Spring is an ideal time of year to search for wildflowers in British Columbia. The relatively remote Schooner Cove is an interesting place to visit in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and a good botanical destination. It’s not really a long walk, but it’s long enough that most people don’t make the effort to make their way around the point at the end of …
Tofino
Kennedy River Cascade
Looking downstream from the rocks near the main falls on the Kennedy River. ISO 100, f/16, 1/30 sec – Nikon D600, 16mm It is a popular stopping point about half way between Port Alberni and Ucluelet/Tofino and a place to take a break before Highway 4 begins to wind its way down to Kennedy Lake. On the west side of …
West Coast Safari
If you truly want to experience the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, you need to get out on a boat and make your way to that thin line between the shore and the vast Pacific Ocean stretching westward towards Japan. It gives you a whole new perspective on the power of the ocean and the wildness of the …
Capture the Coast
I have worked off and on at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve as a Heritage Interpreter and loved being able to combine my passion for photography with my work. In 2010 I developed a program called West Coast Walkabout that was the perfect way to introduce park visitors to the landscape and ecology of the west coast of Vancouver Island. …
Tofino Botanical Gardens
Last weekend while visiting Tofino for the 2011 Tofino Shorebird Festival we stayed at the fantastic Botanical House located within the Tofino Botanical Gardens. If you’re looking for an unique place to base your nature related explorations of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and the towns of Tofino and Ucluelet this is definitely worth considering, especially if you need accommodation …
Schooner Cove Shorebirds
We’ve just gotten back from a fabulous weekend in Tofino where we attended several Shorebird Festival events hosted by Raincoast Education Society. The festival is over but if you haven’t had a chance to experience the incredible phenomena of spring shorebird migration you still have lots of time to make a trip to the west coast and see it for …
Beneath the Mud
There's something going on beneath the surface of the mud at the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area. There’s something lurking beneath the mud in the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area. Actually, there’s a great deal of biodiversity underneath the nearly 1770 hectares of tidal mudflats protected since 1997 by this WMA. The challenge is getting out to see it without …
Something Fishy
Two participants look at some kelp greenings. Last week I joined some folks with Raincoast Education Society in Tofino as they conducted a beach seine in the eelgrass beds on the shore right in the middle of town. It was a great opportunity to get re-acquainted with some of the fish that can be found in the extensive eelgrass beds around …
Pacific Rim Whale Festival (March 6 to 14)
Pacific Rim Whale Festival – March 6th to 14th Every March, spring splashes into Canada with the Pacific Rim Whale Festival! This year’s festival begins in Ucluelet and Tofino on Saturday, March 6 and runs through to Sunday, March 14th. Join the fun on the shores of Vancouver Island’s wild west coast, as we celebrate the visit of approximately 20,000 …