Mission

Our mission is to ensure ongoing financial support for students interested in pursuing studies in marine sciences and related subjects with the overall goal of preserving the sustainability of the North and South Pacific Oceans.

Firm foundation builds
toward longevity

by SUZANNE EVANS

The impressive sum of $750,000 has been accumulated to date by the Fernandez Earle Scholarship Foundation (FESF)—money that’s contributed to funding education in the Queen Charlotte Islands and Hawaii, as well as benefiting conservation programs relating to the Pacific Ocean.

Since its inauguration in 2001 the FESF has been positively changing coastal communities through education—a philosophy that reverberates through every undertaking conducted by the organization.

The group consists of eight directors and a throng of supporters, who show their backing through company sponsorships, donations, an annual charity fishing trip to Langara Lodge in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) and high-profile fundraising auctions held yearly in both Hawaii and British Columbia.

Funds from these enterprises have manifested themselves as life-changing educational opportunities for four high school graduates from Haida Gwaii who have been awarded full scholarships to study at universities in Hawaii. On top of this the FESF has also played a significant role in establishing a graduate exchange program between Simon Fraser University (SFU) in British Columbia and Hawaii Pacific University. It’s a program that utilizes the Leadership Chair in Salmon Conservation at SFU as well as the in-depth knowledge of a master’s-level or doctoral student in marine science from Hawaii—a combination that’s making an impact on the conservation issues surrounding the ever sought-after salmon.

And if these accomplishments aren’t enough, the FESF is also introducing a new university scholarship in 2008 for a member of the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii.

A dynamic organization, the FESF is always looking to the future and hopes to provide more life-changing experiences for high school graduates, to continue turning students into scientists and protecting the ecology of the Pacific Ocean for the foreseeable future.

“The most important thing is to endow funds at all of the universities so that this program can go into perpetuity—so they know it always will be there for them,” says Beverley Kniffen, chair of the FESF, who admits they had no idea how successful and just how important the FESF would become.

“When we started this we thought ‘okay, we’ll have one student and that will be a great thing,’ and then we realized you can’t just have one student—that wouldn’t be fair. That’s what made us work harder and continue on with this."

Vision

We will select qualified students and fund their education in the areas of relevant Ocean Sciences. Our priority will be to ensure underprivileged students have access to an education that would otherwise elude them. We intend to focus on building partnerships with stakeholders including educational institutions in both Canada and the United States of America. We want to bridge the knowledge between these two countries in order to ensure the longevity and continuity of oceanic species. Our long-term objective includes building an institution that will be a world-renowned leader in the study and conservation of the Pacific Ocean.

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