Next WCAS meeting November 27th (Sunday)

[WCAS-Secretary]

Hi roadrunner,

It may seem sad, but it turns out that in-person attendance/ membership participation in the Metro Vancouver region represents an extremely small fraction of those who keep aquaria. In fact, in-person attendance/ membership participation is very significantly less than 1% of Metro Vancouver aquarium keepers.

So it seems the other 99.9% of the population are either not interested in what in-person meetings offer, find the scheduling/travel/cost, etc. problematic, prefer other ways of sharing experiences (chatting in the LFS), or any number of other reasons---the Metro Vancouver region is a big place (2,877 sq. km). This info was derived from Stats Canada and PIJAC data. Even if you instantly doubled in-person participation you don't move the needle away from that 99% figure. Obviously the Internet has had a major role to play in how people choose to interact now, or you wouldn't be reading this....;-).

There are some very interesting and more accessible ways--in time and space--that the Internet can be used, and we'd like to see about pushing that envelope a bit to engage Metro Vancouver keepers of aquatic life. It's also a way for us to contribute to reducing our carbon (GHG) footprint.

We're not looking to completely eliminate live human contact, but do want to broaden sharing and accessibility options.

BTW, WCAS is pleased to announce that we very recently received a generous grant from BC Hydro to develop and promote energy conservation initiatives to help WCAS members and other hobbyists learn about and manage their energy use in the course of their fish keeping activities. Watch our website for more details in the New Year.

Cheers, Gary.

[Morainy]

Good points. But I was taking a bit of a shortcut in my post. I didn't mean that WCAS is going totally online. I think that virtual meetings will offer a great way to bring in an outstanding guest speaker without paying for them to fly here. The meetings could be recorded and people could watch them from all over the province... or from wherever they happen to be.

Gary said that WCAS will look at ways to bring people together who share a similar interest (monster fish, say, or planted tanks), as well as hosting weekend conferences (face to face). WCAS is hosting two free aquarium setup workshops at the Dunbar and Kitsilano community centre, too.

One thing I like about having guest speakers online is that nobody will be excluded just because they live in Prince George or they don't drive.

Hm, that's too bad it will go more online. I loved the fact that I could meet other hobbyist in person, ask questions and listen to interesting stories from speakers. To me it seems that you like that very fact F2F yourself. I think we need more personal touch, we already have too many things going on online. Soon people won't know how to interact with other human beings other than via FB or SMS. It's kinda sad really.

[roadrunner]

I just hope it works the way you're hoping it will. I really think it will be great for people that live far or don't drive, but yet another reason to stay home and stare at the screen. Call me old fashion, but I still rather drive to meet people in person. I spent 8+ hours in front of the screen at work, so I don't really feel the need to spend few more hours at home doing the same. Plus there is tons of information online and it gets confusing, so you really need to spend time to sort through them or wait hours/days for answer back on the forums. I'm aware it's lot cheaper doing it this way and you can reach more people. I just wanted to say I'm really sad to hear that it won't be the same, because I was really enjoying the meetings. I had something else on mondays and I cancelled it because of WCAS! Oh and I'm proud to be part of that insignificant 1%

[veng68]

sorry..... should have read above post.

[Chappy]

Well, I'm not sure what the future of the society will be, but I have to say this - if it wasn't for WCAS, I would never have had the chance to meet my fish idol, Oliver Lucanus. For me, that was an amazing opportunity that I will certainly not soon forget. Although I had to give April my word that I wouldn't act like a starstruck middle-aged groupie when she let me tag along with her at dinner, it was truly a privilege to meet such a passionate, knowledgeable and outgoing individual who has clearly spent a great deal of his life ensuring that not only we can benefit from his expeditions and adventures, but through his dedication and ongoing work, future generations hopefully will as well. I would have gladly paid my yearly WCAS membership fees for that one presentation alone. I hope in the future there will be more opportunities like this. I'm interested in seeing what directions the WCAS heads in. While it's nice to be able to attend meetings and see everyone in person, I'm up for a live-stream webcast where I can stay home, catch a presentation, and STILL do a waterchange or two Thanks to the WCAS for all you've accomplished in your first 8 months.
Shelley