Events

Upcoming Events

SOLD OUT - Backcountry Film Festival (BCFF)

Date: Nov 15th, 2024
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm (Doors Open 6:30pm)
Location: Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, Courtenay
Tickets: Adults $25 (Discount if Purchased Online), Youth $10 (16 & Under) –  Eventbrite Ticket Link

Details: Strathcona Wilderness Institute (SWI) is excited to announce that we will be hosting our 3rd Annual 2024 Backcountry Film Festival presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance!

A collage of human-powered stories, snowsports, and backcountry-inspired experiences. Backcountry Film Festival ignites wild conversations and inspires action to communities that celebrate the present while looking towards the future.

Proceeds from our ticket sales will be supporting SWI in its mission to inspire awareness, appreciation and stewardship of the natural world through research, education and participation within Strathcona Provincial Park. We are so grateful for your support.

Purchase tickets on Eventbrite ahead of time for a discount ($22 Adults) or remaining tickets will also be for sale at the door based on availability ($25 Adults, $10 Youth), CASH or CARD at the door. Printed tickets are not required, simply an e-ticket or your name will work.

Everyone who attends will have a chance to win DRAW PRIZES donated from the following local sponsors:

– ATLAS CAFE
– BEAUFORT CYCLES
– COMOX BIKE COMPANY
– CUMBERLAND BREWING COMPANY
– DODGE CITY CYCLES
– ISLAND ALPINE GUIDES
– MOUNTAIN CITY CYCLES
– SKI TAK HUT
– WESTERN BIKE COMPANY

Eventbrite Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/backcountry-film-festival-2024-courtenay-screening-tickets-1045574289847?aff=oddtdtcreator
BCFF Website: https://winterwildlands.org/backcountry-film-festiva

Purchase Tickets (Eventbrite Link)
Film Line Up (PDF 0.5MB)

Past Events

Listed below are some of the past events that SWI has hosted over the years. For all past presentations and webinars please visit the SWI Research page. Here you can find free access to all the presentations regarding research projects in Strathcona Provincial Park. 

2024 AGM and Presentation from Mike Taylor

Date: April 24th, 2024
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Evergreen Lounge, Filberg Centre, Courtenay
Guest Speaker: Mike Taylor

Strathcona Wilderness Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose essential role is, in partnership with BC Parks, to serve as an interface between the Strathcona Wilderness and the general public. We are a non-membership society, and so we invite members of the public with an interest in Strathcona Provincial Park to attend our AGM, since its purpose is to present our Annual Report to the public, as well as to elect the Board of Directors for the coming year.

With our mission to inspire awareness, appreciation and stewardship of the Natural World through research, education, and participation, we schedule interpretive hikes and workshops, and oversee research projects in the Park, including the SWI Data Collection Project on iNaturalist. We also provide the Public with information about the Park at our two “huts” each summer in Strathcona Provincial Park, at the Paradise Meadows Trailhead and at Buttle Lake. All our activities are carried out by VOLUNTEERS and SUMMER STUDENTS (funded through the Canada Summer Jobs program).

Our guest speaker will be Island Mountain Rambler, Mike Taylor, presenting a slide show on his 1991 expedition with three friends to Denali in Alaska, the highest peak in North America (6190m). For the team this 23-day adventure was also an opportunity to raise money in support of cancer research. Mike, now living in Duncan, is a retired BC and Canada Lands Surveyor, whose work has taken him through BC, Alberta, the Yukon and Nunavut, and who was also involved in consultations when the Strathcona Park Master Plan (1993) was put together.

2023 AGM Minutes
2024 AGM Agenda
2024 AGM Minutes (Coming Soon)

The View From My Backyard

Date: April 20th, 2024
Time: 7pm – 9pm (Doors Open at 6:30pm)
Location: Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, Courtenay

Event Details:
Strathcona Wilderness Institute is pleased to present astrophotographer Les Disher who will give a talk and a slideshow entitled The View From My Backyard. Every clear night the sky puts on a show for the unaided eye. Whether it is the grandeur of the Milky Way band against a black velvet sky, stars twinkling as diamonds, a dazzling meteor shower, spectacular comets, or a big golden moon against the eastern horizon, there is always something to see. In addition, if one puts camera to telescope, objects normally invisible to the unaided eye and rarely seen can be discovered that add to the splendors of the night.

