Sustain The Southern Gulf Islands

Quiz 1: Sustainable & Regenerative Travel

Sustainability

​​The Southern Gulf Islands are a haven of serene lands, cool waters with abundant life, and creative communities. They are also a great reminder that we must do our part to minimize our impact on these beautiful lands and waters. Luckily, the environmentally-conscious communities make it easy for you to make regenerative choices on your next trip. The Southern Gulf Islands Tourism website has a bunch of excellent tips – here are a few of them to get you thinking critically about how you can make a difference on your next trip.

Rather than flying to these islands, we highly recommend travelling to the Southern Gulf Islands by ferry, public transportation, or bicycle. BC Ferries services all of the Southern Gulf Islands and tickets are extremely more affordable than a plane ride, even if you’re bringing your car. Remember, Salt Spring Island has its own public transportation system and all of the islands are bicycle-friendly (you could even adopt the Salt Spring tradition of grabbing a ride from a friendly local)! If you do choose to fly, take the time to research companies that work to offset their emissions, such as Harbour Air. For 17 years, Harbour Air purchased high-quality carbon offsets to offset their emissions. This year, Harbour Air switched to investing that money into fast-tracking the development of its e-plane program. The company made history in 2019 when it flew its first fully electric aircraft out of Richmond, BC. Harbour Air services Salt Spring Island via Victoria, Vancouver and Richmond.

When you come to the islands, embrace island time. We encourage visitors to slow down and enjoy one place for a longer time, rather than rushing around and trying to fit every Gulf Island into one trip. This not only creates a deeper connection with the place (imagine joining a workshop or attending a community event) but it also cuts down on your overall carbon emissions.

Where you spend your money has a big impact on the environment. Choose to spend your hard-earned cash at sustainable businesses. This could look like buying fruits and vegetables at the local farmers market, eating at local farm-to-table restaurants, or avoiding packaged food that has to be transported and shipped to the islands, contributing to increased emissions.

Regenerative Travel

Regenerative travel is a new approach to tourism that goes beyond sustainable or responsible travel. While sustainable travel aims to minimize the negative impacts of tourism on the environment and local communities, regenerative travel takes it a step further by actively contributing to the restoration and well-being of those environments and communities. The idea is to leave a destination in a better condition than before you visited.

The key principles of regenerative travel include:

Restoration and Conservation:

• Actively engaging in activities that contribute to the restoration and conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats. This could involve participating in habitat restoration projects, behaving appropriately to avoid negative interactions with local wildlife, and practicing leave no trace principles.

Community Empowerment:

• Prioritizing the well-being and empowerment of local communities. This includes supporting local businesses, respecting local cultures, and actively participating in community development projects that enhance social and economic conditions.

Cultural Preservation:

• Respecting and preserving the cultural and indigenous heritage of the destination. Travelers are encouraged to learn about local first nations, traditions, language, culture and history, while avoiding activities that may negatively impact cultural integrity.

Sustainable Practices:

• Adopting and promoting sustainable practices in transportation, accommodation, and other travel-related activities. This includes choosing eco-friendly transportation options, staying in accommodations with environmentally friendly initiatives, and minimizing waste generation.

Educational Experiences:

• Engaging in educational and immersive experiences that promote a deeper understanding of the destination’s natural and cultural aspects. This could involve guided tours, workshops, or activities that educate travelers about the importance of conservation and responsible tourism, such as this quiz ;).

Carbon Offsetting and Positive Contributions:

• Actively seeking ways to offset the carbon footprint associated with travel by investing in carbon offset programs. Additionally, regenerative travelers may look for opportunities to make positive contributions to the local environment, such as participating in community-led restoration or supporting sustainable agriculture projects.

Collaboration with Local Initiatives:

• Collaborating with local organizations and initiatives that support regenerative practices. This could involve volunteering time or resources to support projects that align with regenerative travel principles.

Mindful Consumption:

• Being mindful of the resources consumed during travel, such as water and energy, and making efforts to minimize waste. Choosing products and services that prioritize sustainability and environmental responsibility is also part of regenerative travel.

Regenerative travel aims to create a positive impact on both the traveler and the destination, fostering a sense of responsibility, connection, and contribution to the well-being of the places visited. It represents a holistic approach to tourism that seeks to regenerate ecosystems, empower communities, and enhance overall sustainability.

Why is educating yourself about the community you are visiting important?

Educating yourself about the destination in regenerative travel is crucial. It fosters cultural respect, minimizes negative impact, supports local economies, and enables participation in community initiatives. Informed travelers make responsible choices, reduce environmental impact, and enhance the quality of experiences. Cross-cultural understanding is promoted, encouraging sustainable practices and empowering local communities. Overall, destination knowledge is a key element in creating a positive and regenerative impact on both travelers and the places they visit.

Sustain The Southern Gulf Islands

Quiz 2: Responsible Recreation

Responsible Recreation

The ability to travel – to witness, experience and learn from places unfamiliar to us and the people who live there is something that humans have sought out since the dawn of time. Today, living in such a globally connected world means travel has a major impact on our environment. We must commit to regenerative and responsible recreation guidelines in order to protect these lands that we so often seek out.

