FOR MIKE AND CAROL SLATER EcoGuardians of Race Rocks Ecological Reserve

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FOR MIKE AND CAROL SLATEREco-Guardians of Race
Rocks Ecological Reserve Marine Protected
Area1997-2008From the Faculty, Staff and
Students of Lester B. Pearson College and from
Garry FletcherIn appreciation for your many
years of service to Lester B. Pearson College and
racerocks.com
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Thanks to the following for providing the
imagesAngus MatthewsChris BlondeauPam
BirleyMike and Carol SlaterStudents of the
racerocks.com activityGarry Fletcher
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• Mike and Carol have lived at Race Rocks since the
  mid-nineteen eighties and started working as
  Eco-Guardians for Lester B. Pearson College in
  1997

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• One of the many times that Mike would meet us at
  the docks to help in the landing of the college
  boats..

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• He was always there to help us dock or depart
  when conditions got marginal with a
  north-easterly blowing.

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• Mike collected sea water samples for the data
  records for Fisheries and Oceans and the website
  every day an hour before high tide at Race Rocks,
  thus continuing the unbroken record of sea water
  temperature and salinity since the early 1900s.

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• Reading and recording the daily Salinity and
  Temperature.

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• Carol has long been an effective spokeswoman for
  the wildlife on the reserve.

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• She always has made friends with all the
  creatures on Race Rocks.

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• Mike often had to negotiate to pass by to the
  docks..

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• Were not sure who was helping who here..

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• Fisheries Minister Brian Tobin and Environment
  Minister David Anderson visit Race Rocks and talk
  with Mike and Carol.

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• Mike and Carol have hosted a wide range of
  visitors at Race Rocks..

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• Mike uses the power washer to clean the buildings
  and keep the camera housings.

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• Helping Don the electrician in assembling the
  remote control camera stand..

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• and installing the remote control camera.

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• Giving final touches to the remote camera housing
  in 2002.

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• Mike had to put up with the gull attacks when
  cleaning the remote camera housing in nesting
  season. Here he is dressed for the onslaught

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• Chris and Mike adjust the Davis weather station.
  For this station he regularly helped in resetting
  of the software for the website.

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• Mike provided valuable assistance in the
  installation of the tidal current generator in
  2006. Whether installing conduits for cables or
  concreting the curbs he was always on the job.

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• With assistance in docking and helping in the
  transfer of equipment for the tidal current
  energy program, he was always there to help.

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• Mike and Carol kept a daily photo log for us of
  the construction phase of the storage battery
  addition. Many of their pictures now reside on
  racerocks.com

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• He and the crew move equipment into the energy
  centre for the Tidal Current Energy Project.

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• Mike and Chris fit many an object through a door
  that was too small.

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• Mike assisting in the assembly of the Xantrex
  inverters

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• When we decided to remove a concrete walkway
  to help mitigate the impact of the tidal current
  generator installation, Mike was the one on the
  jack-hammer!

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• Removing the old concrete caught in the act by
  the remote camera.

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• Here he operates the derrick to off-load
  equipment for the tidal energy project.

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• A hand of precision at the controls of the
  derrick.

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• Once the hard-hat goes on, we know Mike means
  business!

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• Mike has the patience to nurse along an ancient
  Winch motor.

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• Part of living on an island is providing your own
  water supply. Mikes inventions on the pumping of
  seawater for the desalinator are noteworthy!

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• Record keeping for the desalinator

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• Self Sufficiency means being in charge of the
  three sources of energy generation for the
  island.

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• Mike adapted to the use of the new equipment in
  the Clean Current Turbine Project.

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• Mike and Eric find away to avoid the remote
  camera!

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• He and his Boston Whaler made many trips over to
  Pedder Bay. On one such trip when he was the
  lighthouse keeper, equipment failure put him
  into the water. Thankfully he was able to
  recover .

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• Whats the red streak passing Second Nature??

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• Mike helped us to assist researchers working at
  the reserve. Here he finds out about the ancient
  burial cairns in the back yard from a U.Vic
  Anthropology researcher.

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• He worked with our students showing them how to
  install conduits for underground wiring.

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• Here he helps Paul with electrical connections on
  the webcasting equipment.

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• Mike often had to put up with many strange
  requests for equipment changes from Garry-- but
  he never complained--always an enthusiastic
  partner in the racerocks.com program.

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• After a north-easterly blow, Mike would take on
  the job of a logger having to do some major
  clear-cutting on the boat ramp.

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• Chris Blondeau visiting Mike and Carol with their
  grandson Michael

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• Mike and Carol Slater at Race Rocks
• September 2008

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• Excerpts from the Movie Outpost by Alan Bibby,
  1997

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WE HAVE INSTALLED THIS PRESENTATION IN THE RACE
ROCKS HISTORY FILE http//racerocks.ca/mikeandc
arol.htm