Les has been capturing deep sky celestial images since 1994 from his home near Courtenay and from various locations in B.C. and western North America. As an avid astrophotographer, he has been a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and his photos have received a number of awards. He has been a witness to the transition from the unique requirements of film astro-imaging to those of digital imaging.

Les will put on a slide display of his celestial images that illustrate the majesty of the deep sky splendors to be found in the night skies right over our heads, and talk about his experiences taking them. He will also talk about the processes involved in taking and producing these images. The talk will be flavoured with interesting and humorous anecdotes and new and little-known facts. He will also do a few interesting and fun demonstrations to review of some relevant basic concepts.

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival

Date: March 22nd, 2024
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm
Location: Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, Courtenay
Tickets: Adults $25, Youth (Under 16) $15

Event Details:
SWI hosted the 7th Annual 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIMFF). The program features some of the best thought-provoking and action-packed, mountain films about climbing, snowsports, biking, the environment and more!

A big thank you to all the local businesses that donated draw prizes for the show.

– ATLAS CAFE
– BEAUFORT CYCLES
– BLUE TOQUE
– CUMBERLAND BREWING COMPANY
– DODGE CITY CYCLES
– ISLAND ALPINE GUIDES
– MOUNTAIN CITY CYCLE
– WIP CLIMBING

VIMFF Website: vimff.org
VIMFF Film Line Up: Click Here (0.15MB)

2023 Summer Guided Hike, Walks and Webinars

Monthly schedules of all of our events are linked below for the 2023 Summer Season.
September 2023 Program Schedule PDF Link
August 2023 Program Schedule PDF Link
July 2023 Program Schedule PDF Link

SWI Workshop Series “Discovering our Biodiversity”

The Workshop Series “Discovering our Biodiversity” ran through the 2023 summer season, from late June to the beginning of October, exploring the natural world of the subalpine in Strathcona Provincial Park, from scientific and artistic perspectives. These one or two day workshops were conducted in Paradise Meadows, partially in the Ruth Masters Nature Hall (SPWC lower floor) and partially out in Strathcona Provincial Park. Topics ranged from basic plant identification to more intensive examination of lichens or mycology. Additionally, creative writing and water-colour painting classes inspire wilderness exploration into further dimensions of the subalpine environment. Due to a lack of participants some events were unfortunately cancelled. 

2023 WORKSHOP CALENDAR

  • June 25 – iNaturalist (Basic Species ID & Beginner’s Guide )
    Leader : Loys Maingon
    Cost: $10
  • July 8 – Plant Identification (Subalpine Plant ID in Paradise Meadows)
    Leaders: Loys & Alison Maingon
    Cost: $25
  • July 15 – Black Swift Workshop “Uncovering the Mysteries of Birdwatching and the Black Swift”
    Leader: Ornithologist Eve Kenny and sponsored by Bird Studies Canada.
    Cost: FREE, Limit 35 Participants
  • July 22 – Lichens (Basic Field Identification and Intro to the Lichens of Strathcona Provincial Park)
    Leader: Loys Maingon
    Cost: $50 (includes the $30 copy of the SWI Field Guide to Basic Lichens of SPP)
  • Aug. 12 – Inspired by Wilderness (Creating Poetry in a Mountain Landscape)
    Leader: Claire Gordon
    Cost: $25
  • (Cancelled) – Grasses (ID of Subalpine Grasses )
    Leader: Sarah Cooke
    Cost: $40
  • Sept. 9 – The Magic of Watercolour (Demo & Workshop using Watercolour)
    Leader: James McBeath
    Cost: $25
  • Sept. 16 – Mycology (The Mysterious World of Fungi – Session on Identification, Photography and Forays in the Park)
    Leaders: Andy MacKinnon, Kem Luther, Juliet Pendray, Thom O’Dell, James Holkko.
    Cost: $50 (Includes Sept 16th & 17th)
  • Sept. 17 – Mycology Hike (Exploring the Mycology of the Old Growth around Divers Lake)
    Leaders: Loys and Alison Maingon
  • (Cancelled) Oct. 1 – Freshwater Aquatic Plants and Algae (Intro to Subalpine Waterbodies)
    Leader: Loys Maingon
    Cost: $25

