Raincoast Education Society

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino
2024-06-11 17:00 - 20:00 (America/Vancouver) | Načiks/Monks Point, 174 West St., Tofino, BC, V0R 2Z0
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This three-hour orientation session delivers the “big picture” of living in Tofino. Learn about local history and basic ecology, cross-cultural understanding, businesses and activities, festivals, host etiquette, and important civic information. This is a great way to get up-to-date local’s information about living and working in Tofino.
We are extremely grateful to be able to offer this course on Načiks/Monks Point property , a heritage site full of fascinating history. Such a perfect location to host this course.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: Načiks/Monks Point
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In Person Dates: June 11, 18
Zoom Date: June 25
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Small Town, Big Picture: Ucluelet
2024-06-10 17:00 - 20:00, 2024-05-13 17:00 - 20:00 | George Fraser Room @ Ucluelet Community Centre, 500 Mattison Dr, Ucluelt, BC, V0R 3A0, Canada
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This three-hour orientation session delivers the “big picture” of living in Ucluelet. Learn about local history and basic ecology, cross-cultural understanding, businesses and activities, festivals, host etiquette, and important civic information. This is a great way to get up-to-date local’s information about living and working in Ucluelet.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: George Fraser Room at the Ucluelet Community Centre
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In-Person Dates: June 10, 17, 24
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Seaweeds of the West Coast 2024
2024-06-07 19:00 - 2024-06-09 13:00 | Ucluelet Community Centre, 500 Matterson Drive, Ucluelet, British Columbia, V0R 3A0, Canada
This weekend field course, based out of the Ucluelet Community Centre, will introduce participants to the world of west coast seaweeds. Topics to be covered in this year’s course include an introduction to seaweeds (What are they? What is their role in coastal ecology? How are they used in B.C. aquaculture? How are seaweeds impacted by climate change?) Learn of the biodiversity of west coast seaweeds, essentials of collecting and identifying seaweeds, seaweed foraging, the relationship between seaweeds and people, pressing and preserving seaweeds, cyanotype and more!
We are excited to welcome back course instructor Dr. Bridgette Clarkston and to introduce Dr. Jennifer Clark, coming to Ucluelet to share their seaweed knowledge and expertise with us.

Course registration is $330 per person.

Friday, June 7th (7:00 pm – 8:30 pm)

Presentation – overview of west coast seaweeds, different seaweed groups, role of seaweeds in coastal marine ecosystems.

Saturday, June 8th (8:30 am -8:30 pm, with breaks) Low tide is at 8:44 am (0.6 feet / .2 m)

Field trip to explore seaweeds on Ucluelet’s rocky coast and practice naturalist skills, including fundamentals of seaweed identification.
Collection of seaweeds at field site.
Workshop to practice using dichotomous keys, field guides and online databases to identify unknown specimens
Create your own scientific and artistic seaweed presses.
Cynaoptype, Seaweed as art: create your own beautiful botanical blueprint using the traditional method of cyanotype printing.
Presentation – seaweeds and people: from traditional uses to modern foraging, and everything in between.

Sunday, June 9th (8:30 am – 1:00 pm) Low tide is at 9:27am (1. feet / .3 m)

Putting it all together – field trip to identify seaweeds and their communities in nature, including opportunities to share what you’ve learned with the group.
Course wrap-up.

About the instructor:

Dr. Bridgette Clarkston loves seaweeds and thinks you should too. Bridgette is an Associate Professor of Teaching at the University of British Columbia and co-author of the field guide Pacific Seaweeds: A Guide to Common Seaweeds of the West Coast (Harbour Publishing). A delightful moment in a lifetime spent appreciating BC’s seaweeds was discovering a new genus of beautiful red seaweeds and naming it after the Salish Sea (Salishia). A Vancouver Island settler, Bridgette was born and raised on the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation, the traditional keepers of this land. Learn more about Bridgette on the UBC Botany website here.