Visiting the Southern Gulf Islands means being surrounded by the Salish Sea, the beautiful marine ecosystem dotted with islands in sweeping landscapes of blue, gray and green. There are endless choices to enjoy the coastal paradise – whether it’s beachcombing, camping, kayaking, fishing. No matter how you choose to spend your time on the islands, it’s important to be conscious of how our tourism affects the environment. Southern Gulf Islands Tourism outlines some simple, effective guidelines in Six Ways to Steward the Salish Sea. We’ve included the bullet points for you below.

Be a Friend to Marine Animals: Observe quietly and at a respectful distance. If you’re boating, remember the Interim Sanctuary Zones, fishing-closures, and slowdown areas. For beachcombers and others, be careful when you’re stepping while looking around the tide pools in intertidal zones. There’s lots of 

Know the Conservation Zones: Make sure you’re aware of the Rockfish Conservation Areas on all five Southern Gulf Islands. It can be confusing when you’re out there on the water, so use the free MyCatch mobile app to make sure you’re not in the wrong spot.

Anchor With Care: Eelgrass beds around the Gulf Islands are taking a hit from the increased pressure of tourism. Eelgrass beds are the foundation of a healthy ecosystem, so when they’re not healthy, the salmon, herring and entire ecosystem are at risk. Learn how to identify eelgrass so you can avoid those areas when anchoring and adventuring.

Report Invasive Crabs: The European Green Crab is invasive and a threat to eelgrass beds. Learn how to identify them and report any sightings to the Canadian government.

Pack it out: You know the drill, pack-it-in, pack-it-out! But when it comes to diligently protecting our wonderful marine ecosystem, this guideline extends to taking the time to help clean the shorelines of plastic and other debris.

Find the pump stations: If you need to dump raw sewage or grey water, please go to Pender Island or Salt Spring Island and use the proper facilities. Improperly dumping is extremely damaging to sensitive areas, plus it’s illegal if you do it within three nautical miles of shore.

Sustain The Southern Gulf Islands

Quiz 3: First Nations

A short introduction to the Hul’qumi’num and WSÁNEĆ Peoples. Closely connected to each other through shared land, resources, culture, languages, and history, the Hul’qumi’num and WSÁNEĆ First Nations have been living in harmony with these lands since creation, despite horrific attempts of erasure from the colonial government and church. If you’re unfamiliar with this dark section of Canada’s past, there are a ton of great Indigenous-created resources out there – including podcasts, documentaries, and books.

The Southern Gulf Islands are located in the serene waters of the Salish Sea, between the southeastern coast of Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia. To the south, lay the Olympic Mountain Range in Washington State. The five islands, Salt Spring, Galiano, Saturna, Mayne and Pender, create what seems like an impenetrable wall off the coast of Vancouver Island, with cool, protected waters rich with abundant life surrounding them.

The Southern Gulf Islands are part of the larger traditional territories of the Hul’qumi’num (notably, Salt Spring Island and Penelakut Island) and WSÁNEĆ Peoples, which also covers much of Southern Vancouver Island.

Oral histories from both the Hul’qumi’num and WSÁNEĆ First Nations tie their people to these lands and their neighbouring Coast Salish communities through time immemorial. They are descendents of the people in those creation stories. You can read the Hul’qumi’num story about the creator Xeel here, and The Legend of LAWELNEW on the WSÁNEĆ Leadership Council’s website.

While visiting the Southern Gulf Islands, it is important to educate yourself on the history of colonization in the area and to respect culturally significant areas. With some quick research, you’ll discover many ways you can support Indigenous-owned or businesses and initiatives in the area. Remember to look at local community centres, event boards, or museums to see if there are any Indigenous-focused events while you’re in the area!

Prior to colonial laws that restricted the use of their traditional lands, it was common for local First Nations to have both summer and winter villages, between which they would move the entire village every year. These villages were on both Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands, strategically located based on which resources were available in each season.

Indigenous communities thrived off of the abundant natural resources in the area, maintaining a sustainable relationship with the ecosystems around them. Their system of close-knit families and communities created complex inter-village relationships, with each family and community having access to certain resources and land. Frequent trading between the communities kept the inter-village relationships strong.

Hul’q’umi’num is the shared language of the Hul’qumi’num First Nations, while the WSÁNEĆ Nations are SENĆOTEN-speaking peoples.

The traditional Hul’q’umi’num’ name for Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park (located on Salt Spring Island) is Xwaaqw’um, or female merganser duck place, specifically the red-breasted merganser which congregates there year-round. This place name signifies the highly valued food source available at this location, a good example of how Hul’q’umi’num’ place names reflect the importance or use of a site. Xwaaqw’um has always been an important source of food and medicine, as well as culturally significant for ceremonial purposes.

TheStqeeye’ Learning Society is an Indigenous-led non-profit organization based on Salt Spring Island, BC in the traditional territory of the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) Peoples. They work to restore and preserve the lands and waters within Xwaaqw’um (Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park). In the mi tse’ t’akw’ project (‘Coming Home’ which involves re-introducing native plants and Indigenous food systems), the Stqeeye’ Learning Society acquired a 10-acre property in Xwaaqw’um, allowing them to expand on their other projects, such as Youth on the Land (which reconnects youth with the land), and their wetlands restoration work.