Celebrating 50 years of excellence in research and education:
A story of collaboration, persistence and innovation.
In the slideshow below, first presented at the PEEC 2022 conference in March 2022, we describe the story of the BMSC, which has grown as a result of a remarkable collaboration among 5 universities working together to provide a field station on the west coast of Vancouver Island. We share historical photographs from our archive and the first years as the Bamfield Marine Station, highlight how we have grown, and describe our journey and strategy for the future, as we plan for success as a sustainable, world-class research and education facility on the west coast of Canada.
Slide8
A committee comprised of representatives from the universities of British Columbia, Victoria, Calgary, Alberta and Simon Fraser University was formed to study a number of possible sites.To establish their venture, these 5 universities formed the Western Canadian Universities Marine Biological Society (WCUMBS), the non-profit that owns and operates BMSC."Five is a really good number," says marine evolutionary ecologist Dr. Rich Palmer at the University of Alberta.Dr. Palmer, a long-time BMSC researcher, also spent time in 2007 as its Director. He explains that “Day-to-day operations are facilitated and funded by each university’s science faculty, and a team of five spreads the financial risk”. The member universities’ economic geography also often works in the station's favour.”Each member university has two representatives on the Management Council, which functions as a Board of Directors, and are appointed by their respective University Presidents. One representative advises and votes on finances, the second on academic matters.
Link to pdf’s of the original stories by Bill Austin and Chris Lobban
A very good year for small town marine biologists – by Bill Austin
1972: A very good year for small town marine biologists – by Chris Lobban
This presentation was created and presented by Dr. Heather Alexander
to the PEEC 2022 Conference, March 20, 2022.
Thank you to many photographers including; Ron Long, Oliver Evans, Iain R. Reid, Jeff Reynolds, Heather Alexander, Stella Peters, Lily Campbell, Paul Joseph, Bill Austin, Chris Lobban, and Leya Tess Anderson.