Salish Sea Heroes: Rock the Salish Sea!

ROCK THE SALISH SEA/SKEENA UP YOUR WATERSHED! TOURS 2019

This Salish Sea Heroes post is about one powerful pair of musicians, bunches and bunches of BC students, and one communications expert, who together rocked the Salish Sea! Each year Holly Arntzen and Kevin Wright of the Artist Response Team (ART) can be found tromping up and down watersheds, singing eco-rock songs with giant throngs of children and last spring was especially fun. The tours are based on the Voices Of Nature School Music Program produced by ART with a 19-year history of engaging students across Canada. This program weaves together music and science into a one-of-a-kind program and musical spectacle that puts kids in a leadership role to inspire their families and communities to take action for the Salish Sea. This year these kids were from these heroic schools:

Queen Elizabeth Elementary, New Westminster

Lord Nelson Elementary, Vancouver

Trudeau Elementary, Vancouver

Conrad Elementary, Prince Rupert

Veritas Elementary, Terrace

Kildala Elementary, Kitimat

Old Yale Elementary, Surrey

The themes of the tours are ocean and watershed stewardship, and conservation of wild Pacific salmon, endangered southern Resident Orcas and all the habitats and ecosystems that sustain them…and us. You can get a feel for the impact in this Up Your Watershed! Skeena tour video.

STUDENT BLOGS!

Lord Nelson Elementary student art featured on student-made blogs

This year for the first time, ART implemented a digital storytelling project with a grade five class at Lord Nelson school in Vancouver. The students created avatars, learned about safe internet protocols, and created a series of storyblogs that reflected their experiences doing their Rock The Salish Sea program. Student Digital Storytelling Blogs allow students to share their learning ‘beyond the school walls’.

THANK YOU to the Artist Response Team, ART, and all of the students, teachers, principals, and staff at these schools. You are ALL Salish Sea Heroes!