Indigenous Knowledge, Western Science, and their interaction: rich opportunity but caution to avoid harm is required

Indigenous Knowledge, Western Science, and their interaction: rich opportunity but caution to avoid harm is required

As Ecologists, we are interested in learning about organisms and their interactions, and who is better to learn from than those who so often have historical and contemporary connections to the lands and their living organisms for millennia?

Research: Dietary differences among individuals with different genes and coat colours gives insight into the maintenance of the Spirit bears among black bear populations

Research: Dietary differences among individuals with different genes and coat colours gives insight into the maintenance of the Spirit bears among black bear populations

The paper, “Intrapopulation foraging niche variation between phenotypes and genotypes of Spirit bear populations,” was published in the open-access journal Ecology and Evolution.

When evidence informs advocacy

When evidence informs advocacy

When evidence informs advocacy, a potent approach to conservation becomes available. This philosophy underpins everything we do at Raincoast. One of the primary vehicles to support our unique delivery of what we call informed advocacy is the Raincoast Applied Conservation Science Lab at the University of Victoria. Partnered with a science-based non-profit and dedicated to…

Tracking Raincoast, past, present, and future

Tracking Raincoast, past, present, and future

As this decade closes, it’s timely to celebrate what we have collectively achieved for BC’s coast.  Raincoast’s past in the Kitlope takes us back three decades to 1990, when Brian Falconer first visited at the invitation of the Haisla and Xenaksiala. The Nations were working to save the Kitlope from clearcut logging, which they ultimately…

The future of applied conservation science is bright

The future of applied conservation science is bright

This has been a time of remarkable accomplishment for the Raincoast Applied Conservation Science Lab at the University of Victoria. The research that the lab produces is a dynamic mix of population analyses, biogeography, marine-terrestrial interactions and much more, all rooted in a ‘wildlife welfare’ ethic. Collaboration with Indigenous communities forms the hallmark of much of this work, which is being directly applied…

Converging knowledges to inform and empower conservation

Converging knowledges to inform and empower conservation

This past summer, I had the opportunity to travel aboard the Raincoast vessel Achiever with several other members of the ACS lab to participate in Koeye camp, a cultural revitalization and education program operated by the Heiltsuk First Nation’s QQS Projects Society. We were there to engage with the youth campers about the research conducted by…