Dr. Jennifer Clark grew up on the coast on the traditional lands of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in BC and always knew that she would pursue a career studying the ocean, especially with the ocean as her backyard. She has 10+ years of research and cultivation experience of seaweeds in Canada and Australia where she focused on understanding climate change impacts on seaweeds. Although Jennifer received her PhD in Australia, the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest were calling and she returned to Canada to undertake a postdoctoral research position with the University of British Columbia, Hakai Institute in collaboration with the Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv First Nations. During this time, she learned the importance of coastal foods to coastal communities and the nutritional and health benefits of seaweeds. In her current role as Chief Scientist at Cascadia Seaweed, Jennifer leads the research and cultivation of kelp seed used to grow nutritious, regenerative kelp for use in agricultural products and restoration efforts. Jennifer is passionate about seaweeds due to their status as a renewable and nutritional food source, beneficial in their ability to buffer the effects of climate change and their vital role in maintaining healthy coastal ecosystems.

Check out photos of the previous years:

Sensational Seaweeds and How to Celebrate Them
2024-06-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Ucluelet Community Centre, 500 Matterson Drive, Ucluelet, British Columbia, V0R 3A0, Canada
Dr. Bridgette Clarkston & Dr. Bridgette Clark present Seansational Seaweeds and How to Celebrate Them! Join us Friday June 7th @ the Ucluelet Community Centre.
Seaweeds are weird. Weird, but oh so wonderful. And for coastal marine ecosystems, they are vital — creating habitats, providing food, stabilizing shorelines, and looking gorgeous. This talk will explore the diversity and ecology of some of British Columbia’s most charming red, brown and green seaweeds, including recent initiatives to conserve our iconic canopy-forming kelps, Nereocystis luetkeana and Macrocystis tenuifolia (yes, the name just changed! Come find out why.). We will also touch on the growing use of iNaturalist to document our local marine flora, with tips for high-quality iNaturalist observations specific to seaweeds. Finally, we will share a growing body of free, locally-produced educational materials so that you too can spread the love of seaweeds far and wide.
(Not a ticketed event but there is limited seating.)
Dr. Bridgette Clarkston loves seaweeds and thinks you should too. Bridgette is an Associate Professor of Teaching at the University of British Columbia and co-author of the field guide Pacific Seaweeds: A Guide to Common Seaweeds of the West Coast (Harbour Publishing). A delightful moment in a lifetime spent appreciating BC’s seaweeds was discovering a new genus of beautiful red seaweeds and naming it after the Salish Sea (Salishia). A Vancouver Island settler, Bridgette was born and raised on the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation, the traditional keepers of this land.
Dr. Jennifer Clark has 10+ years of research and cultivation experience of seaweeds in Canada and Australia where she focused on understanding climate change impacts on seaweeds. Although Jennifer received her PhD in Australia, the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest were calling and she returned to Canada to undertake a postdoctoral research position with the University of British Columbia, Hakai Institute . In her current role as Chief Scientist at Cascadia Seaweed, Jennifer leads the research and cultivation of kelp seed used to grow nutritious, regenerative kelp for use in agricultural products and restoration efforts.

Coastal Raincoast Ecology
2024-06-06 17:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-23 17:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-09 17:00 - 19:30 | Ancient Cedar Loop/Wild Pacific Trail, Ucluelet
Part of the West Coast Ambassador Program: .Who knew old-growth forests are so dynamic? Far from being a static ecosystem our coastal temperate rainforest is always changing! From the forest floor to the top of the canopy, this course will explore the many interactions that make up the fabric of this iconic habitat. This is being led by Dr. Estelle Arebellay, join Estelle while we explore questions and ideas utilizing the Yellogate Trail & the Ancient Cedar Loop on the Wild Pacific Trail.
This course is in 2 different locations depending on the date: The Ancient Cedar Trail on the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet & the Yellowgate Trail in Tofino
Small Town, Big Picture is a suggested prerequisite for this course.
Ucluelet Location: The Ancient Cedar Trail on the Wild Pacific Trail
Time: 5:00 – 7:30pm
Dates in Ucluelet: May 9, 23 & June 6
Dates in Tofino: May 16, 30 & June 13
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.
Photo: Two Corvids, April Bencze, Capturing the Coast 2018

Marine Ecology
2024-06-05 17:00 - 19:30 | Ucluelet Aquarium, 180 Main St, Ucluelet, BC, V0R 3A0, Canada
Part of the West Coast Ambassador Program:This 2 – 2.5-hour course will cover the intertidal and pelagic ecosystems of Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds, including seaweeds, invertebrates, and marine mammals (and more!) as well as local oceanographic conditions. Learn about the rich marine environment that plays an integral role in life on this coast. This course will cover the intertidal and pelagic ecosystems including seaweeds, invertebrates and marine mammals (and more!) as well as local oceanographic conditions.
Small Town, Big Picture is a suggested prerequisite for this course.
Location: Ucluelet Aquarium
Time: 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
In Person Dates: May 8, 15, 22, 29, June 5, 12

