@rupertport.com
PRINCE RUPERT – A new ecological education centre has opened along the Prince Rupert waterfront for the summer, generating greater learning opportunities for community members and visitors. Housed inside a repurposed shipping container in the recently opened Lax Süülda Container Market, the North Coast Ecology Centre was developed through a partnership between the North Coast Ecology Centre Society (NCECS) and the Prince Rupert Port Authority’s (PRPA) Community Investment Fund to provide the volunteer-led non-profit organization with a place to showcase the ecological diversity and richness of the north coast region.
The new Ecology Centre features hands-on exhibits and static displays that highlight local terrestrial, marine, and freshwater species and their habitats, and explains some of the conservation efforts taken to protect them. Visitors will be able to see local flora and fauna up close in professionally designed aquariums and terrariums set up inside the container. On high-traffic days, some displays will be brought outdoors, where both volunteers and staff will help people of all ages learn about what makes Pacific north coast ecosystems unique.
This new facility builds on the success of NCECS’ previous collaboration with PRPA to operate a Pop-up Aquarium inside PRPA’s Northland Cruise Terminal in summer 2021, which welcomed 3,200 visitors over the course of 16 days. The popularity of that initial public exhibit helped strengthen the partnership between the two organizations and reinforce the value and viability of this new education facility and what it offers to the community. The total cost for developing the new North Coast Ecology Centre project was $66,684, including $33,342 from the Community Investment Fund.
“We commend the North Coast Ecology Centre Society for bringing this project forward to help create a new asset for our community that supports education and tourism in an accessible way,” said Shaun Stevenson, President and CEO, Prince Rupert Port Authority. “This initiative directly aligns with the Prince Rupert Port Authority’s commitment to sustainability through environmental stewardship and upholds our shared values by supporting a better understanding of the environment that surrounds us, so that we may work together to help preserve it.”
“We are grateful for the Community Investment Fund’s support to achieve this vision,” said Caitlin Birdsall, North Coast Ecology Centre Society Chair. “This new Ecology Centre represents a significant step toward realizing our organization’s ultimate goal of opening a permanent ecological education centre in Prince Rupert in the future.”
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