Jim Carnett
Spring classes got under way this week at Orange Coast College, but
the campus is already abuzz with summer plans.
Three courses will be offered at OCC's spectacular Rabbit Island
facility in British Columbia. Orange Coast might be the only
community college in the nation with its own international island.
Located 50 miles north of Vancouver, at the top of the Strait of
Georgia, Rabbit Island was donated to OCC two years ago by Southern
California yachtsman Henry Wheeler of Downey. Several classes were
offered there last summer.
Home to Orange Coast College's Wheeler Research Station, the
40-acre wooded island rests in a beautiful archipelago. An abundance
of narrow passages, beaches and coves, teeming with marine life,
encompass the area.
Summer Rabbit Island courses are posted on the college's website,
at orangecoastcollege.com. Visitors to the site should click first on
"Class Schedule," then on "Courses on Rabbit Island."
Summer course offerings include field archeology (Anthropology
282), island ecology (Ecology 110) and special projects photography
(Photography 260AD).
The three-unit field archeology class introduces students to
strategies and techniques required for the archeological excavation
of a prehistoric site. The class meets on campus on Mondays, July 11
and Aug. 8, and on the island July 24 to 29.
Anthropology professor William Breece teaches the course. Breece
may be contacted at (714) 432-5798.
The three-unit island ecology class will explore the marine
intertidal environment found in the Rabbit Island archipelago. The
course will be taught by marine science professor Dennis Kelly.
Kelly, who taught an ecology class at the island last summer, was
recently named OCC's Faculty Member of the Year for 2004-05. He is
nationally acclaimed for his dolphin research.
The island ecology class meets on the island July 10 to 16. For
information, contact Kelly at (714) 432-5564.
The two-unit special projects photography course will meet for
seven weeks on campus, beginning June 8. The six-day Rabbit Island
field trip is scheduled for June 19 to 24. Shooting photos in a
spectacular natural environment, students will each work on
developing a portfolio.
Course instructor Blade Gillissen taught photography at the island
last year. He may be reached at (714) 432-5844.
Wheeler Research Station consists of four large water-view cabins,
a cozy lodge and outbuildings. Resting under trees and on top of rock
outcroppings, the cabins and lodge are at different elevations and
