales & Dolphins Act, was passed overwhelmingly in June 2019.
And now, senators are just completing the Second Reading of Bill S-241, The Jane Goodall Act, which adds new and stronger provisions and extends protection to many more animals.
At the forefront of senators’ concerns is the lone orca Kiska, who was captured in the Icelandic Ocean more than 40 years ago and lives, or rather “exists”, as one senator puts it, at Marineland Canada. Here are some excerpts from their speeches:
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WHALE AID PROGRAMS
How a New Life Is Opening Up for Tokitae/Lolita
An unprecedented collaboration between animal protection groups and the Miami Seaquarium.
This is the way it should be done. Indeed, it’s the only way it can successfully be done: a full collaboration between those who have custody of the animals and the organizations offering to provide a better life for a captive whale.
That's what has been unfolding at the Miami Seaquarium this year, as the new owners, The Dolphin Company, have opened their doors to the nonprofit organization Friends of Toki to provide 56-year-old orca Tokitae (widely known by her earlier display name “Lolita”) with a greatly improved quality of life.
Beginning in 2018, the Whale Sanctuary Project worked with Sacred Lands Conservancy, an indigenous-led nonprofit, to provide them with a comprehensive operational protocol for the safe and responsible relocation of Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (the indigenous name of Tokitae) from her current pool at the Miami Seaquarium to an ocean-based habitat in the Salish Sea.
Right now, Friends of Toki, co-founded by Pritam Singh and our executive director, Charles Vinick, is focused on Toki’s health and welfare in the circumstances in which she has lived for so many years. Through the support of Pritam Singh, independent veterinarians are now working collaboratively with Toki’s on-site vets; major upgrades have been made to her pool to provide for cooler, cleaner water; additional animal care staff are working with her training team; and an enrichment plan has been developed that is now being implemented.
In their October report, the independent vets write: “She is still dependent on medication, so we cannot assume she is out of the woods, but we all feel much better about her future prospects.”
And now, Friends of Toki is organizing a conference that will be held on December 13th to report on all that has been done for Toki and to open a discussion and listening session on her future.
Note re. funding for Tokitae: Several members of the Whale Sanctuary Project are participating in Toki's care. Funding for this work, including for staff time, is covered fully and exclusively by Friends of Toki’s co-founder Pritam Singh. The Whale Sanctuary Project is neither raising nor accepting funds for this work.
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LESSONS FOR LIFE
Educators inspiring compassionate future citizens
Inspired by the Whale Sanctuary Project, students and teachers at Schluter Elementary School in Haslet, Texas, are working together to pioneer a new relationship to our fellow animals. Earlier this year, with help from art teacher Keisha Morales and fourth grade teacher Rachel Friend, the students mounted a remarkable Whale of an Art Show.
Building on the success the show had in the community, Keisha and her students have now put together Wild for Animals to bring awareness to many other kinds of animals who suffer in captivity, and how sanctuaries can change their lives.
Meanwhile, Rachel has created a standards-aligned curriculum for upper elementary students called Wild for Whales. Through interactive digital lessons, they examine what life in captivity is like for orcas and beluga whales and learn the benefits of ocean sanctuaries as an alternative.
If you are an educator and would like to learn more about Wild for Whales curriculum for your students, please contact us at info@whalesanctuary.org.
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HOW YOU CAN HELP
Your support is helping to create the first sanctuary for orcas and beluga whales.
Your support of the Whale Sanctuary Project has brought us to the point where we are ready to begin construction of the sanctuary itself and offer a new future to captive whales.
Your donation, large or small, and whether as a monthly commitment or a one-time gift, makes this work possible. Very simply, we can’t do it without you.