Chris Darimont
 Science Director and Chair of Raincoast Applied Conservation Science Lab

Chris is a Professor, Provost’s Engaged Scholar, and the Raincoast Chair of Applied Conservation Science Lab in the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria.

Favouring an interdisciplinary approach, he has been – and continues to be – influenced by a broad network of mentors and collaborators. He earned a PhD in Ecology and Evolution from the Biology Department at the University of Victoria with Dr. Tom Reimchen. Postdoctoral opportunities took me to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he worked with Dr. Chris Wilmers.

Chris’s long-term affiliation with the science-based Raincoast Conservation Foundation has also shaped him and the work in which he engages. He received mentorship and partnership with many Raincoasters. Dr. Paul Paquet in particular has influenced, taught and empowered me since he first met him at a pizza restaurant in Canmore in December 1998. Colleagues, friends, and Knowledge Holders among the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk), Wuikinuxv, Kitasoo/Xai-xais, and Nuxalk Nations have also been enormously influential in guiding what he does, and how he does it.

Teaching and mentoring students, however, is his favourite form of outreach. Currently, he teaches GEOG 353 (Coastal and Marine Resource Management) during the spring term. He and Jessie Housty also teach a field course about integrating western science and Indigenous knowledge in the use, monitoring and study of resources (GEOG 453). This amazing course takes place in the village of Bella Bella and at the Koeye River.

darimont [at] uvic [dot] ca

Chris Dairmont smiles at the camera wearing a green flannel button-up shirt.

Recent articles

Water runs into the forest line, with mountains looming moodily in the background.

Studying the impacts of drought on salmon habitat in the Nicola watershed

We’re conducting collaborative science to build climate resilience for salmon…

A pack of black wolves, with a large wolf in the front, walks out through an opening in the forest.

The current situation for wolves in British Columbia

The level of human-caused wolf mortality can only be described…

Killer whales on the surface of the ocean with green in the water.

Announcing the Raincoast Ocean Science Awards winners, 2024

Honouring leaders committed to excellence in marine science research and…

A black wolf stands in profile, looking awesome, amidst the autumn leaves.

Black wolves: The beauty seen in evolution

What science tells us about wolves who evolved to be…

Southern Resident killer whales swim in formation as seen from the air.

Southern Resident killer whales are more than just iconic creatures

Southern Residents are vital to the health of entire ecosystems.

A Southern Resident killer whale forages and a salmon swims ahead of her, and a juvenile, J51, swims beside her.

Fact over fiction: The realities of endangered killer whales

As the saying goes, everyone is entitled to their own…