Chris Carter Memorial Hike and Tea

Chris Carter Memorial Hike and Tea

Date: Saturday, September 30th, 2023
Location: Paradise Meadows Wilderness Centre

Event Details: 
September 30th was the perfect day for a fall hike – bright sunshine illuminating the glorious fall colours, with a crisp slightly frosty start to the day and Albert Edward gleaming in a light frosting of early snow. We had 20 participants of Chris’ family and friends on the day hike to Croteau Lake and above led by Chris’ long-time hiking companion Tim Penney, with the assistance of Janet Beggs – Croteau was it usual photogenic self, with the brightly coloured blueberry bushes around the edge and a backdrop of Albert Edward, Frink and Castlecrag. We had a short walk in the Meadows in the afternoon for Mary and friends to enjoy the brilliance of the shrubs around the Ponds, and then at 3:30 about 35 friends of Chris, as well as members of his family, gathered outside the Ruth Masters Nature Hall for tea and cookies, as the sun continued to shine. As everyone noted, it was a truly memorable day on which to think about Chris and his enduring presence in Strathcona Provincial Park. This will become an annual event.

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Time: Saturday 16th (10am – 4pm) & Sunday 17th (8am – 4pm)
Location: SWI Paradise Meadows Information Centre

SWI was delighted to host its 5th Annual Mycology Workshop on September 16 in the Ruth Masters Nature Hall in the SPWC at Paradise Meadows, followed by a hike into Divers Lake on the 17th. We had our usual experts Andy MacKinnon, Tom O’Dell, and Kem Luther, but missed the presence of mycologists Shannon Berch, and Juliet Pendray, and photographer James Halkko, who had all succumbed to illness. Erin Feldman happily stepped in at the last minute as the team’s 4th member for the ID sessions and Forays. Andy began the day with his scintillating presentation “The Mysterious World of Mushrooms” to our 16 enthusiastic participants. The day proceeded with further presentations, fungus ID sessions and forays out into the Park, and the usual break for our traditional wild mushroom soup at lunch. We were graced with glorious sunshine up on the Plateau, clouds appearing only in the later afternoon. The drought conditions over the past three summers has resulted in a dearth of fungal species to see in the park in September, but our participants did bring a fair range of samples for the ID sessions. And on the hike to Divers Lake on Sunday we were not disappointed, although we could not expect the profusion of fungi from the very first workshop in 2018. The feedback from our participants was overwhelmingly positive.

 

Instructors:

Shannon Berch – Retired research scientist with the BC Ministry of Environment.
James Holkko – Award-winning Research photographer of fungal species for VMS & Environment Canada’s Manning Park survey.
Andy MacKinnon – Forest ecologist, research interests in plant-fungal partnerships, Past-President of South Vancouver Island Mycological Society.
Kem Luther – retired Dean Sheridan College, coauthor of Mushrooms of British Columbia.
Thom O’Dell, Ph.D. – Has over 35years experience studying and teaching about mushrooms.
Juliet Pendray – Learning consultant, 14 years sharing mycological knowledge, delivering classes, walks and talks and participating in species surveys.

2023 SWI Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Date: April 12th
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Location: Online Webinar, Free to Attend, Pre Registration Required

Details: Strathcona Wilderness Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose essential role is, in partnership with BC Parks, to serve as an interface between the Strathcona Wilderness and the general public. We are a non-membership society, and so we invite members of the public with an interest in Strathcona Provincial Park to attend our AGM, since its purpose is to present our Annual Report to the Public, as well as to elect the Board of Directors for the coming year.

With our mission is to inspire awareness, appreciation and stewardship of the Natural World through research, education and participation, we schedule interpretive hikes and workshops, and oversee research projects in the Park, including the SWI Data Collection Project on iNaturalist. We also provide the Public with information about the Park at our two “huts” each summer in Strathcona Provincial Park, at the Paradise Meadows Trailhead and at Buttle Lake. All our activities are carried out by VOLUNTEERS and SUMMER STUDENTS.

