Marine Mammals of the West Coast with Dr. John K. B. Ford
2024-03-22 19:00 - 2024-03-24 13:00 (America/Vancouver)
BC’s west coast waters are home to a great diversity of marine mammals – 31 different species have been documented here! Join Dr. John K.B. Ford on this weekend course, where he will introduce participants to the cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), and sea otters of BC. Topics to be covered include the life history, ecology and behaviour of the better known species, as well as the history of their exploitation and current conservation status, and more! This weekend coincides with the peak of the spring grey whale migration, so there will be very good chances of viewing them plus other marine mammals during the two boat excursions into Clayoquot & Barkley Sounds.

Course Registration is $450 per person, and includes Saturday & Sunday’s boat trips.

About your instructor:

Dr. John K. B. Ford has been involved in field studies of marine mammals off Canada’s west coast since the mid 1970s. He is a research scientist (emeritus) at the Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, BC, where he headed up the cetacean research program for 17 years. His main areas of research include the life history, ecology, behaviour and acoustic communication of cetaceans, especially killer whales. John is author of Marine Mammals of British Columbia (Royal BC Museum Handbook). He is a Co-Chair of the Marine Mammal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and a member of the IUCN’s Cetacean Specialist Group.

Weekend Schedule:
Friday Evening (7:00 pm – 8:30 pm)
George Fraser Room at the Ucluelet Community Centre

Presentation: marine mammals of the west coast with Dr. John K.B. Ford, exploring marine mammals of British Columbia, their natural history, exploitation and the current conservation status.

Saturday (8:30 am – 2:00 pm)

Explore marine mammals with John in Clayoquot Sound on the the Lukwa, this boat is part of the Jamie’s Whaling Station Tofino fleet

Saturday Afternoon (3:00 pm – 5:00 pm)
Hotel Zed in the Rec Room

Marine Mamal Presentation covering topics such as: general biology, including how they feed, communicate, reproduce and behave in the marine environment. Including their distribution, habitat, social organization, exploitation by humans, and conservation status

Sunday (8:30 am – 1:00 pm)

Explore marine mammals in Barkley Sound from zodiac boats, part of the Jamie’s Whaling Station fleet in Ucluelet
Group lunch and course wrap-up

*Important note about Zodiac Boats – please read before booking this course: Jamie’s Whaling Station does not recommend this boat to anyone with a history of serious medical conditions. These include, but are not limited to, anyone who is pregnant, those with back, neck or knee problems, osteoporosis, incontinence, recent surgery or limited mobility. Anyone under the height of 4’8″ (142cm) is also unable to ride in a zodiac.

Conservation Status of Marine Mammals of BC: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
2024-03-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Ucluelet Community Centre, 500 Matterson Drive, Ucluelet, British Columbia, V0R 3A0, Canada
Conservation Status of Marine Mammals of BC: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
with Dr. John K.B. Ford
The ocean waters of British Columbia have a remarkable diversity of marine mammals 31 species have been recorded here, this is one-quarter of all marine mammal species in the world! After co-existing with coastal First Nations Peoples for millennia, many marine mammals were driven to near extinction by uncontrolled exploitation following the arrival of Europeans. In this illustrated lecture, Dr. John Ford will provide an overview of the natural history of marine mammals of BC and describe their past exploitation and conservation status today.
When: Friday, March 22nd @7pm. By Donation
Where: Ucluelet Community Centre, George Fraser Room
*seating is limited so we are encouraging RSVP just so people aren’t driving to Ukee to find the event sold out

Are we Prepared for the Zombie (Fungi) Apocalypse?
2024-02-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom Event
Are we Prepared for the Zombie (Fungi) Apocalypse?

Zombie fungi are a group of ascomycetes, all formerly in the genus Cordyceps, that parasitize insects (and a few other organisms). The fungi often alter the behaviour of the insects, to the benefit of the fungi, essentially turning the insects into ‘zombies’ under the control of the fungi. Though zombie fungi are best known from tropical and subtropical ecosystems, there are a number of species known from BC, and from Clayoquot Sound. These zombi fungi are the basis of the popular video game, and subsequent television series, ‘The Last of Us’.
About our Speaker: Dr. Andy MacKinnon is a forest ecologist who lives in Metchosin BC. His fields of study include BC’s native plants, fungi and lichens. Andy is co-authorof Mushrooms of British Columbia , and of six field guides to plants of western North America. He is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, and past President of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society. Andy is going on the 11th year of co-teaching RES’s “Mushrooms of the West Coast’ with the RES.

