Orca family kayaking tour, Vancouver Island

Planet

OUR TRIP PHILOSOPHY
We do what we love! We want you to fall in love with kayaking and our coast, and this passion shows in everything we do. We don’t cut corners, we always put forth a 110% effort and we are always trying to improve. Vacations should be safe, fun, educational and of course environmentally friendly! We live year-round where we work and play, so we know our area inside and out. We love it here, and it shows in the way we run our trips.

SUSTAINABLE, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND GREEN
We aim to be a leader in responsible and sustainable tourism and business practices. There are many ways that we minimize our impact, green our operations and contribute to the communities we live and work in. We maintain strong relationships with our First Nation neighbours by communicating about our trips and creating use agreements for our trips on traditional lands, and hold current land use permits for everywhere we operate.

WILDLIFE
- We respect the wildlife and believe in their right to exist without harassment, and while we treasure all sightings, we maintain a healthy distance. We also abide by all whale-watching guidelines and try not to ever disturb wildlife from their normal behaviour.

- We are founding members of the North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship Association (NIMMSA) which was established to ensure best practices and responsible wildlife viewing standards for tourism operators.

- We have established with some and are working with others to establish protocol agreements with First Nations groups who consider the areas we travel in traditional territory.

- We hold all required permits and respect all the guidelines for operation set forth by Parks Canada, British Columbian Parks, Crown Land and the Marine Protected Areas.

- We support the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve Warden and Research program which aims to educate boaters about the Reserve and the very special Orca whales which frequent this area. We supply the program with donations of surplus food and support whenever possible.

FOOD
- We try to use local and organic products as much as possible on our trips. This helps ensure a healthy environment and supports the local economy.

- Ethical and fresh coffee. We provide locally roasted (often roasted the day before the tour departs), fair-trade, organic, shade grown beans, produced by a woman’s co-operative. Our coffee comes from Aroma Specialty Coffee Roasters here on Quadra Island.

- We grow what we can in our own gardens on Quadra Island, purchase from local organic farms for additional fruits and vegetables when in season and buy from our local grocery store for the rest.

- All salmon that we serve on our trips is locally caught WILD Pacific salmon.

- The delicious locally-baked breads we serve on trip are from Quadra’s own ‘Lovin’ Oven’ bakery or Steiner’s Bakery in Campbell River.

- We buy in bulk whenever we can. This helps us to minimize packaging waste.

WASTE
- We compost all organic waste and use the soil for our organic garden in which we grow some of the delicious foods we eat while on kayaking trips.

- We recycle or compost everything that we can. British Columbia is lucky to have a great returnable drink container program in which we participate.


CAMPING
- While kayaking we practice minimum impact camping in order to preserve the nature of the coast. Human waste is dealt with in the most appropriate manner for the location we’re in, soap use in freshwater lakes and streams is not permitted, and at our campsites, we keep our ‘footprint’ as small as possible by keeping to established tent sites and trails. Our food is stored out of the reach of any curious animals so as to not alter their natural behaviour.

- We collect rainwater for watering our garden and cleaning kayaks etc.

- We have a UV (non-chemical) water treatment system on our water to ensure clean and safe water for our guests and staff.

- We get our firewood from locally managed, sustainable woodlots on Quadra Island.

People

We care for our community and support it through our business. Through purchasing locally and hiring local staff where possible we support those around us. Our business is based year-round on Quadra Island, BC. We also work with local accommodation providers ensuring that the money generated by the stay of our guests’ benefits the local community.

Through our membership in 1% For The Planet we donate to local non-profit environmental groups such as the Sierra Club of Quadra and the Quadra Island Salmon Enhancement Society. These organizations work tirelessly to promote a healthy environment and ecosystems in the Quadra Island area and beyond.

We volunteer our services and resources (through labour, vehicles, boats or kayaks) for various community events.

Our base of operations is located on beautiful Quadra Island, BC. We are surrounded by a wonderful community that strives to work together to keep the island an incredible place to live. We operate our business from a small property in a quiet neighbourhood on the island. We have made our property and home reflect our business practices and ethics.