The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce,, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino
2024-06-04 17:00 - 20:00 | Načiks/Monks Point, 174 West St., Tofino, BC, V0R 2Z0
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This three-hour orientation session delivers the “big picture” of living in Tofino. Learn about local history and basic ecology, cross-cultural understanding, businesses and activities, festivals, host etiquette, and important civic information. This is a great way to get up-to-date local’s information about living and working in Tofino.
We are extremely grateful to be able to offer this course on Načiks/Monks Point property , a heritage site full of fascinating history. Such a perfect location to host this course.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: Načiks/Monks Point
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In Person Dates: June 4, 11, 18
Zoom Date: June 25
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Coastal Raincoast Ecology
2024-05-30 17:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-16 17:00 - 19:30 | Yellowgate Trail across from Pacific Sands Resort, Tofino

Marine Ecology
2024-05-29 17:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-22 17:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-15 17:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-08 17:00 - 19:30 | Ucluelet Aquarium, 180 Main St, Ucluelet, BC, V0R 3A0, Canada
Part of the West Coast Ambassador Program:
This 2 – 2.5-hour course will cover the intertidal and pelagic ecosystems of Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds, including seaweeds, invertebrates, and marine mammals (and more!) as well as local oceanographic conditions. Learn about the rich marine environment that plays an integral role in life on this coast. This course will cover the intertidal and pelagic ecosystems including seaweeds, invertebrates and marine mammals (and more!) as well as local oceanographic conditions.
Small Town, Big Picture is a suggested prerequisite for this course.
Location: Ucluelet Aquarium
Time: 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
In Person Dates: May 8, 15, 22, 29, June 5, 12

The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce,, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino
2024-05-28 17:00 - 20:00 | Načiks/Monks Point, 174 West St., Tofino, BC, V0R 2Z0
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This three-hour orientation session delivers the “big picture” of living in Tofino. Learn about local history and basic ecology, cross-cultural understanding, businesses and activities, festivals, host etiquette, and important civic information. This is a great way to get up-to-date local’s information about living and working in Tofino.
We are extremely grateful to be able to offer this course on Načiks/Monks Point property , a heritage site full of fascinating history. Such a perfect location to host this course.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: Načiks/Monks Point
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In Person Dates: May 28, June 4, 11, 18
Zoom Date: June 25
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino
2024-05-21 17:00 - 20:00 | Načiks/Monks Point, 174 West St., Tofino, BC, V0R 2Z0
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This three-hour orientation session delivers the “big picture” of living in Tofino. Learn about local history and basic ecology, cross-cultural understanding, businesses and activities, festivals, host etiquette, and important civic information. This is a great way to get up-to-date local’s information about living and working in Tofino.
We are extremely grateful to be able to offer this course on Načiks/Monks Point property , a heritage site full of fascinating history. Such a perfect location to host this course.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: Načiks/Monks Point
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In Person Dates: May 21 & 28, June 4, 11, 18
Zoom Date: June 25
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino
2024-05-14 17:00 - 20:00 | Načiks/Monks Point, 174 West St., Tofino, BC, V0R 2Z0
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This three-hour orientation session delivers the “big picture” of living in Tofino. Learn about local history and basic ecology, cross-cultural understanding, businesses and activities, festivals, host etiquette, and important civic information. This is a great way to get up-to-date local’s information about living and working in Tofino.
We are extremely grateful to be able to offer this course on Načiks/Monks Point property , a heritage site full of fascinating history. Such a perfect location to host this course.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: Načiks/Monks Point
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In Person Dates: May 14, 21 & 28, June 4, 11, 18
Zoom Date: June 25
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino
2024-05-07 17:00 - 20:00 | Načiks/Monks Point, 174 West St., Tofino, BC, V0R 2Z0
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This three-hour orientation session delivers the “big picture” of living in Tofino. Learn about local history and basic ecology, cross-cultural understanding, businesses and activities, festivals, host etiquette, and important civic information. This is a great way to get up-to-date local’s information about living and working in Tofino.
We are extremely grateful to be able to offer this course on Načiks/Monks Point property , a heritage site full of fascinating history. Such a perfect location to host this course.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: Načiks/Monks Point
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In Person Dates: May 7, 14, 21 & 28, June 4, 11, 18
Zoom Date: June 25
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Small Town, Big Picture: Ucluelet
2024-05-06 17:00 - 20:00 | Ucluelet Community Centre, 500 Matterson Drive, Ucluelet, British Columbia, V0R 3A0, Canada
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This three-hour orientation session delivers the “big picture” of living in Ucluelet. Learn about local history and basic ecology, cross-cultural understanding, businesses and activities, festivals, host etiquette, and important civic information. This is a great way to get up-to-date local’s information about living and working in Ucluelet.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: George Fraser Room at the Ucluelet Community Centre
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In-Person Dates: May 6, 13, June 10, 17, 24
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Birds of the West Coast 2024
2024-05-03 19:00 - 2024-05-05 13:30 | Ucluelet & Tofino
The west coast of Vancouver Island features some of the best birding opportunities in North America. Lying directly along the Pacific Flyway, this region hosts huge numbers of migrating birds of all kinds each spring and fall. In the winter, the diversity and abundance of non-breeding birds remains high thanks to wide range of habitats and a mild climate.
Expansive mudflats near Tofino provide an ideal stopover site used by tens of thousands of shorebirds each spring and fall, highly productive coastal waters sustain several large colonies of seabirds and a mix of coastal rainforest and deciduous forest habitats attract a wide variety of breeding songbirds. A little further south down the coast, Amphitrite Point in Ucluelet offers some of the best sea watching opportunities on Vancouver Island.
In this weekend workshop (Friday evening until Sunday afternoon), participants will be introduced to the general ecology and biology of birds with an emphasis on commonly encountered species. This course is specifically scheduled to overlap with the peak shorebird migration as well as the presence of large numbers of other migrating species.
Topics covered will include: basic ID skills, breeding biology, physiological adaptations, migration ecology, and conservation issues. This course is designed as a way to learn more about birds in general rather than how to ID specific species. Extensive birding experience is NOT required.

