Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre and Historic Kiixin Village
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| Dates: | July 26-29, 2018 (Registration deadline: June 1, 2018) |
| Cost: | CAD$495 (Maximum 20 participants) |
| Organizers: | Louis Druehl, Simon Fraser University, ldruehl@island.net Tao Eastham, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre |
| Price Includes: | • Round trip bus and ferry travel from UBC to Bamfield, BC • Three nights accommodation at the Kingfisher Lodge • Unforgettable field trips by boat and by foot • Private tour of 5,000 year old Kiixin National Historic Site • Two dinners, two lunches, plus a gourmet seafood BBQ, including entertainment |
| Description: | Your four-day tour starts with a ferry trip on the Salish Sea and a bus ride across Vancouver Island, with an Italian lunch (not included) stop at Cuckoo-in-Coombs, and then a visit to Cathedral Grove with its 800-year old fir trees. After 80 km of dirt logging road you can stretch on spectacular Pachena Beach at the northern terminus of the West Coast Trail. Check in at the Huu-ay-aht Kingfisher Lodge, and on to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (AKA Bamfield Marine Station, previously the Cable Station, a vital link in the British Empire’s All Red Route). You will enjoy a marine station dinner & then lights out (there is a pub nearby). An early morning crossing of Trevor Channel to Seppings Inland in the Deer Group, with its rich seaweed flora is followed by a station lunch and opportunity to process your algae. An afternoon personalized tour of the Kiixin World Heritage site (5000 years of Huu-ay-aht First Nations occupation) followed by the BMSC Director’s Reception and a station dinner. Your third day greets a low morning tide at Scott’s Bay with a coffee break at John Evans’ Welch Cottage and an opportunity to explore Bamfield’s famous boardwalk. During the afternoon there will be local tours (TBA) followed by a seafood BBQ, including kelp brownies and Tofino Kelp Stout, sponsored by Bamfield’s Canadian Kelp Resources and Nova Scotia’s Acadian Seaplants with local entertainment. Fourth day return to Vancouver, just in time for the Welcome Reception of the PSA/ISOP conference. |
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| Logistics: | Your adventure starts on Thursday, July 26, when you will gather at Mahoney’s Pub at UBC at 9 AM. We will depart by bus at 9:15 AM and head to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, in order to catch the 10:40 AM ferry to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. We will walk on the ferry with our luggage, and say farewell to the mainland. Once on the island, we will exit the Nanaimo ferry terminal and load our belongings and ourselves onto the BMSC bus to be driven to Bamfield. As explained above, we will likely stop for food in Cuckoo-in-Coombs, Cathedral Grove, and Port Alberni before taking the infamous logging road to the coast. The wonders of Bamfield, the profound history of the Kiixin village, and the epic seaweeds of the BC coast await your arrival for Thursday night through Sunday morning, with Louis Druehl as your guide and host. On Sunday morning, we will aim to check out of the lodge and leave Bamfield by 9:00 AM, with the goal of catching the 1 PM ferry in Nanaimo. If all goes according to plan, we will be back at UBC by 4:30 PM. Just in time for the Welcome Reception of the 2018 PSA/ISOP meeting. |
| What to Bring: | The weather on the coast is extremely variable, changing from hot and sunny to cold and rainy in a flash. Come prepared to get wet: rain coat and waterproof gumboots or old sneakers. For field trips, long underwear and toques are often welcome additions. (I’ll let you non-Canadians google “toques”). Better to be over-prepared than under-prepared! Backpacks, water bottles, sunscreen, and cameras. There is a small general store in Bamfield for last minute purchases. For those of you looking to collect algae, there will be herbarium presses and paper available. |
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