In loving memory of Lewis Jason, an Aquarium ambassador volunteer, who passed away on 17 December 2014 at the age of 90.
Lewis, a master jeweller by trade, fell in love with the “beasties” (as he called the minute, microscopic animals) at the Aquarium’s Microscope Exhibit in 1996, just months after the Aquarium’s opening in 1995.
Since then until December 2010, Lewis took the bus every morning from his Mouille Point home to the Aquarium to work through kelp holdfasts, to find the minute invertebrate microscopic animals that populate the marine environment.
Once found, Lewis would spend hours illustrating these animals and produced the most exquisite drawings of sea urchins, nudibranchs and sea anemones. From his jewellery design sketches to the drawings of microscopic animals, one finds an extremely detailed and meticulous illustration of his skills.
Lewis’s observations and drawings drew interest from a number of scientists across the world, as well as a spot on 50/50, the popular environmental television programme.
Every day during his volunteer shift, this intelligent and caring man would describe to young and old visitors the biology of the microscopic animals, and visitors would stand captivated while listening to his stories. Lewis was particularly interested in the growth of the Cape sea urchin (Parechinus angulosus) and the different kinds of nudibranchs found in the marine environment.
Lewis’s ability to find the most interesting animals in the kelp holdfasts is sorely missed by all the staff and volunteers who encountered him in the 15 years that he volunteered at the Aquarium. The Aquarium is extremely grateful for the 15 210 volunteer hours spent by Lewis at the microscope, the observations and sketches made by him of the microscopic animals, as well as the training that was offered to staff and volunteers over the years.
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