Giant Salamanders
2024-02-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom Event
Little Known Giant: The life history of the world’s largest amphibians
The giant salamanders in the Family Cryptobranchidae represent the largest amphibians in the world. Five giant salamander species are currently recognized, all of which are of conservation concern. Over the past decade, I have studied the Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) and the eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis). In this talk, I will introduce my work on parental care, male-male combat, and conservation issues of the Japanese giant salamander.
The giant salamanders are top predators and thus ecologically important. They are also invaluable to our scholarly field because of their unique life history. Parental care, in particular male parental care, is rare among amphibians. In the giant salamanders, males provide prolonged parental care for embryos and larvae. The giant salamanders are fully aquatic and prey on small invertebrates and vertebrates through suction feeding. However, the giant salamanders have numerous sharp teeth, unlike aquatic, suction-feeding frogs with missing teeth. Our recent study on salamanders’ injuries revealed the intense male-male combats, suggesting the significant function of teeth as weapons.
My true passion is to use scientific data to promote the conservation of these charismatic and ecologically important species. I will end the talk with the conservation issues surrounding the species, including the construction of concrete banks and dams, the hybridization between the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders, and climate change.

About our spearker: Dr. Mizuki Takahashi is an associate professor of biology and animal behavior at Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, USA. He was born in Hokkaido and grew up in Tokyo, Japan. As a child, Mizuki enjoyed his freedom and spent after-school hours chasing after small animals in the nearby forest while his parents worked as school teachers. His parents bought him a children’s picture book about giant salamanders, which instilled a strong interest in the species in his mind. He majored in forestry as an undergrad and a master’s student in Japan.
He came to the US in his late 20s with little English. Since then, he has studied ecology, evolution, and conservation of amphibians (along with American culture and English!). His current research focuses on the interspecific competition of local amphibians such as spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) and wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) and the conservation ecology of the giant salamanders, the hellbenders and the Japanese giant salamander.
He is a co-editor of the international peer-reviewed journal Herpetological Conservation & Biology and co-charing the journal’s DEI committee. In 2022, he published a book, “Is Mass Extinction Going to Happen Again?” targeting teenagers and the lay audience in Japan (see the book cover on the right). He loves the outdoors: hiking, camping, fishing, mushrooming, and trail running.
More info on his lab website.

Sea Slugs of the Northeastern Pacific
2024-02-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom Event
Related to dull-colored, garden-munching land slugs, “naked gilled” sea slugs (nudibranchs) are some of the most colorful and charismatic inhabitants of the marine world. They come in all different shapes and sizes – as small as a grain of rice or as large as a loaf of bread – yet these animals have no commercial value. Why are we so fascinated with them? The first part of this presentation will review what a sea slug is, the various families and clades to which they belong and basic steps for classifying and identifying the species that can be found in our area. For a naturist in search of sea slugs on the beach or underwater, knowing what they eat and their seasonality is the key to spotting different species. The second part will cover my own journey from being a curious newbie scuba diver 18 years ago who had never heard of nudibranchs to an active amateur naturalist who helped describe species previously unknown to science in the northeastern Pacific. In this talk I’ll not only present basic aspects of temperate northeastern Pacific nudibranch biology and ecology but I’ll discuss my 15-year study of the diversity and seasonality of nudibranchs found in my “front yard” to illustrate how anyone’s careful observations can contribute to the body of scientific knowledge.

About our speaker: Karin Fletcher has worked with mollusk scientists from all over the world as a co-author on numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications which have helped to refine the classification of existing species and to identify new species. She is also co-author of the recently published field guide “Nudibranchs & Sea Slugs of the Eastern Pacific”.