Course Registration is $360. per person, and includes Sunday’s boat trip.

About your instructors:
Mark Maftei serves as Executive Director of the RES and he draws on nearly 20 years of experience as a field biologist specializing in the ecology of birds. From the Arctic to the Antarctic to the open ocean, Mark has traveled the world studying birds. His research has included work on migration ecology, population biology and the census of poorly known species. His work in BC (including several years spent working with the Wildife Research Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada) was focused on colonial seabirds and migratory shorebirds. One of Mark’s greatest pleasures is sharing his passion for birds with like-minded nature lovers, and there is nowhere he’d rather doing that than his home on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

Kaiden Bosch: Ever since one fateful encounter with a bird feeder at age 13 Kai has been an avid birdwatcher. Working as a field technician/guide for many years Kai has birded a diverse range of habitats, from the Andean cloud forests of Colombia to the frozen continent of Antarctica. Despite all of his travel’s, Kai’s favourite place on earth is still coastal British Columbia and its unique biodiversity.

Weekend Schedule (subject to change):
Friday Evening (7:00 pm – 9:00 pm)
George Fraser Room at the Ucluelet Community Centre

Opening night lecture introducing birds in BC. Life History – what are the strategies and adaptations birds have evolved to thrive in virtually every single habitat on earth?

Note: this evening talk will be open to the public. Course participants do not have to pay admission as it is included in the cost of the course.
Saturday (8:30 am – 4:00 pm)
First 1/2 of the day will be in Ucluelet & the later 1/2 in Tofino.
· Basic ID skills – what to look for in the field

We will spend the day outside looking at birds in a number of habitats around Tofino
Forest Birding in the morning (Ucluelet 8:30- 11:30am)
Shore Birding on the mudflats in the afternoon (1pm)
These sessions will be informal and focus on helping participants identify common birds as well as put these species into an ecological perspective.

Saturday Afternoon (3:00 pm – 5:00 pm) Hotel Zed in the Rec Room.
This time is extremely flexible – consideration for group preference; to condense the day vs. have a few hour break will be discussed – group decision)

This lecture focuses on shorebirds & will include current studies & research analysis.

Sunday (8:30 am – 1:30 pm)
In the field.

