Three Planes, One Bus, Two Ferries
One of the exciting opportunities available to students at QHS is the chance to participate in student exchanges. Over the years, our students have shared our school, our city, and our culture with peers from St. John’s (NL), Ottawa (ON), Barnwell (AB), Fort Hope (ON), Edmonton (AB), Charlottetown (PE), Vancouver (BC), and many other communities. Each trip is made possible through the YMCA’s Youth Exchanges Program.
As the herring arrive, so does the wildlife. Sea lions, seals, bald eagles, and even orcas gather to feed in a frenzy of sound and movement. For the QHS group, witnessing this natural wonder was unforgettable — a powerful reminder of how alive and interconnected Canada’s coastal ecosystems truly are. Unfortunately, the arrival of the herring run also means that many fishing boats head out to catch them — much to the dismay of many island residents. “I remember when the spawning grounds stretched all along the Vancouver coast and extended north as well. We can see a dramatic decrease in the size of the spawning area, which means fewer herring,” said boat captain Rob Zielinsky, speaking to the QHS students about the growing threat of overfishing during the herring spawn season. For many reading this story, you may remember a time on the East Coast of Canada when a fishery was “fished” into the ground and the cod stocks were depleted so severely that, on July 2, 1992, the Federal Government established a moratorium. To this day, the northern cod fishery has never returned to the abundance it once enjoyed.
The goal of the program is to give students from one part of Canada the opportunity to experience the culture and realities of students from another. QHS, located in the heart of Quebec City, is a sought-after destination for many schools across the country. The city’s cultural richness, language, and historic charm make an exchange with QHS especially popular. This year the YMCA paired us with Hornby Island, British Columbia — a destination that initially had our chaperones asking, “Where’s that?” Well, after three planes, one bus, and two ferry rides, we found out where this magical place was. Approximately three and a half hours up the east coast of Vancouver Island, travelers reach the first of two ferry crossings that lead to Hornby Island. This year, it was our school’s turn to travel first. That always comes with a few apprehensions about how well the students will mix and get to know each other. But not with this group — they hit the ground running, and by the end of the first day of activities, you would have thought these students from opposite ends of the country had been lifelong friends. The warm reception we received from the Hornby School set the table for what would be a fun week of activities and the creation of new friends. What the contingent from QHS didn’t fully realize was that they were about to experience an ecological wonder. Each spring, usually in early March, the waters around Hornby Island burst to life with one of nature’s most stunning events — the Pacific herring spawn. Millions of shimmering herring return to the island’s shallow bays to lay their eggs, turning the ocean a brilliant turquoise-blue. The scene looks almost unreal — like something out of a National Geographic documentary.
Hearing about the plight of the herring fishery struck a chord with the QHS students and set in motion something the chaperones from both schools hadn’t anticipated. “We need to reach out to our local Member of Parliament and invite him to come to the school to hear our concerns about what we learned here in Hornby,” said one of the QHS students. With a federal election underway, there was a good chance that our local MP, Yves Duclos, would be in the riding. An invitation was sent to the minister’s office, and just a few days later, a call came from his assistant confirming that the Minister was looking forward to meeting the students from both schools and learning about their concerns regarding the herring stocks in British Columbia. To say there was a buzz in the air would be an understatement.
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