A fog settles over Boundary Bay, misting the muddy wetlands. Through the damp air, the sound of children's laughter and chatter can be heard echoing off the water.
Ms. Cotter's Grade 4 students from Beach Grove Elementary are ankle high in the mud, their gumboots sloshing as they inspect the water and soil. These students are out in the wetlands of Boundary Bay as part of an international education initiative.
They are taking part in WetlandsLIVE: a Distance Learning Adventure.
WetlandsLIVE is a series of live educational webcasts geared at students in grades 4 to 8.
Throughout the 201213 school year, wetlands around the world will be showcased to illustrate their ecology and functions as well as their importance to people and wildlife, especially to migrating birds and fish.
WetlandsLIVE gives teachers and students from around the world a fun, informative and interactive way to learn about wet-lands.
The initiative is the result of partners in Canada, the United States and Panama. The U.S. Forest Service is the major sponsor of the project, along with the Pacific WildLife Foundation, Bird Studies Canada, Young Naturalists Club of B.C., Shaw TV and Audubon Panama.
Beach Grove Elementary was selected to take part in the first live webcast, which took place last Wednesday.
Boundary Bay was selected because it is a critically important wetland along the Pacific Flyway.
It has been identified as an official Important Bird Area and was recently selected as a Ramsar site.
The webcast featuring Boundary Bay will be archived on the WetlandsLIVE website. The next live webcasts will take place on March 8, 2013 from Panama Bay, Panama, and then on May 9, 2013 from Cordova, Alaska.
For more information, go to http: //WetlandsLIVE. pwnet.org or on Facebook at http: //www.facebook. com/WetlandsLIVE.
