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PRESS RELEASE
For immediate publication
OPENING CEREMONY FOR THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT DISCOVERY CENTRE, IN LES ESCOUMINS
Les Escoumins, QUEBEC, June 29, 2006
The Marine Environment Discovery Centre presents the many themes relating to the St. Lawrence Estuary. It is a place of integration that aims to raise visitor awareness of the value of the marine environment while enabling them to pursue their discovery of this representative portion of the Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park. With the support of an exhibition and a featured activity called Live from the St. Lawrence, the history and the richness of this unique environment are effectively communicated.
The exhibition allows visitors to discover the estuary in two ways. Firstly, a room widely opened onto the St. Lawrence presents the characteristics and the history of the river, from the water’s surface. In the next room, visitors are invited to journey from the estuary’s surface to its depths, an entirely unique experience.
The Live from the St. Lawrence activity is presented live from the marine depths by divers/interpretive guides equipped with videocameras and sub-aquatic communication systems that allow visitors to talk to them.
Furthermore, improvements to the Marine Environment Discovery Centre’s services and infrastructures allow scubadiving enthusiasts to use the site more safely. This area is renowned for the richness of its underwater landscapes.
The Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park is located in a section of the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Saguenay Fjord. With a surface area of 1 138 km², this large ecosystem is unique because of its sea bottom topography and its fjord. The Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park is the first park in Quebec to protect and present an exclusively marine environment. It has the distinctive feature of being managed jointly by the governments of Canada and Quebec, in association with local bodies.
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