Salps are poop-machines and pyrosomes can light up the sea!
2024-02-01 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom Event
Introducing two unique gelatinous zooplankton and their roles in the ocean.
Salps and pyrosomes are zooplankton – free floating animals that drift with the ocean currents. They are unique because they have gelatinous bodies, similar to cnidarian jellies, but unlike jellyfish they don’t have stingers and primarily consume phytoplankton. They are part of a group called ‘thaliaceans’, also related to sea-squirts, which you might be surprised to find out are our closest relatives among all the plankton! They share the remarkable life-history characteristic of alternating sexual and asexual reproduction, which allows their populations to boom (also known as a ‘bloom’) when food is in excess. Each animal is called a ‘zooid’ – when salps bloom they produce chains of hundreds of zooids that can turn the water to jelly over the course of a few days! Salps are also spectacular ‘poop-machines’: they can filter out both large and submicron particles for consumption, and repackage these into fast-sinking pellets that can rapidly export carbon out of the sunlit part of the ocean. These ‘ocean Roombas’ rapidly mow down phytoplankton blooms by coupling their jet-propulsive swimming with their feeding, filtering large quantities of water every day. A large Salpa sp. zooid, such as those found in both the North Pacific and the Southern Ocean, can grow up to ~5 inches long and filter 5-10 gallons of seawater per day. Pyrosomes get their name from the Greek work ‘pyro’, which means ‘fire’, since they are bioluminescent and their bodies can light up at the sea at night. They also can consume large quantities of small and large particles, but unlike salps, their poop is tiny! This is because each pyrosome is actually a colony of hundreds of tiny zooids, each with its own digestive system and connected through a common canal that propels the animal forward through gentle currents. During this talk, you will learn about salp and pyrosome biology, as well as the unique roles they play in ocean foodwebs and biogeochemical cycling.

About our speaker: Dr. Moira Décima is an Assistant Professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Curator of the Pelagic Invertebrate Collection. Dr. Décima combines field work on global class vessels, samples from Collections and experimental manipulations, to answer fundamental questions related to plankton food-web structure and function, species distributions and diversity, and the role of zooplankton in biogeochemical cycling – all within a broader context of ecosystem response to climate change. Her earlier research foci include using compound-specific isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AA) to assess the importance of the microzooplankton-mesozooplankton link to the broader pelagic food web, and quantifying energy transfer through both auto- and hetero- trophic pathways. More recently, she has focused her attention on gelatinous zooplankton, specifically salps and pyrosomes, which affect trophic interactions and biogeochemistry in fundamentally different ways than their crustacean counterparts, and might be shiftingtheir distributions in response to climate change. In addition to investigating the role of salps in marine ecosystems, her lab is currently investigating the effect of ocean acidification and hypoxia on thecosome pteropods, the impact of wildfires on marine pelagic communities, applying DNA metabarcoding to investigate zooplankton community structure, and the impact of pyrosomes on the California Current Ecosystem (CCE). Her current sea-going program is conducted within the CCE Long Term Ecological Research Program (CCE-LTER).

Mushrooms of the West Coast 2023
2023-10-06 19:00 - 2023-10-08 13:00 | Ucluelet Community Centre, 500 Matterson Drive, Ucluelet, British Columbia, V0R 3A0, Canada
This weekend field course will introduce participants to the wonderful world of West Coast Mushrooms. Topics to be covered include introduction to fungi (what are they, and what is their role in our forests?), essentials of collecting and identifying fungi in the field, edible, medicinal and poisonous fungi, cooking with wild mushrooms, and more!

Course Registration is $300 per person.

Friday (7:00 pm – 8:30 pm)

Presentation – overview of wild mushrooms, different fungus groups, role of fungi in ecosystems, and mushroom identification.

Saturday (8:30 am – 5:30 pm, and 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm)

Field collection of wild mushrooms at field site.
Sorting of mushroom collections, spore prints, microscope ID session.
Mushroom cooking demonstration and tasting.
Evening presentation on foraging and identifying edible mushrooms.

Sunday (9:00 am – 1:00 pm)

Field collection and identification of wild (edible) mushrooms.
Group lunch and course wrap-up.

