The Raincoast Speaker Series is a long-running social and educational phenomenon! We invite you to join experts from around the world for in-depth discussions about locally, regionally, and globally relevant. All from the comfort of your home!
The Raincoast Education Society’s mission is to shape an environmentally sustainable future for the
Clayoquot and Barkley Sound region through education and community stewardship.
Anyone who spends time on the water is familiar with the seasonal ebb and flow of marine life. Sea lions, fur seals, whales, tuna, salmon, and trout all move vast distances each year—some traveling up and down our coast, others crossing the open Pacific or wandering for years at sea before returning to spawn.
On land, equally impressive migrations unfold farther from our view. Caribou still travel hundreds of kilometres between Arctic calving grounds and southern winter ranges, while species like bison and pronghorn once moved across the plains in enormous numbers.
Across land, sea, and sky, migratory species reveal extraordinary endurance and remind us how deeply interconnected our world is.
Raincoast Education Society is excited to host the 2026 Speaker Series, Incredible Journeys, featuring guest speakers exploring the science behind some of the planet’s most remarkable migrations.
Tune in on the Thursdays listed below for Incredible Journeys!
February 19: Arctic Terns: Dr. Mark Mallory
February 26: Bluefin Tuna: Dr. Michael Stokesbury
March 5: Caribou: Dr. Conor Mallory
March 19: Gray Whales: Dr. Aimee Lang
April 2: Monarch Butterfly: Dr. Greg Mitchell
Thursday, February 26th @ 7:00 pm
via Zoom
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna are the largest members of the family Scombridae, so, they are really large mackerel. They grow to more than 650 kg in weight, and over 395 cm (12 feet) long. Canadian fish that are caught commercially are mostly exported to Japan for the sashimi market. Because of their great size, strength, and speed, Atlantic Bluefin Tuna are also a prized sport fish and catch and release fisheries are active in several countries including Canada. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna are managed internationally by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), centred in Spain with 55 member countries. There are two main populations in the Atlantic, a larger resilient population that spawns mostly in the Mediterranean Sea, and a smaller less resilient population that spawns mostly in the Gulf of Mexico. Understanding the mixing, distribution, and migration ecology of these populations while at sea is central to informing proper sustainable management regimes from these fish. In this talk I will report on 20 years of electronic tagging of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, to determine migration ecology, stock structure and to improve management.
Dr. Michael Stokesbury is the Director of the Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research (ACER) at Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Dr. Stokesbury has over 30 years of experience tracking fishes using electronic tagging technology. His lab performs applied fisheries research focused on mitigating the impacts of industry on fish stocks.
Thursday, March 5th @ 7:00 pm
via Zoom
The ability of species to adapt to the shifting environmental conditions associated with climate change will be a key determinant of their persistence in the coming decades. This is a challenge already faced by species in the Arctic, where rapid environmental change is well underway. Caribou and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) play a key role in Arctic ecosystems and provide irreplaceable socioeconomic value to many northern peoples. Recent decades have seen declines in many Rangifer populations, and there is strong concern that climate change is threatening the viability of this iconic Arctic species. I will discuss the migratory and calving behaviour responses of barren-ground caribou in the Qamanirjuaq herd to earlier springs, and how changing snow cover on the late winter and migratory ranges affects migratory behaviour. I will also discuss how we can model the effects of sea-ice loss on habitat connectivity for Peary caribou (R. t. pearyi), a subspecies that is widely dispersed across the islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and relies on sea ice to move seasonally between island habitats.
Dr. Conor Mallory currently works at Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and is focused on research and political advocacy to address the complex socioeconomic challenges and inequities that exist across Inuit Nunangat. During his time at ITK, he has worked on implementation of the Qanuippitaa? National Inuit Health Survey, the National Inuit Strategy on Research and the development of the National Inuit Data Strategy. He grew up in Nunavut and worked there in environmental policy and wildlife research before joining ITK. Conor received his PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Alberta for his research on barren-ground caribou movement and responses to climate change in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
Thursday, March 19th @ 7:00 pm
via Zoom
Dr. Aimée Lang will present insights into the status of eastern North Pacific gray whales based on monitoring whales on their migratory route and also highlight the importance of understanding movement patterns and migratory connectivity for effective conservation and management.
Dr. Aimée first began studying gray whales in 2002, when she began her Ph.D. work through the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She spent the next six summers collecting photographs and biopsies from the gray whales that feed off Sakhalin Island, Russia. After completing her PhD, she continued to work on gray whales at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, where most of her research focuses on using genetic and genomic tools to better understand the behavior and population structure of marine mammals. She also leads the field component of SWFSC’s two shore-based surveys to monitor abundance and calf production in the eastern North Pacific gray whale population.
Research Biologist, Marine Mammal Genetics Group & Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Thursday, April 2nd @ 7:00 pm
via Zoom
The eastern migratory monarch butterfly is beloved in Canada for its remarkable 4,000+ km fall migration from southern Canada to central Mexico, followed by a multi-generational return in spring. While tagging programs have revealed where monarchs originate, we’ve known little about the exact routes they take or how weather affects their success.
Using tiny 0.06 g solar Bluetooth transmitters and crowd-sourced detections from cell phones, researchers tracked monarchs in unprecedented detail. Wind had a strong influence on migration, with northward winds stalling progress, while heavy rain and high temperatures also slowed their journey. These findings will help us understand how changing weather patterns linked to climate change may affect how many monarchs reach their wintering grounds in Mexico.
Dr. Mitchell is a research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. His research program is focused on the conservation of migratory birds and species at risk in Canada in support of the Migratory Bird Convention Act and the Species at Risk Act. He also sits as Canada’s federal representative on the Trinational Monarch Conservation Science Partnership, which coordinates shared research priorities and projects across Canada, the US, and Mexico and is also a member of the federal Monarch Butterfly Recovery Team.
Shaping an environmentally sustainable future for the Clayoquot and Barkley Sound region through education and community stewardship
