Woodward recently finished a young adult dystopian novel, which she says was directly inspired by the stunning surrounds of the North Pacific Ocean. The wildlife and remarkable landscapes provide plenty of inspiration for her writing, too. There are, fortunately, no bears, cougars, or wolves on Lennard Island, says Woodward – although she has encountered such animals on other BC lightstations. We also host Pacific tree frogs and wonderful insects, like the square legged camel cricket.” “We have resident bald eagles, lots of gulls, crows, and the hardy sparrow and wren families, kingfishers and water and shorebirds year-round. “We see the annual gray whale migration offshore, from their calving/winter seas off Mexico en route to their summer waters off Alaska,” says Woodward. When the sun shines, Woodward and George have a enviable view over the turquoise seas, distant mountains and rocky islets that characterize this corner of Canada. In between, there’s time for tending to the garden, hiking the island’s perimeter, and keeping watch on the plethora of wildlife that populates Lennard Island and its spectacular surrounds. In return, Woodward’s acted as a relief keeper for “about a dozen” of the 27-staffed lighthouses dotted around the British Columbia coast. The couple work seven days a week – vacations come only when the Coast Guard organizes relief keepers. I think many people have romantic, 19th century ideas of lighthouses Plus, they field calls, including from the BC Air Ambulance pilot, who sometimes wants to know about fog conditions at sea. Woodward and George also keep an eagle eye from the island’s lookout points for passing boats that might be in distress. They include, of course, the tower, alongside three houses, a boathouse, radio room, engine room, a battery shed – which controls the island’s two wind turbines – and a garden shed. The daily grind also involves maintaining the twelve buildings that make up Lennard Island Lightstation. They use an anemometer to calculate wind speeds and monitor wave heights by looking at the waves’ whitecaps, and where the sea has splashed on nearby rocks. Woodward and George survey the sea and sky from the lookout points. Woodward makes a record of the daily weather report in her logbooks, knowing they might interest climatologists, and also submits two daily reports on precipitation and temperatures to Environment Canada. Sometimes they catch the sunrise illuminating the sky in a deep, bruised-purple haze. It’s the first of seven they deliver each day. weather report to the local Coast Guard radio. Woodward and George take it in turns to send a 3:15 a.m. She's visible on the left, removing the card from the sunlight recorder. What Woodward does have is a busy, fun, and rewarding role, and one she wouldn’t trade for the world.Ĭaroline Woodward's husband Jeff George took this shot of Woodward working at Estevan Point lighthouse tower. No, she doesn’t live in the tower itself – and no, she doesn’t have much time to kill.
“I think many people have romantic, 19th century ideas of lighthouses,” Woodward tells CNN Travel. There’s been a lighthouse keeper on Lennard Island ever since, and today, that job falls to Woodward, who also writes poetry and children’s books, and her husband Jeff George, who took the photo above. Lennard Island’s lighthouse has been fixture of the Western Canadian coast since 1904, when the first wooden lighthouse was established to guide mariners navigating the surrounding waters. This rocky, verdant island is home to Lennard Island Lightstation, a bright white concrete lighthouse with a fire engine-red top. Caroline Woodward wakes each morning to the sound of waves crashing onto the rocks that surround her home, tiny Lennard Island, at the head of Clayoquot Sound near Tofino, British Columbia Canada.
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