So we invite former and potential volunteers to attend the AGM and learn more about SWI’s work, accomplishments and plans for the upcoming year. We always need volunteers to staff our visitor centres and participate in our educational programs, thus ensuring that what we have achieved in the past will continue. Please put your names forward! Anyone who loves Strathcona Park and would like to contribute a little of their time to the organization of SWI’s many activities should consider becoming a director. Nominations can be made from the “floor”.

2023 AGM Agenda (PDF Link)
2022 Minutes (PDF Link)

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival

2023 VIMFF Films (PDF)

Date: March 31st, 2023
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm, (Doors Open 6:30pm)
Location: Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, Courtenay
Tickets: Adults $25, Youth (16 & Under) $15.

Event Details:
SWI is excited to host the 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival. The program features some of the best thought-provoking and action-packed, mountain films about climbing, snowsports, biking, the environment and more!

Proceeds from our ticket sales will be supporting Strathcona Wilderness Institute in its mission to inspire awareness, appreciation and stewardship of the natural world through research, education and participation within Strathcona Provincial Park. The Strathcona Wilderness Institute is a non-profit society incorporated in 1995 to promote responsible and enjoyable use of the wilderness areas of Strathcona Provincial Park in central Vancouver Island on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada.

Thanks to the following local businesses for their support and donations in helping make this event a success!

– ATLAS CAFE
– BEAUFORT CYCLES
– BLUE TOQUE SPORTS
– CUMBERLAND BREWING COMPANY
– DODGE CITY CYCLES
– GLADSTONE BREWING COMPANY
– MOUNTAIN CITY CYCLES
– WIP CLIMBING

To learn more about the Winter Wildlands Alliance’s Backcountry Film Festival please visit their website. 

Date: February 24th, 2023
Time: 7pm – 9pm, (Doors Open 6:15pm)
Location: Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, Courtenay

Details: SWI is excited to announce that we will be hosting the 2023 Backcountry Film Festival presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance!

The Backcountry Film Festival is a collage of human-powered stories and backcountry-inspired experiences which ignites wild conversations and inspires action to communities that celebrate the present while looking towards the future.

Time: Saturday 17th (8am – 5pm) & Sunday 18th (8am – 4pm)
Location: SWI Paradise Meadows Information Centre

The 4th Annual SWI Mycology Workshop was held on Saturday September 17th in the Ruth Masters Nature Hall (Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre), followed by a hike to Divers Lake on Sunday September 18th. Under the guidance of our usual expert panel of Vancouver Island Mycologists: Andy MacKinnon, James Holkko, Juliet Pendray, Shannon Berch, Thom O’Dell and, together with Kem Luther, the small group of participants enjoyed presentations on mushroom ecology and photography, including intensive identification sessions and forays into the park.  The weather was perfect for once – no need of tarps to cover the lunch table (and the windows of the lecture hall could be open for air circulation while we continued to observe COVID 19 protocols).  The only thing missing was a good array of fungi species out in Paradise Meadows.  Only Russulas were plentiful, somehow emerging in spite of the overall dry conditions of August and September.  Those who came on Sunday to the moister Divers Lake area did find more species including the Bears Head illustrated in the photo collection.  We received excellent feedback from our participants and the experts who work so well together had a fun time. We all look forward to the 5th Annual Workshop in 2023. 

The photographs recording the event were mostly taken by James Holkko, an amazing photographer of fungi as his presentation revealed, but also an expert at capturing human action.  Only the shot of lunch, the Divers group and the Bears Head were not. 

 

Instructors:

Shannon Berch – Retired research scientist with the BC Ministry of Environment.
James Holkko – Award-winning Research photographer of fungal species for VMS & Environment Canada’s Manning Park survey.
Andy MacKinnon – Forest ecologist, research interests in plant-fungal partnerships, Past-President of South Vancouver Island Mycological Society.
Kem Luther – retired Dean Sheridan College, coauthor of Mushrooms of British Columbia.
Thom O’Dell, Ph.D. – Has over 35years experience studying and teaching about mushrooms.
Juliet Pendray – Learning consultant, 14 years sharing mycological knowledge, delivering classes, walks and talks and participating in species surveys.

