Galiano Conservancy

Feed the People Workshop
2024-11-30 - 2024-12-01 | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
Join esteemed Penelakut & Galiano Island Elders for a weekend workshop on how to process black-tailed deer for local food resilience.
This annual event fills up quickly, click here for registration information:

Education – Feed the People

GCA at Lions Hall Holiday Market
2024-11-30 10:00 - 17:00 (America/Vancouver) | Galiano Lions hall, 992 Burrill Rd, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N 1P0, Canada
Holiday Market banner
The Galiano Conservancy Association is excited to participate in two upcoming local Holiday Markets! You can find us at the Lions Hall Holiday Market on November 30th. We’ll be offering a range of unique products, including our Food Forest teas, seeds & goodies, alongside our new organic cotton GCA hats, tote bags, and t-shirts—perfect gifts for the environmentally conscious on your list!
Every purchase helps support our mission to protect the natural environment and foster a deeper connection to nature. The funds raised will directly contribute to our diverse programs, from land stewardship and habitat restoration to environmental education and sustainable food systems.
By shopping with us, you’re not just getting something special for the holidays—you’re making a lasting impact on conservation efforts across Galiano Island and the BC coast.
We hope to see you there!

GCA at South End Hall Holiday Market
2024-12-08 10:00 - 17:00 (America/Vancouver) | Galiano Community Hall (South End), 141 Sturdies Bay Rd, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N 1P0, Canada
Holiday Market banner
The Galiano Conservancy Association is excited to participate in two upcoming local Holiday Markets! You can find us at the Galiano South End Community Hall Holiday Market on December 8th. We’ll be offering a range of unique products, including our Food Forest teas, seeds & goodies, alongside our new organic cotton GCA hats, tote bags, and t-shirts—perfect gifts for the environmentally conscious on your list!
Every purchase helps support our mission to protect the natural environment and foster a deeper connection to nature. The funds raised will directly contribute to our diverse programs, from land stewardship and habitat restoration to environmental education and sustainable food systems.
By shopping with us, you’re not just getting something special for the holidays—you’re making a lasting impact on conservation efforts across Galiano Island and the BC coast.
We hope to see you there!

Millard Learning Centre - Closed to the Public
2025-03-07 08:00 - 2025-03-10 09:00 (America/Vancouver) | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
The Millard Learning Centre is *closed* to the public this Friday March 7 through Sunday May 9 while Penelakut hunters harvest deer on the property. It will re-open on Monday.
Want to learn more? Check out our website! https://galianoconservancy.ca/conservation/deer/

Growing Old Growth - Free Evening Seminar
2025-03-26 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Vancouver) | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
About the event

Join Tal Engel of Wolftree Integrated Forest Rehabilitation as he shares methods he has developed to help dense young forests recover from a century of industrial forestry.
Wednesday, March 26th, beginning at 7:00 PM at the Millard Learning Centre. (10825 Porlier Pass Rd)
It is often said that “time heals all wounds.” But what if, for our second and third-growth Douglas-fir forests, time alone may not be enough?
What does it actually take to “grow” a healthy old-growth forest? In this talk, Tal Engel of WolfTree Integrative Forest Rehabilitation will share methods he has developed to help dense young forests recover from over a century of industrial forestry, and make the case for why the time for action is now.
Tal will deliver a 1 hour presentation, followed by a half-hour Q&A. GCA Restoration Coordinator Adam Huggins will join for the Q&A to answer questions about the GCA’s forest restoration projects. Light refreshments will be provided.
This event is being held on the shared, asserted, unceded and traditional territories of the Hul’qumi’num-speaking First Nations Peoples and those who hold traditional rights, responsibilities, and Indigenous rights and title in and around what is now known as Galiano Island.
About Tal
Tal is a forest restoration practitioner and regenerative farmer who lives in the Comox Valley, British Columbia. On his family’s farm, Honey Grove, he researches and develops forest restoration methods and models that his organization, WolfTree Integrative Forest Rehabilitation, applies throughout Eastern Vancouver Island. Tal is currently working on his master’s thesis in restoration ecology.

Galiano Volunteer Fair
2025-03-29 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Vancouver) | Galiano Community Hall (South End), 141 Sturdies Bay Rd, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N 1P0, Canada
Curious about volunteer & casual employment opportunities on Galiano? Stop by the Volunteer & Casual Employment Fair to chat and mingle with Galiano non-profit organizations! Refreshments will be provided, all are welcome!

Reimagining Displaced Species - Multigenerational Crafting and Dialogue Workshop
2025-04-05 12:30 - 15:30 (America/Vancouver) | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
About the event

Join us for a creative afternoon at Reimagining Displaced Species, an intergenerational crafting and dialogue event on Saturday, April 5th, from 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM at the Millard Learning Centre. (10825 Porlier Pass Rd)
In collaboration with The Yellowhouse, we’ll transform introduced plant species into beautiful, handcrafted keychains—while exploring the deeper story of these species and their impact on our ecosystems.
This is a unique opportunity to blend art, ecology, and community in a hands-on, meaningful way. Spaces are limited—register now to secure your spot!
Joshua Ralph, the artist in residence in Yellowhouse, will be facilitating the crafting.
Joshua is an uninvited settler-occupier on the stolen and shared lands of the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam Nations. He is a community-engaged media and eco-artist interested in changed and changing ecologies, advocating for collaboration on the intersections between art-making and varied understandings of the “natural” world.
With a focus on digital compositing, his animated works have screened in dozens of venues internationally, including Ottawa International Animation Festival, Innsbruck Nature Film Festival, and Vaasa Wildlife Festival. He currently works professionally in the animation field and can often be found in the bushes partaking in environmental restoration volunteering or logging a cool bug on iNaturalist. https://joshuaralphart.com
This event is being held on the unceded, asserted & shared traditional territories of Penelakut, Lamalcha, Hwlitsum and other Hul’qumi’num and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples, Coast Salish Peoples of Galiano, as well as the ceded territories of Tsawwassen First Nation, on what is now known as Galiano Island.
You can reserve your FREE ticket for this unique event HERE.

Volunteer Second & Third Fridays - Ecological Restoration
2025-04-11 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-04-18 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-05-09 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-05-16 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-06-13 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-06-20 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-07-11 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-07-18 09:30 - 15:30 (America/Vancouver) and 1 more date | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
On the Second & Third Fridays of the month, join us for hands on Ecological Restoration projects! This is a great opportunity to learn more about our ongoing restoration work from our knowledgeable staff while learning more about the GCA owned and managed properties on Galiano.

Please get in touch to let us know you’ll be joining us! The morning volunteer session is from 9:30 am to noon; the afternoon session is from 1 pm to 3:30 pm. Feel free to join us for either or both.

Quadra Hill Forest Fest - POSTPONED
2025-04-19 10:30 - 16:00 (America/Vancouver) | Quadra Hill Nature Reserve, 1000 Melissa Road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N 1P0, Canada
This event has been postponed, and will be rescheduled to the weekend of June 7-8th, to coincide with Make a Difference Week, in support of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Save the Date, we will be in touch soon with more details!
Please join us for our Community Friendly event hosted at the newly acquired property, Quadra Hill. The GCA and partners are excited to showcase the results of the forest restoration work that we completed in 2024. We will be touring examples of mature forest, unrestored plantation forest, and restored plantation forest. We’ll also be offering will be a Tree-Pulling workshop and a workshop on Assembling Nurse Logs, (see Wolftreeforesty.com to learn more). There will be fun activities for children, as well as snacks and hot drinks around the biochar kilns.
There will also be information on the preservation of healthy forests and fuel reduction on your land.

Medicine Walk with Penelakut Elder, Augie Sylvester
2025-05-03 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Vancouver) | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
Important Event Update:
Over the weekend, Augie Sylvester was diagnosed with a respiratory infection, and will unfortunately be unable to lead the medicine walk on May 3. We wish him a full recovery and look forward to organizing a public walk with him in the near future!
In Augie’s place, Richard Jim has stepped forward to co-lead the medicine walk alongside the GCA’s Sustainable Food Systems coordinator Cedana Bourne. Richard is Augie’s nephew and son of the late Karen Charlie, who along with Augie planted the seeds for the Nuts’a’maat Forage Forest a decade ago, and will share traditional plant knowledge and stories carried within his family. Members of Augie’s family will be drumming and sharing stories and his vision for the revitalization of traditional knowledge of healing plants on Penelakut Island and beyond.
We hope you will still plan on joining us for an afternoon in this unique forest garden! If you no longer wish to attend, please let us know so we can offer your spot to another community member. We are committed to continuing to create opportunities for sharing knowledge, medicine, and food in the Nuts’a’maat Forage Forest as part of our new Restoring the Balance program.