About the instructors:

2022 Mushroom Course Photos!

Plentiful Plankton!
2023-08-30 13:00 - 16:00 | Tofino Resort & Marina, 634 Campbell Street Tofino, Tofino, BC, V0R 2Z0
Plankton!
Though you may not always see them – plankton are out there, and some will become a feast for tiny fish or giant whales. Come and observe plankton up close and learn more! Stop by – we will be outside with plankton samples ready for microscope observation of these fascinating creatures.
Time: 1:00-4:00pm
Location: Tofino Resort & Marina – down below, in the courtyard between the Adventure Centre & Shelter
Free…Free…Free
Dates: July 12, 19, 28, August 4, 8, 18, 25, 30

Visit the Discovery Tent on the Wild Pacific Trail
2023-08-24 13:00 - 16:00 | Lighthouse Loop on Wild Pacific Trial, Ucluelet, BC, V0R 2A0, Canada
Join our summer educators as they explore local science focused topics.
These will be inclusive, interactive and open to all. The topics vary- examples are: Kelp forests, sea star wasting syndrome, shorebird migration, salmon forests, bears, whale migration.
Where: Visit the Discovery Tent with Raincoast Education Society on the Lighthouse Loop of the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet.
Free, drop in, everyone welcome!
When: Thursdays from 1 -4pm: July 13, 20, 27, August 3, 10, 17 & 24
Free, drop in, everyone welcome!
Join our summer educators as they explore local science focused topics. These will be inclusive, interactive and open to all. The topics vary- examples are: Kelp forests, sea star wasting syndrome, shorebird migration, salmon forests, bears, whale migration.

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino (via Zoom)
2023-06-29 17:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Event
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.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: Zoom
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In Person Dates: May 4, 11, 18 & June 1, 8, 22
Zoom Dates: May 25, June 15 & 29
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ucluelet and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Photo by Shaun Stewart, Capturing the Coast submission.

Small Town, Big Picture: Ucluelet
2023-06-26 17:00 - 20:00, 2023-06-19 17:00 - 20:00, 2023-06-12 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 15, June 12, 19, 26
Zoom Dates: May 29
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ucluelet and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino
2023-06-22 17:00 - 20:00, 2023-06-08 17:00 - 20:00, 2023-06-01 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 4, 11, 18 & June 1, 8, 22
Zoom Dates: May 25, June 15 & 29
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ucluelet and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Photo by Shaun Stewart, Capturing the Coast submission.

Seaweeds of the West Coast
2023-06-16 19:00 - 2023-06-18 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?), biodiversity of west coast seaweeds, essentials of collecting and identifying seaweeds, seaweed foraging, the relationship between seaweeds and people, pressing and preserving seaweeds, and more!
We are excited to welcome back course instructor Dr. Bridgette Clarkston who will come to Ucluelet to share her seaweed knowledge and expertise with us.

Course registration is $300 per person.

Friday, June 16th (7:00 pm – 8:30 pm)

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

Saturday, June 17th (8:30 am -8:30 pm, with breaks) Low tide is at 7:17 am (0.3 feet / 1.0 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 18th (8:30 am – 1:00 pm) Low tide is at 7:58am (0.3 feet / 1.0 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 instructors:

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.

Check out photos of the previous years:

Seaweeds of the West Coast 2023
2023-06-16 19:00 - 2023-06-18 13:00 | Ucluelet Community Centre, 500 Matterson Drive, Ucluelet, British Columbia, V0R 3A0, Canada

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino (via Zoom)
2023-06-15 17:00 - 20:00, 2023-05-25 17:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Event
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.
This course is a suggested prerequisite for other courses.
Location: Zoom
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In Person Dates: May 4, 11, 18 & June 1, 8, 22
Zoom Dates: May 25, June 15 & 29
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, Tourism Ucluelet and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Photo by Shaun Stewart, Capturing the Coast submission.

