Ramea, Newfoundland and Labrador
Encyclopedia
Ramea, Newfoundland and Labrador (NST
Newfoundland Standard Time Zone
Newfoundland Standard Time ' is a geographic region that keeps time by subtracting 3½ hours from Coordinated Universal Time , resulting in UTC−3:30, or 2½ hours during daylight saving time...

) is a small village located on Northwest Island, one of a group of five major islands
Ramea Island, Newfoundland and Labrador
Ramea Island, Newfoundland and Labrador was a small place of 30 families in 1864. Ramea Island is a group of five islands, Northwest Island, Great Island , Middle Island, Harbour Island and Southwest Island...

 located off the south coast of the island of Newfoundland, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The Island is approximately 3.1 km long by 1 km wide. The remaining islands in the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 are Great (or Big) Island, Middle Island, Harbour Island, South West Island, and The Great Columbier.

History

The community, originally settled in the early 19th century for its proximity to rich fishing grounds and safe anchorages, was once a thriving fishing village. The town of Ramea was incorporated in 1951. Since the cod moratorium
Collapse of the Northern Cod Fishery
In 1992 the Canadian government declared a moratorium on the Northern Cod fishery that, for the past 500 years, had largely shaped the lives and communities of Canada’s eastern coast...

 of 1992, the isolated community has struggled to survive, having declined to about 50% of its peak population of 1,120 in the 1970s.

Culture

Demographics
  Population in 2001     754  
  Population change from 1996     -30.2%  
  Median age     42.1  
  Number of families     255  
  Number of married couples     185  
  Total number of dwellings     290  
  Catholic     0.1%  
  Protestant     98.7%  
  Land Area (km2.)     1.89  


Statistics Canada detail demographics follow link here

2009 is Ramea Come Home Year
Come Home Year
Come Home Year is a civic event for many towns that encourages a return to home town. Due to significant economic migration away from many of the small rural towns these events draw many generations to celebrate....


Flora and fauna

Ramea is home to a large number of plants, which include the purple pitcher plant
Sarracenia purpurea
Sarracenia purpurea, commonly known as the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae...

 and bakeapple
Cloudberry
Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...

. Furthermore, the island and surrounding islands serve as a fall and winter home to many migratory seabirds.

Activities

There are a number of walks on the island, including a circular walk around the back of the island that passes by Northwest Head lighthouse, one of the few remaining manned lighthouses in Canada. The walk also includes the wind-diesel plant.

Walking to the island's highest point on top of Man O'War Hill offers excellent views of archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 and across to White Bear Bay.

Every year the islands plays host to a traditional music festival on the second weekend of August.
Kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...

 trips around archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 are available as well as trips to neighbouring White Bear Bay
White Bear Bay
White Bear Bay is natural bay on the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Ramea islands are south of the bay.-References:...

.

There is a small softball field near the school, in which many of the town's youth enjoy themselves at the sport in their spare time. The school's own team, the St. Boniface Bobcats, were the winners of the boy's AAA softball regionals for southwest Newfoundland in fall of 2007.

Many people living in the community enjoy hunting different species of seabirds, such as Eider Ducks
Eider
Eiders are large seaducks in the genus Somateria. Steller's Eider, despite its name, is in a different genus.The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern hemisphere....

 and Murres
Uria
Uria is a genus of seabirds in the auk family known in Britain as guillemots, in most of North America as murres, and in Newfoundland and Labrador as turr. These are medium-sized birds with mainly brown or black plumage in the breeding season...

 (Turres).

Wind energy

In 2004 Ramea was chosen for the site of
Canada's first wind-diesel demonstration project was completed with the support of CETC-Ottawa. Six 65 kW wind turbines were installed on the island of Ramea , Newfoundland . The objective of the project was to demonstrate that the Wind-Diesel Integrated Control System (WDICS) can be used to displace diesel power generation by introducing wind to the island's grid and to show significant energy efficiency and reliability for northern, remote or isolated locations.

CANMET Energy Technology Centre-Ottawa (CETC-Ottawa)

The wind-diesel pilot program generates around 1 million kWh electricity / yr and offsets approximately 750 tonnes of emissions annually.

Ramea was selected as the pilot site for a Wind-Hydrogen power system. The project is being undertaken by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro is a provincial Crown corporation that generates and delivers electricity for Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and the north-eastern areas of the United States. It also delivers voice and data services to customers in some areas...

 in partnership with Natural Resources Canada
Natural Resources Canada
The Department of Natural Resources , operating under the FIP applied title Natural Resources Canada , is the ministry of the government of Canada responsible for natural resources, energy, minerals and metals, forests, earth sciences, mapping and remote sensing...

, Memorial University
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...

, University of New Brunswick
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...

 and Frontier Power Systems.

The wind-hydrogen system is due for completion in April 2010

Neighbouring communities

West - Burgeo  East - Grey River
Grey River, Newfoundland and Labrador
Grey River is a small remote fishing community located on the south coast of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.-See also:* List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador...


See also


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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