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

A wolf lies down on a gentle slope in the snow and looks out over the low area.

Episode 2: Wolf social behaviour with Jane Packard 

In our second Of Wolves and Women episode, Jane Packard…

The dorsal fin of the killer whale known as J35, or Tahlequah, is seen above the ocean surface as she pushes her dead newborn calf, J61, with her nose.

A mother’s grief, a population on the brink

This population is on a trajectory to extinction. But trajectories…

Several Southern Resident killer whales surface together gliding quickly through the blue water.

Give your input to DFO on vessel management to protect Southern Residents

Input on recovery of Southern Resident killer whales and potential…

Diane Boyd stands in a cutblock holding a radio antenna up in the air while tracking wolves.

Episode 1: Gray wolf recovery with Diane Boyd

In our inaugural Of Wolves and Women episode, Diane Boyd…

Excerpt from a Woods Island restoration plan.

Habitat restoration occurring in the Woods Island Marsh in the Fraser River Estuary

We are restoring marsh habitats to improve conditions for juvenile…

A crew stands in the Fraser River Estuary planning their next move.

Job posting: Salmon Conservation Technician

The deadline to apply is February 14, 2025.