Marine Ecology
2023-06-07 17:00 - 19:30, 2023-05-31 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 session focuses on the rich marine environment that plays an integral role in life on this coast. This 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. The sessions will alternate their regional focus between Ucluelet and Tofino on a weekly rotation (regional focus noted alongside dates listed below).
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 3, 10, 17, 31, June 7
Zoom Dates: May 24
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce,, Tourism Ucluelet and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Coastal Raincoast Ecology
2023-06-06 17:00 - 19:30, 2023-05-16 17:00 - 19:30 | Ancient Cedar Loop/Wild Pacific Trail, Ucluelet
Part of the West Coast Ambassador Program: This 2 – 2.5-hour session, taught by Barb Beasley, focuses on coastal terrestrial ecosystems. From the forest floor to the top of the canopy, this course will explore the interactions that occur in our local terrestrial ecosystems and the many species that inhabit them.
This course is in 3 different locations depending on the date: Tofino, Pacific Rim National Park & Ucluelet.
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 Tofino: May 2 & 23
Dates in the Pacific Rim National Park: May 9 & 30
Dates in Ucluelet: May 16 & June 6
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ucluelet 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

Coastal Raincoast Ecology
2023-05-30 17:00 - 19:30 | Rainforest Loop A Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
Part of the West Coast Ambassador Program: This 2 – 2.5-hour session, taught by Barb Beasley, focuses on coastal terrestrial ecosystems. From the forest floor to the top of the canopy, this course will explore the interactions that occur in our local terrestrial ecosystems and the many species that inhabit them.
This course is in 3 different locations depending on the date: Tofino, Pacific Rim National Park & Ucluelet.
Small Town, Big Picture is a suggested prerequisite for this course.
Ucluelet Location:Rainforest Trail A Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
Time: 5:00 – 7:30pm
Dates in Tofino: May 2 & 23
Dates in the Pacific Rim National Park: May 9 & 30
Dates in Ucluelet: May 16 & June 6
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ucluelet 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

Small Town, Big Picture: Ucluelet (via Zoom)
2023-05-29 17:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Event
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: Zoom Meeting Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
In-Person Dates: May 15, June 12, 19, 26
Zoom Dates: May 29
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ucluelet and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Photo: Capturing the Coast submission, 2018

Marine Ecology - via Zoom
2023-05-24 17:00 - 19:30 | Zoom Event
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This 2 – 2.5-hour session focuses on the rich marine environment that plays an integral role in life on this coast. This 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. The sessions will alternate their regional focus between Ucluelet and Tofino on a weekly rotation (regional focus noted alongside dates listed below).
Small Town, Big Picture is a suggested prerequisite for this course.
Location: Zoom
Time: 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
In Person Dates: May 3, 10, 17, 31, June 7
Zoom Dates: May 24
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce,, Tourism Ucluelet and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Photo by Dane Stabel, Capturing the Coast submission.

Coastal Raincoast Ecology
2023-05-23 17:00 - 19:30 | Yellowgate Trail across from Pacific Sands Resort, Tofino
Part of the West Coast Ambassador Program: This 2 – 2.5-hour session, taught by Barb Beasley, focuses on coastal terrestrial ecosystems. From the forest floor to the top of the canopy, this course will explore the interactions that occur in our local terrestrial ecosystems and the many species that inhabit them.
This course is in 3 different locations depending on the date: Tofino, Pacific Rim National Park & Ucluelet.
Small Town, Big Picture is a suggested prerequisite for this course.
Tofino Location: Yellowgate Tofino across from Pacific Sands Resort (park at the Visitor Centre)
Time: 5:00 – 7:30pm
Dates in Tofino: May 2 & 23
Dates in the Pacific Rim National Park: May 9 & 30
Dates in Ucluelet: May 16 & June 6
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ucluelet 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

Small Town, Big Picture: Tofino
2023-05-18 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 4, 11, 18, June 1, 8, 22
Zoom Dates: May 25, June 15 & 29
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ucluelet and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.

Photo by Shaun Stewart, Capturing the Coast submission.

Marine Ecology
2023-05-17 17:00 - 19:30 | Ucluelet Aquarium, 180 Main St, Ucluelet, BC, V0R 3A0, Canada
The West Coast Ambassador Program: This 2 – 2.5-hour session focuses on the rich marine environment that plays an integral role in life on this coast. This 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. The sessions will alternate their regional focus between Ucluelet and Tofino on a weekly rotation (regional focus noted alongside dates listed below).
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 3, 10, 17, 31, June 7
Zoom Dates: May 24
The West Coast Ambassador Program is a joint initiative of the Raincoast Education Society, the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce,, Tourism Ucluelet and Tourism Tofino. The Raincoast Education Society is responsible for course curriculum, registration, and program delivery.
