Real time streaming video has webcast continuously since 2000. Digital images of marine life from above the sea at Race Rocks and below the ocean from remotely controlled cameras, and transmission of real time weather data is made available.

The knowledge of the First Nations and their connection to Race Rocks is explored and explained as the Salish people share generations of experience in living in harmony with the abundance that once dominated this region.

Creative educators have developed internet-based curriculum resources to stimulate students and teachers to engage fully in the racerocks.com educational program. Researchers have also shared their studies and discoveries as we gain a new and deeper understanding of the ecosystem.

The Place

For centuries, deep ocean currents and the great rivers of the Georgia Basin have converged in the Strait of Juan de Fuca between southern Vancouver Island and Washington State. Race Rocks reveals itself as nine rocky outcrops thrust from the ocean floor in the middle of the Strait.

For generations the people of the Salish Nation prospered in this region at the entrance to the Salish Sea. The extraordinary richness of this diverse ecosystem represented by Race Rocks is valued today as it was then. Race Rocks has been an ecological reserve since 1980 and is becoming Canada's first internationally recognized Marine Protected Area under the Ocean's Act.

The small, rocky outcrops are home to California and Steller's sea lions, and a birthing place for elephant seals and harbour seals. It is a migratory stopover for many species of birds, and a nesting habitat for four marine species. The life on these rocky island outcrops are only a small portion of the ecosystem. Underwater, the biodiversity in the productive waters is unsurpassed on our coast. New leading-edge bathymetry reveals Race Rocks as a giant underwater mountain. The historical significance of the buildings buildings and equipment of the Race Rocks Lighthouse and the the teachings of Salish elders merge with more recent science to explain the overall piicture of the environment at Race Rocks. 

The Technology

Currently, 360 degree PTZ(pan tilt,zoom) remote controlled camera 1 operates using POE from the top of the tower.  Camera 5 also uses POE ( Power over internet) from the high rock on the NW corner of the island. Another remote camera webcasts from underwater off the North side of Great Race Rocks. The internet signal from these cameras is transmitted by a microwave radio transmitter from the top of the Race Rocks light tower to go on the internet at nearby Pearson College.

Contact Chris Blondeau Director of Operations of Lester Pearson College and Race Rocks