Fonds consists of records related to Alan Austin’s activities as an educator and phycologist, including materials generated through major research projects and student projects, arranged into four series: 1. Seaweed Inventory Project; 2. Victoria Phenology Project; 3. Teaching and student material; and 4. Aquatic ecology projects. The Seaweed Inventory Project (SIP), in particular, is a valuable, detailed record and baseline survey of a substantial part of the coastline of BC, and the vegetation and biota (thus measurable on a global scale) supported at the time of the surveys done in 1972 and 1974. These data stand as a permanent record against which any coastal changes can be compared and measured. The sedentary, attached nature of coastal biota makes it particularly responsive to, and thus a sensitive indicator of changes in their environment. Forces of change include oil spills, toxic spills, runoff from land developments, marina construction, and natural catastrophic events. Series 1 has been arranged into four sub-series: SIP reports; SIP films and photographs; SIP correspondence and field notes; and SIP reference literature.
Fonds consists of records related to two major projects conducted by Aqua-Tex Scientific Consulting. Fonds has been arranged into series according to project: 1. Photopoint monitoring project of urban creeks on southern Vancouver Island consists of a final report and photographic field data collected for Blenkinsop Creek, Colwood Creek, Latoria Creek, Leeds Creek and Swan Trestle (1998); 2. the comprehensive water quality monitoring plan for the Kootenai River Basin of British Columbia, Montana and Idaho project consists of a final report (2000).
Fonds consist primarily of the correspondence and manuscripts of Dr. Michael Waldichuk specific to environmental issues on the Canadian Pacific coast. The fonds consist of four series: Personal, Cine-film, Pacific Coast Entire, and Pacific Coast Regions. The Personal series contains correspondence, records containing information about Dr. Waldichuk’s academic and professional career, and a bibliography of publications written by Dr. Waldichuk. The Cine-film series consists of 275 metres of film documenting survey procedures, particularly at Crofton Pulp Mill. The Pacific Coast Entire series consists of documents relating to the Pacific Coast as a whole. Pacific Coast Region consists of documents organized into 15 sub-series identified by environmentally distinct regions. The fonds also contains publications received by Dr. Waldichuk in the course of his activities.