SWI Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2022
March 16th, 7.00 – 9.00 pm

Strathcona Wilderness Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose essential role is, in partnership with BC Parks, to serve as an interface between the Strathcona Wilderness and the general public.  We are a non-membership society, and so we invite members of the public with an interest in Strathcona Provincial Park to attend our AGM, since its purpose is to present our Annual Report to the Public, as well as to elect the Board of Directors for the coming year.

With our mission is to inspire awareness, appreciation and stewardship of the Natural World through research, education and participation, we schedule interpretive hikes and workshops, and oversee research projects in the Park, including the SWI Data Collection Project on iNaturalist. We also provide the Public with information about the Park at our two “huts” each summer in Strathcona Provincial Park, at the Paradise Meadows Trailhead and at Buttle Lake. All our activities are carried out by VOLUNTEERS and SUMMER STUDENTS.

So we invite former and potential volunteers to attend the AGM and learn more about SWI’s work, accomplishments and plans for the upcoming year. We always need volunteers to staff our visitor centres and participate in our educational programs, thus ensuring that what we have achieved in the past will continue. Please put your names forward!  Anyone who loves Strathcona Park and would like to contribute a little of their time to the organization of SWI’s many activities should consider becoming a director.  Nominations can be made from the “floor”.

For more information about the AGM please contact us at:
Email: strathconawilderness@gmail.com
Phone: 250-331-0143

2022 Agenda PDF
2022 Minutes PDF
2021 Minutes PDF

Thank you to everyone who came out to this years Mycology Workshop! Participants enjoyed basic and advanced presentations on mushroom ecology, identification and photography by some of Vancouver Island’s best-known mycologists, followed by two hands-on short field trips to Battleship Lake and Helen McKenzie Lake.

Thank you also to the knowledgeable and dedicated presenters:
Shannon Berch – Research scientist with BC Ministry of Environment
James Hollko – award winning research photographer of fungal species for VMS and Environment Canada’s Manning Park Survey
Andy Mckinnon – Retired forest ecologist, mycological interests in plant fungal partnerships, President of South Vancouver Island Mycological Society
Thom O’Dell – Ph.D, over 35 years of experience studying and teaching about mushrooms
Juliet Pendray – Learning consultant, 14 years experience sharing knowledge about mycology

Photos by James Hollko

Date: March 11, 2020
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm
Location: Masonic Hall, Cumberland – 2687 Dunsmuir Ave.

SWI invites the general public to attend its Annual General Meeting and to hear Catherine Gilbert give a presentation on Strathcona Provincial Park. The AGM consists of brief annual reports & the election of the 2020 Board of Directors.  There will be refreshments – bring your own mug.  Please join us to find out more about the great work SWI and its volunteers have done in the past year and plan for the coming season. 

For the Meeting’s agenda, click here.

About Catherine’s Presentation

Strathcona Provincial Park is a British Columbia wilderness park with a less than peaceful history. The dream that gave birth to the park as a tourist attraction was gradually eroded away by successive changes in provincial policy that allowed for the incursion of industry and appeared to distance the provincial government from responsibility for the park and its surrounding area. Disagreements over how this territory should be used have been ongoing between those who have wished to it preserve as a recreational environment, and those who have wished to develop its rich natural resources.

About Catherine

Catherine Gilbert, a Vancouver Island author and historian, will be presenting a talk about the history of Strathcona Park based on her MA thesis entitled A Long Time Coming: Safeguarding Wilderness in Strathcona Provincial Park that she is now developing into a book. Her talk will focus on the Buttle Lake corridor and efforts to get a road built to that side of the park for tourism purposes. She will also discuss the impact of mining in the park, and Strathcona Park Lodge’s role in the park’s history. 

Check out our Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2561390804141425/

Thank you to everyone who came out to the bryology workshop! Participants enjoyed basic and advanced presentations on bryophyte ecology, identification and photography by some of Vancouver Island’s best-known bryologists, followed by a short field trip in Paradise Meadows and a trip to Divers Lake.

Thank you also to the knowledgeable and dedicated presenters:
Jamie Fenneman – Ph.D (UBC) ; well know provincially for his expertise and contribution to e-flora.
Randall Mindell – Ph.D (U of AB) ; paleobotanist specializing in the morphology and taxonomy of land plants.