A locally developed network of weather stations is on the brink of collapse unless steady funding can be secured.
For nearly two decades, members of the University of Victoria’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences have taught weather to students across Greater Victoria through a network of weather stations they've developed.
The brainchild of U-Vic instructors Andrew Weaver and Ed Wiebe, the Victoria School-Based Weather Network project began with the goal of engaging and inspiring children and young adults in science while raising the profile of meteorology in the school curriculum and demonstrating to students and teachers that physics (specifically meteorology) has great practical importance.
Wiebe, a Senior Lab Instructor in U-Vic’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, has been responsible for developing and maintaining the network since the beginning when the first Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus weather station was installed on the roof of U-Vic's Ian Stewart Complex on March 11, 2002.
This afforded researchers with experience in how these stations operate along with two and a half years’ worth of continuous weather data.
Exactly three years later, on March 11, 2005, Strawberry Vale Elementary saw the first station installed at a school with 19 more such stations coming on line by that June.
By 2006, there were 67 weather stations installed at many elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools across the Capital Region, with even more installed further up-Island.
Dwindling Resources
At its peak, nearly 160 of these weather stations were operating across Vancouver Island including one on the roof of CFAX 1070.
Over time, though, more and more of these weather stations have stopped functioning - including the station on the CFAX rooftop which hasn't provided data since September 2022.
Early funding for the project was made available through government grants and private sector contributions - including in-kind support from Davis Instruments, themselves.
More recently, U-Vic’s Faculty of Science picked up the tab between 2019 and 2021.
Wiebe says maintenance of the weather stations is handled reactively rather than proactively due to financial realities of the program.
What they need, Wiebe adds, is a part-time employee to do the maintenance work – but that requires stable funding.
Donations from individuals, while appreciated, will not be sought until a steady funding stream can be established.
But there appears to be few resources available to support the project's ongoing maintenance needs as budget tighten and consistent, reliable funding streams evaporate like so much morning dew.
Wiebe is hopeful local governments and other organizations who have used this data for various purposes in the past will see the value in what this network of weather stations provides and would collectively chip in see it funded for another 20 years.
Listen to the full conversation here: