If you asked me what my biggest fear was as a kid, I probably would have said seaweed. This summer at the Mayne Island Conservancy I really had to face that fear. As Ecosystems Technician I had the honour of coordinating the kelp monitoring program on SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island Read more
On a sunny Sunday in April, 102 volunteers from around the island came together and removed debris and garbage from 12 beaches across SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island. Put on in partnership with the Mayne Island Recycling Centre and Mayne Island Building Centre, with sponsorship from the Capital Regional District, the Read more
In 2025 the Mayne Conservancy completed our 17th year of eelgrass extent monitoring. Around the shores of SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island we monitor 15 sites, with an additional monitoring site in Grimmer Bay, S’DÁYES | North Pender Island. In 2025, we completed surveys at seven locations: Dinner Bay, Village Bay, Read more
With the completion of the 2025 field season, the Mayne Island Conservancy has now been monitoring bull kelp around the shores of SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island for 16 years! This also marked the seventh year since the program expanded to include sites around Galiano, the Penders, and Saturna Island in Read more
It has been a busy field season for Conservancy staff, and we would like to share a behind-the-scenes view into our incredible ₭O¸EṈ | kelp mapping program! A few months ago, I shared an update about eelgrass mapping, and while we work on processing that data, we have been enjoying more time Read more
The ocean bioluminescence that we see in the waters around Mayne Island are created by dinoflagellates: tiny, single-celled plankton. There are thousands of species of dinoflagellates throughout the oceans of the world, and most of them reproduce asexually. It is assumed that dinoflagellates light up when disturbed to intimidate or escape predators.
The Mayne Island Conservancy’s 2025 eelgrass monitoring season is officially underway! My name is Eden, and I am one of the Ecosystem Technicians this field season. One of the exciting projects I am a part of is mapping eelgrass beds around the shores of SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island. I never Read more
On June 14th we hosted our annual Intertidal Exploration, accompanied by an Arts in the Intertidal nature journaling workshop at ALELEN | Miners Bay beach. It was an exciting afternoon of learning and exploring, with a focus on animals that live in eelgrass beds, and the importance of keeping these Read more
If you can find a rocky place beside the sea, you might spy one of our fin-footed neighbours soaking up the sun. Known collectively as pinnipeds, seals and sea lions are important players in maintaining a diverse and healthy west coast. Local Pinnipeds Globally, there are 33 species of pinnipeds, Read more
This year’s cleanup had good weather, and a large crew of eager volunteers turned out. In total, 145 volunteers scoured the beaches for refuse, while five helped unload and sort at the recycling depot, and more helped out at the post-cleanup barbeque. Ten beaches were cleared of debris by captained Read more