As part of our new Restoring the Balance project, we are honoured to invite you to a special Medicine Walk led by Penelakut Elder and cultural knowledge-holder Augie Sylvester. This guided experience offers a rare chance to explore the Nuts’a’maat Forage Forest—the Indigenous plant garden at the Millard Learning Centre—through the lens of traditional plant medicine and long-held Indigenous cultural teachings.
Whether you’re just beginning to explore plant medicine or continuing a long-standing interest, this event offers meaningful insight into the rich relationship between people and plants in Coast Salish territory.
Space is limited to 32 participants, and due to very high interest, we encourage you to reserve your spot early. Tickets are by donation, and proceeds will directly support the continued sharing of traditional medicinal knowledge within the Penelakut Island community.

Reserve your ticket here!

If you’re unable to join this time, not to worry—we plan to offer more Medicine Walks in the near future as part of our commitment to honouring and learning from Indigenous knowledge systems. You can sign up for the waitlist on the ticketing platform to be notified the next time the workshop is offered.
Thanks to the Gencon Foundation and the Ecclesiastical Community Impact Grant for making this special event possible!

Quadra Hill Forest Fest
2025-06-07 10:00 - 16:00 (America/Vancouver) | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
Please join us for a free, family-friendly event to learn about how to make our forests more healthy and resilient to wildfire and climate change. The GCA and partners are excited to showcase the results of the recently completed forest restoration on our new Quadra Hill property. We will offer morning and afternoon guided walking tours of our mature forest, unrestored plantation forest, and restored plantation forest sites. We’ll also be offering an ecological thinning workshop and a workshop on assembled nurse logs. There will be fun activities for children, as well as snacks and hot drinks.
This event is offered as part of our new Restoring the Balance program, and is our contribution to International Make a Difference Week in support of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. GCA staff and our partners will be on hand to provide information and advice for landowners who are interested in discussing forest stewardship activities on their properties. Hands-on volunteer activities will contribute to ecological fuel management in the forest restoration stands.
Parking will be at the Millard Learning Centre (MLC) – 10825 Porlier Pass Road.
Shuttles depart from the MLC for Quadra Hill at 10am & 1pm, and will return periodically throughout the day – Join for one or both sessions!
Please dress appropriately for the weather, with a solid pair of hiking boots. Long sleeves and pants are recommended – gloves and tools for hands-on activities will be provided. Public washrooms are located at the Millard Learning Centre at the parking area, but there are no washroom facilities at Quadra Hill, so please plan accordingly.
We are grateful to the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, the Gencon Foundation, and the Community Impact Grant for supporting this event. Funding for the forest restoration work on Quadra Hill was provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Victoria Foundation.