We will spend the day on the water observing and learning more about seabirds, the coolest birds of all!
Half day boat adventure in Barkley Sound (some offshore if weather permits) with Jamies Whaling Station!
Wrap up at the RES office in Ucluelet

Recommended Equipment and Reading

Any good bird guide (Sibley’s, Peterson’s, National Geographic)
A decent pair of binoculars
Field notebook and pencil
Camera
Appropriate clothing for all day in the field—rain or shine
Bring lunches, snacks, water/drinks on both days

The Coast with the Most: the Birds of Western Vancouver Island Presentation with Mark Maftei. 🪶
2024-05-03 19:00 - 20:30 | George Fraser Room @ Ucluelet Community Centre, 500 Mattison Dr, Ucluelt, BC, V0R 3A0, Canada
Mark will present a broad overview of avian ecology with a focus on the birds of BC. What makes this place unique? What are some of the unique birds that live here?⁠ ⁠

Birding on the Mudflats
2024-05-03 09:30 - 12:00 | Hotel Zed Tofino, 1258 Pacific Rim Highway, Tofino, British Columbia, V0R 2Z0, Canada
On the birding platform at Hotel Zed
FREE Drop-by Event
Friday May 3rd, 9:30am -12pm
Find fellow birders, spotting scopes and bird guides Mark Maftei from the RES & Liam Ragan from BC Nature!
This is the best opportunity to spend some time down on the Tofino mudflats to view flocks of shorebirds foraging and resting during their annual migration north. The mudflats at this location offer some of the best and most accessible high-quality shorebird habitat in Tofino. We’ve timed these session to coincide the rising tide when birds are pushed up towards the upper mudflats for a better view. This is a great event for both new and experienced birders, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area.
Bring your binoculars or spotting scope, or else we will have a couple to share. Free Parking at Hotel Zed. No dogs please.

Birding on the Mudflats
2024-05-02 09:30 - 12:00 | Hotel Zed Tofino, 1258 Pacific Rim Highway, Tofino, British Columbia, V0R 2Z0, Canada
On the birding platform at Hotel Zed
FREE Drop-by Event
Thursday May 2nd, 9:30am -12pm / Friday May 3, 9:30am -12pm
Find fellow birders, spotting scopes and bird guides Mark Maftei from the RES & Liam Ragan from BC Nature!
This is the best opportunity to spend some time down on the Tofino mudflats to view flocks of shorebirds foraging and resting during their annual migration north. The mudflats at this location offer some of the best and most accessible high-quality shorebird habitat in Tofino. We’ve timed these session to coincide the rising tide when birds are pushed up towards the upper mudflats for a better view. This is a great event for both new and experienced birders, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area.
Bring your binoculars or spotting scope, or else we will have a couple to share. Free Parking at Hotel Zed. No dogs please.

Birding on the Mudflats
2024-05-01 16:00 - 18:00 | Hotel Zed Tofino, 1258 Pacific Rim Highway, Tofino, British Columbia, V0R 2Z0, Canada
On the birding platform at Hotel Zed
FREE Drop-by Event
Wednesday May 1st, 4 – 6pm / Thursday May 2, 9:30am -12pm / Friday May 3, 9:30am -12pm
Find fellow birders, spotting scopes and bird guides Mark Maftei from the RES & Liam Ragan from BC Nature!
This is the best opportunity to spend some time down on the Tofino mudflats to view flocks of shorebirds foraging and resting during their annual migration north. The mudflats at this location offer some of the best and most accessible high-quality shorebird habitat in Tofino. We’ve timed these session to coincide the rising tide when birds are pushed up towards the upper mudflats for a better view. This is a great event for both new and experienced birders, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area.
Bring your binoculars or spotting scope, or else we will have a couple to share. Free Parking at Hotel Zed. No dogs please.

Birding on the Mudflats
2024-04-30 15:00 - 17:30 | Hotel Zed Tofino, 1258 Pacific Rim Highway, Tofino, British Columbia, V0R 2Z0, Canada
On the birding platform at Hotel Zed
FREE Drop-by Event
Tuesday April 30th, 3 – 5:30pm / Wednesday May 1, 4 – 6pm / Thursday May 2, 9:30am -12pm / Friday May 3, 9:30am -12pm
Find fellow birders, spotting scopes and bird guides Mark Maftei from the RES & Liam Ragan from BC Nature!
This is the best opportunity to spend some time down on the Tofino mudflats to view flocks of shorebirds foraging and resting during their annual migration north. The mudflats at this location offer some of the best and most accessible high-quality shorebird habitat in Tofino. We’ve timed these session to coincide the rising tide when birds are pushed up towards the upper mudflats for a better view. This is a great event for both new and experienced birders, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area.
Bring your binoculars or spotting scope, or else we will have a couple to share. Free Parking at Hotel Zed. No dogs please.

