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A boat that has helped shape UVic’s biology and earth and ocean sciences departments just celebrated a big birthday. The RV John Strickland turned 50 on Nov. 4 – a milestone students, professors and alumni celebrated this summer. “It’s touched a ton of people,” said oceanography instructor Eva MacLennan, who helps coordinate expeditions aboard the Strickland. “There were some people who came out who had taken courses on the boat decades ago and still harboured this appreciation and fondness for the time that they spent on the Strickland.” Since it slid into the water for the first time in 1975, the vessel has been used by thousands of professors, researchers and students to observe marine mammals and birds, study algae and other aquatic plants, carry out research, and bring marine ecology, comparative physiology and oceanography courses to life. “Our oceanography program is so robust … because students get to experience what real oceanographic field work is like,” said MacLennan. “They’re using the same equipment that they would be if they were a professional oceanographer. They’re getting wet, they’re collecting data, and then they’re working with that data later in the semester to … put together a picture of what the oceans around us look like.” While the Strickland has chartered waters around Vancouver Island, it’s spent most of its time bobbing up and down in the Saanich Inlet. “Researchers commonly conduct studies in the inlet, and many honours and graduate students have gone out on the Strickland to collect samples for their projects,” UVic said in a news release. “The inlet is a remarkably unique marine environment.” Over the years, research in that stretch of water, between the Malahat and Saanich Peninsula, has included deep dives into everything from turbulence to phytoplankton productivity. The boat has also been central to research in waters farther afield. It’s helped scientists analyze surface sediments for hydrocarbons up and down Vancouver Island, conduct a rockfish survey in Tlupana Inlet and even study sea otter transplants to the Nootka Sound. But of its five decades floating on both calm seas and stormy ones, the main thing the Strickland has offered its thousands of passengers is experience. MacLennan was one of those folks lucky enough to study aboard the boat while completing her undergrad at UVic – an experience she said helped boost her confidence, bond with other students and get some much-needed real-world experience. “I hope that it will continue to provide that access to experiential learning,” she added. “It really transforms our oceanography program into something quite extraordinary, and I hope that it continues to do that.”