2025 Annual General Meeting
2025-06-14 13:30 - 16:30 (America/Vancouver) | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday, June 14th starting at 1:30 PM at the Millard Learning Centre (10825 Porlier Pass Road). You are encouraged to attend in person, but can also join remotely via Zoom at this LINK.
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING MEMBERSHIPS & VOTING
The GCA’s AGM is open to the public, but only members in good standing can vote. To be considered a member in good standing, you must have renewed your membership in 2024 (6-month grace period ends June 30th) or in 2025, either by donating an amount greater than $10, or *new for 2025* by volunteering with the GCA for at least one hour and signing up to be a member.
Interested in being more involved? Anyone who has been a member in good standing for at least three months prior to the AGM is eligible to run for election to the GCA Board of Directors. If you wish to know more about the roles and responsibilities of board members and eligibility to stand for election, please email Sheila Anderson, current GCA Board Chair (chair@galianoconservancy.ca) prior to June 14th.
This year’s AGM will feature a special presentation by Dr. Lori Daniels, UBC professor and Koerner Chair for Centre of Wildfire Coexistence, whose work focuses on applied conservation science, ecosystems, and climate change.
Dr. Daniels’ Bio Statement
Dr. Lori Daniels is the inaugural Koerner Chair of the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC-Vancouver. Lori investigates the impacts of natural and human disturbances and climate change on forests. With her research team, she has on-going projects on wildfires, forest dynamics, and social-ecological resilience to climate change across British Columbia. Her enduring partnerships with all levels of government, First Nations, community forests, environmental organizations, and forest managers ensure her scientific advances are translated to active conservation, restoration and management. To share with the public, she has given more than 400 media interviews on wildfires and their impacts on forests and communities. She is among the 150 Canadian Scientists recognized for research shaping new frontiers and making our world a better place (#150Scientists). An award winning professor and researcher, in 2025, she was honoured to receive the King Charles III Coronation Medal for public service to Canada.
Presentation: Coexisting with Wildfire
Wildfire is an essential ecological process and cultural practice, but can be incredibly destructive in the wildland-urban interface, as we experienced across diverse forests of Canada in 2023. Wildfire is driven by climate, weather and fuels that vary among ecosystems and through time. Combined, land-use change, fire exclusion and global warming have made many forests highly susceptible to intense fires that are difficult to control, spread to large sizes and are costly to society. Revolutionizing forest and fire management will improve ecosystem resilience to climate change, but we will not stop future fires from burning. Successful adaptation must also include actions by individuals and communities learning how to coexist with wildfire.
AGM Agenda
(See more detailed agenda here)
1:30PM – AGM Proceedings

Welcome & Acknowledgement of Shared Territory
Call to Order
Approval of Agenda (Link) and 2024 AGM Minutes (Link)
Chair’s Statement
Financial Report (see 2024 financial statements)
Program Updates / Staff Reports
Board Elections

2:45PM – Intermission
3:00PM – FEATURED SPEAKER: Dr. Lori Daniels, Professor of Forest Ecology, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, UBC. Presentation: Coexisting with Wildfire.

Beach Buddies!
2025-06-30 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Vancouver) | British Columbia

Volunteer Thursdays in the Food Forest
2025-07-03 10:00 - 14:00, 2025-07-10 10:00 - 14:00, 2025-07-17 10:00 - 14:00, 2025-07-24 10:00 - 14:00 (Asia/Shanghai) | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
Every Thursday, you have the opportunity to join our Sustainable Food Systems coordinator Cedana Bourne, and our dedicated team of interns and volunteers in the GCA’s Food Forest. These 4-hour sessions will help you learn about all aspects of plant care, in the company of like-minded individuals who care about the environment, collaboration and creating a healthier world. You will get hands-on experience with soil building, composting, watering, harvesting, propagating, potting, etc. within a small nursery setting. Please bring sun protection, water and food, and dress appropriately. We hope you join us!

Volunteer First Friday - Nuts'a'maat Forage Forest
2025-07-04 09:30 - 15:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
Every First Friday of the month, join us in the Nuts’a’maat Forage Forest to help tend to this unique ecocultural restoration garden. Activities include planting, weeding, harvesting, trail maintenance, and ecological monitoring. This is a great opportunity to learn more about traditional edible, medicinal, and fiber plants from our knowledgeable staff while contributing to the growth and development of a native forest garden.
Please get in touch to let us know you’ll be joining us! The morning volunteer session is from 9:30 am to noon; the afternoon session is from 1 pm to 3:30 pm. Feel free to join us for either or both.
This site is easily accessible from the parking area of the classroom facility at the Millard Learning Centre, so it’s a great place to get an introduction to our restoration program.

Beach Buddies!
2025-07-07 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-07-14 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-07-21 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Vancouver) | Montague Harbour Marine Park

UVic Student Presentations
2025-07-12 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Vancouver) | Millard Learning Centre, Galiano Island, 10825 Porlier Pass road, Galiano Island, British Columbia, V0N1P0, Canada
You are cordially invited to join us at the Millard Learning Centre classroom on Saturday July 12, 2025, 4:00pm-5:30pm, for a public talk by UVic Environmental Studies and Restoration of Natural Systems students.The students will be presenting the projects they worked on during their intensive field course held at the Millard Learning Centre in 2025.These students have worked hard to develop projects which answer important ecological and environmental questions of direct value to the Galiano community.We hope to see many of you!This is a FREE event and refreshments will be served.
