Husband Doug’s photo collage of our cistern installation won the photo contest draw for Drinking Water Week 2013, sponsored by the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) (to which our island of Gabriola belongs). The prize: a helicopter tour of the Vancouver Island watershed that supplies water to Nanaimo and many other mid-island communities. Julie Pisani, special projects assistant with the RDN’s Team WaterSmart, joined us on the tour, along with a grade 9 student who won the the Water Week poster contest.
Our hour-long tour, generously donated by SunWest Helicopters, lifted off on June 7 from Qualicum Beach Airport. Â As we flew, Julie pointed out important features of the Nanaimo watershed: Mt. Arrowsmith, the largest mountain on southern Vancouver Island, whose snowpack feeds Cameron Lake and the Little Qualicum River, which in turn recharges the groundwater aquifer supplying water to Qualicum Beach; the Englishman River, which supplies water to Parksville; a dam on the Nanaimo River that creates a resevoir for Nanaimo’s water, and much more.
Our comfortable Bell LongRanger helicopter, and the skill of our personable pilot Rob Anderson, made my first ever helicopter trip a delightfully memorable one. Our thanks to the RDN and SouthWest Helicopters for raising awareness about the need for water conservation and management in our regional ecosystem.

Husband, Doug Long, with our pilot, Rob Anderson and SunWest’s Bell LongRanger Helicopter.

Flying from Qualicum Beach toward Mt. Arrowsmith.

Qualicum Beach.

The Qualicum, Parksville, Nanaimo area with the Sunshine Coast in the distance.

Mt. Arrowsmith framed by the helicopter’s window.

Snowy peak of Mt. Arrowsmith, the largest mountain on southern Vancouver Island.

We flew close to the snowy flanks of Mt. Arrowsmith.

Beautiful mountain lake on Mt. Arrowsmith, Vancouver Island.

The distant cliffs of Gabriola Island.

Our SunWest helicopter returns to Qualicum Beach Airport, Vancouver Island.