Meet Nicole Van Zutphen, Raincoast’s new Communications Manager 

Nicole has joined the team as our new Communications Manager. She is an experienced science communicator, as well as a documentary photographer and filmmaker. She received her BA in Creative Industries with a specialty in film at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson), where she was inspired by the power that visual storytelling holds to educate, inform, and challenge antiquated narratives.

We posed some questions to Nicole to help get to know her better. 

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

Growing up just outside of Toronto, I was definitely more used to rolling cityscapes than  mountain ranges. But I loved the vibrance and diversity of Toronto, so I moved there at 17. 

I worked in a bike shop in the Annex for years while studying, so I leaned into my love of sustainable city exploration while finishing my degree from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) with a BA in Creative Industries, specializing in film. In terms of career plans, I was fairly adrift. I was certain of two things; I retained my child-like fascination for animals and the natural world, and I loved storytelling. My dad, a photography high school teacher, gave me a Nikon camera body and lens he no longer used. Many hours of YouTube tutorials (and much trial-and-error) later, I got the hang of it. 

That’s when I started to explore the question… Could I combine visual storytelling and science? As someone without a scientific background but with a huge interest in conservation and wildlife, could I communicate complex topics to reach wider audiences?

You began your career in multimedia communications in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. Can you tell us more about that experience?

In 2021, I finished studying at the peak of the pandemic, so I was doing a lot of online networking, Zoom coffee dates, and internet deep-diving looking for inspiration regarding my next steps. After watching a short documentary, Voices on the Road, exploring the proposed expansion of a road in the buffer zones of Peru’s Manu National Park, I was fascinated by the film’s approach to depicting both the economic opportunities this could yield as well as the threats to biodiversity and indigenous communities. So, I researched the director, Eilidh Munro. Through connecting with her, I learned about an opportunity to intern in multimedia communications with a Peruvian NGO in Manu. I applied, had a couple of interviews. Fast forward a few months and I was on a plane to Cusco, along with my giant rucksack and camera through the jungle to a remote research station.

The internship was three months, but once that ended they offered me a position for another four. That was a hard “yes”. 

What drew you to working at Raincoast?

Just over a year ago, I made the move to Vancouver, simply because I was drawn to it. I had been working as the Multimedia Coordinator at Toronto Wildlife Centre, a wildlife rescue and a leader in the field for wildlife rehabilitation, for almost three years. I loved it, but after witnessing the harm animals suffer (generally resulting from human action and infrastructure), I grew more interested in advocacy and policy. A coyote losing a limb in a leg-hold trap, a bluejay exhausting himself to death on a glue trap, a buck falling into a wastewater treatment plant – the lived experiences of these wild lives really stuck with me, and I knew wildlife conservation was going to be a life-long commitment. 

I had been following Raincoast’s work for many years, especially surrounding the endangered Southern Resident killer whales and Fraser Chinook salmon. Feeling privileged to now call British Columbia home, I dreamt of working with Raincoast ever since I boarded the plane from YYZ to YVR. In those previous times of online networking, I got in contact with Raincoast’s Wild Salmon Program Director Misty MacDuffee to interview her for an article with Conservation Careers, a careers advice centre for conservationists I was volunteering with as a content writer. Once settled in Vancouver, Misty and I connected again, and here I am – incredibly honoured and humbled to support Raincoast’s mission.

You are also a photographer and filmmaker. Do you have a favourite species to capture or a favourite project you have worked on? 

While in the Amazon, I fell in love with capturing primates; some, like the Bolivian Squirrel monkey, are social animals, living in groups of up to 75 individuals and are just as curious to observe you as you are them. Others, like the Brown Titi monkey and the Black-faced Spider monkey, are more elusive and split off into smaller subgroups –  it was truly awe-inspiring to witness these endangered species in regenerating rainforest.

As for a favourite project, it’s tough to choose! Working often as a one-woman camera crew, I immerse myself in each project. At Toronto Wildlife Centre, I spearheaded the revival of their YouTube channel, documenting wildlife rescues, patient care, and the ultimate objective –  their release back to the wild. We created a new episode every week; some stand-outs for me are Wandering turkey rescued from busy Scarborough streets, Saving injured and orphaned baby deer, Eye injuries leave owls needing emergency care, and a longer stand-alone episode we screened at Toronto’s Centre for Social Innovation, called Well-Built but Vulnerable. This project looks into Ontario’s dwindling turtle populations, and those who fight for their survival.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

You can often find me running (slowly) along the seawall, or doing one of the many incredible hikes the Vancouver area has to offer. Walking around Jericho with my camera is one of my favourite post-work activities, as you can often see so much wildlife just before dusk –  I once saw beavers, multiple Great Blue herons, Bald eagles, and a family group of Barred owls all in one evening! 

Painting, playing guitar, and crocheting are some of my non-outdoor related hobbies, though sometimes I do bring them outdoors, weather-permitting! 

You can help

Raincoast’s in-house scientists, collaborating graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors make us unique among conservation groups. We work with First Nations, academic institutions, government, and other NGOs to build support and inform decisions that protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on them. We conduct ethically applied, process-oriented, and hypothesis-driven research that has immediate and relevant utility for conservation deliberations and the collective body of scientific knowledge.

We investigate to understand coastal species and processes. We inform by bringing science to decision-makers and communities. We inspire action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats.