It’s that time of year again when Whidbey Islanders will gather to talk about whales, whales and more whales.
Orca Network’s annual Ways of Whales Workshop is 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, in the Coupeville Middle School Performing Arts Center, 501 S. Main St., Coupeville. A special screening of the new documentary “Fragile Waters” will follow at the Nordic Lodge.
The 2015 workshop features presentations on a variety of cetaceans, from North Puget Sound gray whales who feed in Possession Sound and Saratoga Passage each spring and the thriving populations of humpback whales that visit the Salish Sea to the endangered Southern Resident orcas, coastal water blue whales and the acrobatic Pacific white-sided dolphins.
The day will feature presentations by the region’s top cetacean experts and advocates, including:
— Howard Garrett, Orca Network; John Durban, with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries; John Calambokidis, with Cascadia Research; and Erin Ashe.
The event will also include a special song from Dana Lyons. Environmental education displays and materials will be available throughout the day, including a table from Orca Network’s Langley Whale Center gift shop, with whale books, DVDs, CDs, field guides and more.
Cost of the workshop is $35 ($25 for students and seniors), and a hot lunch may be available for purchase for an additional $10 depending on availability.
Finally, a post-workshop fundraiser for Orca Network is from 5 to 8 p.m. It will include food and drink, a discussion of the day’s workshop, and a special screening of the new documentary “Fragile Waters,” produced for Orca Network by filmmakers Rick Wood and Shari Macy, about Southern Resident Orcas and their need for salmon. Rick and Shari will attend the screening and hold a question and answer session after the movie.
This event will be held at the Nordic Lodge, 63 Jacobs Road, south of Coupeville. Cost is $25/person.
Pre-registration is highly recommended, as seating is limited. Further information and online registration are available at www.orcanetwork.org. Orca Network can be reached by email at info@orcanetwork.org or by calling 360-331-3543 or 1-866-ORCANET.
