Marlie Temple
Development Coordinator
Marlie is the Development Coordinator at Raincoast. For the last three years, Marlie has spent half the year at sea as the First Mate on Raincoast’s research vessel, Achiever. She worked onboard facilitating the research of killer whales, pelagic seabirds, and wolves, as well as hosting youth education trips. As First Mate, Marlie shared responsibility for the navigation, daily operations, and mechanical repairs of Achiever.
Marlie has worked along the coast in ecotourism for over a decade. She has worked as a kayak guide, bear viewing guide, at sports fishing lodges, and as a whale watching captain, all while working to maintain her commitments to evidence-based conservation and compassionate ethics.
While completing her degree in Global Studies from Vancouver Island University, Marlie worked with the Department of Rural Development in Belize, under the National Water and Sanitation Coordinator. This work, in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme, encompassed a pilot project in support of Millennium Development Goal 7.C: halve the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water. A few years later, Marlie returned to Belize working directly with an Indigenous community, Seine Bight, doing consultation and facilitating local cultural and economic development projects.
Growing up next to the Salish Sea, Marlie’s appreciation and connection to the land and sea of coastal BC was fostered from an early age. In her spare time, you can find her on or in the water, whether it’s exploring by boat, or diving around kelp beds looking for the next nudibranch. Drawing from her experiences working in the field around wildlife, as well as her community development work abroad, Marlie has found the perfect home with Raincoast.
