Through strong support from the Galiano community, our members, and regional partners, we have acquired the following properties.
The Galiano Conservancy Association stewards land to protect habitat for wildlife, maintain ecosystems that are characteristic of the Southern Gulf Islands, facilitate eco-cultural restoration and education, and provide access to nature for the Galiano community.
Land trusts are non-profit, charitable societies dedicated to conservation and protection of natural heritage in a defined geographical area. As a land trust, the Galiano Conservancy has sought opportunities to purchase property to protect ecosystems that are critical to the health and survival of animals, plants, and humans – as well as areas of cultural or historical significance. These acquisitions involve direct purchase as well as long term management, for which we strongly value the ongoing support of the Galiano community.
Galiano Island is the unceded, asserted, and shared territory of Hul’qumi’num-speaking Coast Salish peoples. Indigenous families and First Nations remain actively engaged in caring for the lands and waters that comprise Galiano Island. The Galiano Conservancy is committed to strengthening its relationships with Indigenous peoples and forming partnerships to support reconciliation, restoration, and land return.
The Galiano Conservancy maintains nearly 14 km of public hiking trails across the Mid-Island Protected Areas Network (MIPAN), a network of conservation lands spanning central Galiano Island. Ambitious hikers can walk from coastal bluffs overlooking the Trincomali Channel all the way across the island to Pebble Beach, over to Laughlin Lake and Retreat Cove on an uninterrupted network of trails. MIPAN maintains critical ecological (and recreational) connectivity at the heart of Galiano Island.
A complete guide to the trails of MIPAN can be found in our visitors guide, which can be picked up at the Millard Learning Centre trailhead.
The Galiano Conservancy currently holds conservation covenants on over 200 hectares of land. Landowners may decide to enter into covenants in order to offer permanent protection for the ecological, agricultural, scenic, historic or recreational qualities of their land from the possibility of inappropriate future development. The Galiano Conservancy holds many conservation covenants with private landowners, and we have in turn placed conservation covenants on our properties in partnership with the Islands Trust Fund, Habitat Acquisition Trust and the Nature Conservancy of Canada. We abide by the standard set by the Canadian Land Trust Alliance for land trusts entering into Conservation Agreements.
Are you interested in discussing placing a conservation covenant on your property, or a portion of it?
Need some advice on how to care for your land? Learn more about the ecological values of your property and how to conserve and restore them.
Check out our latest posts on what’s happening with land stewardship on Galiano Island and beyond.
Saving Rare Habitats on Galiano Island – Two Major Wins for Nature Conservation January…
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A group of students from the Collège Sainte-Anne – secondaire Lachine recently visited Galiano…
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Adam Huggins, Restoration Coordinator with the Galiano Conservancy Association (GCA), explains the ways topography,…
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