In spite of January’s stormy weather damaging their dock, Brentwood College School students in Mill Bay B.C. are now monitoring the seafloor with a small ocean observing system that may be destined for schools across Canada and around the world.

Ocean Networks Canada developed this new system with funding from Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network (CANARIE) as a model for community observatories that can be adapted to a wide range of locations outfitted with instruments tailored to schools, museums, or other community needs.

One and half years in the making, the first community-based observation system went live in late December, with this handover to the school providing the opportunity to test...