Birding on the Mudflats
2024-04-29 15:00 - 17:30 | Hotel Zed Tofino, 1258 Pacific Rim Highway, Tofino, British Columbia, V0R 2Z0, Canada
On the birding platform at Hotel Zed
FREE Drop-by Event
Monday April 29th, 3 – 5:30pm / Tuesday April 30, 3 – 5:30pm / Wednesday May 1, 4 – 6pm / Thursday May 2, 9:30am -12pm / Friday May 3, 9:30am -12pm
Find fellow birders, spotting scopes and bird guides Mark Maftei from the RES & Liam Ragan from BC Nature!
This is the best opportunity to spend some time down on the Tofino mudflats to view flocks of shorebirds foraging and resting during their annual migration north. The mudflats at this location offer some of the best and most accessible high-quality shorebird habitat in Tofino. We’ve timed these session to coincide the rising tide when birds are pushed up towards the upper mudflats for a better view. This is a great event for both new and experienced birders, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area.
Bring your binoculars or spotting scope, or else we will have a couple to share. Free Parking at Hotel Zed. No dogs please.

Shorebird Soiree 2024
2024-04-28 17:30 - 21:00 | Roar @ Hotel Zed, 1258 Pacific Rim Hwy, Tofino, BC, V0R 2Z0, Canada
We are having a party to bring in the 25th Tofino Shorebird Festival which celebrates the shorebird migration and the Raincoast Education Society!! 🎉.
Sunday April 28th, the Raincoast Education Society will be having our annual Shorebird Soiree fundraiser from 5:30 – 9pm at Roar & Hotel Zed.
This event will be a magical evening of good food, good people, shorebirds flying in the disco room, a nod to the much missed lantern festival, and music played by Hayden Roth. The evening will highlight our years of shorebird research and educational initiatives. We have a lineup of incredible items for our silent auction – thank you to our amazing business community. Roar is cooking up some great food and happy hour drinks, we’ll have buck a shuck oysters, and RES merch for sale.
friends + silent auction + music + food + drink = fun
Keep an eye on @raincoasted for the silent auction preview with all the generous donations from our community!
🙏🏽. If ticket price is a barrier please contact us.

Hagfishes and Slime
2024-04-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom Event
Hagfishes are bottom dwelling marine animals that are capable of producing startling amounts of defensive slime when they are provoked. We have investigated the composition and mechanical properties of the slime using a variety of techniques. We have also demonstrated that hagfish slime is especially good at clogging the gills of would-be fish predators, which is likely one of its primary functions in life. The slime is composed of fine protein slime threads as well as a mucus component that comes packaged in tiny vesicles. When these components are ejected from the slime glands, they combine synergistically to form a slime mass in which a large volume of water is entrained. Recent work in this area focused on the deployment of both the fibrous and mucus components of the slime in seawater. We now know that the swelling of the mucus vesicles is accelerated by the presence of water pores known as aquaporins in the vesicle membranes. We have also recently shown that unraveling of protein threads from their coiled state involves the dissolution of a seawater soluble glue and the release of strain energy stored in the thread coils. Current research is focused on understanding the mechanisms by which slime threads are manufactured within the cytoplasm of gland thread cells and identifying the proteins involved in slime deployment.

About our Speaker: Dr. Fudge runs the Comparative Biomaterials Lab at Chapman University. As an undergraduate, he studied biology at Cornell University, followed by an M.A.T. in science education, also at Cornell. For his M.Sc. research, he worked on the biology of bluefin tuna at the University of Guelph, and then moved to the University of British Columbia for his Ph.D., where he worked on the biomechanics of hagfish slime in John Gosline’s lab. As an NSERC postdoctoral fellow, he worked on cell biomechanics in Wayne Vogl’s lab in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He joined the faculty in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph in 2005, where he worked until 2016.
