Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre

Low Tide Day

Community beach and trail cleanup, citizen science activities on Kil-pah-las Beach, local food, and local music.

Low Tide 2013 was sponsored by The Cowichan Bay Improvement Association and the Cowichan Land Trust, with music from Jane’s Way and support from:

Cowichan Tribes Cowichan Valley Regional District True Grain Bread Island Farmhouse Poultry The Bay Pub The Citizen Brentwood College Wiersma Masonry Jeff Quinton- Royal Lepage Pacific Biological Station – DFO Parks Canada many wonderful volunteers

dancing with Grandfather Heron

History

Low Tide Day began in 1995 with an “Eco Fayre” in Brighton, England, led by the environmental organization River Ocean.  Since then International Low Tide Day has celebrated “One tide on one day around the world” on the Saturday in May with the lowest tide. In 1999 Cowichan Bay became the first Canadian community to celebrate International Low Tide Day.  The first local Low Tide event was co-sponsored by the Marine Ecology Station, Cowichan Land Trust, Cowichan Estuary Preservation Society, Cowichan Bay Improvement Association, and Cowichan Valley Naturalists, with support from Cowichan Tribes.

clams

Since the beginning the signature feature of Low Tide Day has been the “Critter Count,” a quadrat study on Kil-pah-las Beach led by Dr. Bill Austin and volunteer helpers. Participants do an inventory of 0.2-square-metre quadrats at different tidal levels, identifying and counting clams and listing other species found in the mud.  Data from these inventories can be found farther down the page.

Counting critters

Trash from the beaches

The other important feature of Low Tide Day has been a community beach, trail, and road clean-up. Volunteers scour the shore and remove the flotsam and litter left from the winter storms.

Barney the Barge meets Jaws

Many things have been found on the beach, but by far the largest piece of litter ever collected on Low Tide Day was “Barney the Barge”, removed in 1999.

Since 2008 an added feature of Low Tide Day has been a beach seine led by volunteer scientists from the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. Working from a boat, they drag a seine net across the eelgrass beds and up onto the beach. Animals caught in the net are rescued, identified, studied, and then returned to the sea.

Low Tide Day isn’t all science and work, it is a celebration of the intertidal environment. Since the beginning, the event has included food from local sources, music by local musicians, and displays from environmental organizations.

In 2000 Low Tide was featured in a CBC documentary which can be viewed here and filmmaker Tom Shandel included a segment on Low Tide in his documentary, As Cowichan Goes So Goes the World.  Slide shows of some previous Low Tide days can be viewed here.

Data

0.2 metre quadrats were located at 0.5 metres, 1.0 metres, 1.5 metres, and 2.0 metres above chart datum.  In different years 0, 1, 2, or 3 quadrats were placed at each elevation.  Teams of children and adults at each quadrat then classified and counted clams to a depth of 30 cm.  They also listed other organisms they found.  The ID guides used for the clams and other organisms are available here.

The species of clams observed on Low Tide Day have been

Over the years, Mussel, Sand Nemertean, Proboscis Worm, Sand Worm, Bamboo Worm, Lugworm, Thread Worm, Sand Shrimp, and Pink Ghost Shrimp have also been found in the quadrats.