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Along a shaded north-facing slope on Pender Island, big-leaf maple seedlings and saplings emerge from the understorey and recruit into the canopy in gaps formed by fallen trees; the beginning of old-growth forest structure is re-emerging from this heavily harvested landscape of the past century. The land slopes steeply up toward a dry ridge of arbutus and Garry oak. Along the way, a perched wetland collects water and sprouts skunk cabbage from its saturated soils. This precio

Imagine a place where sun-drenched Garry Oak meadows border moist, shady seeps, all perched above steep rocky cliffs overlooking the Salish Sea. Imagine a cool, mossy forest where ghost pipe emerges from the carpet of green and oceanspray, red huckleberry, salal and Oregon grape fill the forest floor. Where over 60 species of plants, birds and mammals find a home, providing shelter, food and space to grow and roam. Now imagine knowing that this place has been protected foreve

Great news! In November, a generous donor offered to match all donations made until the end of the year. The community response was amazing, and we are thrilled to announce that we reached our goal! These funds will help support our land protection, restoration, education and research programs in 2024. A heartfelt thanks to all who donated! Shoreline protected by a conservation covenant on North Pender Island Ecological education and outreach at the Saturday Farmer's Market E

The Pender Islands Conservancy (lead by Lisa Baile), with permission from Transition Salt Spring, has revised their brochure entitled “How do Healthy Forests Reduce the Risk of Wildfires?”, to make it specifically applicable for Pender Island. This visually striking and informative brochure provides information about the pathways through which healthy forest cover helps to protect soils, groundwater, and surface water, stores and absorbs carbon, buffers against drought and fl

Crystal and Sarah were thrown right into the Broom Bash! Pictured here with amazing volunteer, Carlo Kuhlenschmidt and our biologist, Dr. Erin O'Brien. Conservation Interpreter- Crystal Graham Hi Everyone! My name is Crystal and I'm the new summer student working in Outreach and Education with Sue at the Conservancy. During the school year I am working to complete a Bachelors of Science in Marine Biology and minor in Indigenous Studies at the University of Victoria. Originall

Together, the Pender Islands Conservancy, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and our conservation community have permanently protected KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest. Image by Les Peterson In just over 12 months, the Pender Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation have raised $2.18 million to purchase and permanently protect the 45 acre KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest on S,DÁYES (Pender Island). The closing of this campaign comes just over a year after our collective effort t

Image by Alex Harris It has been less than a year since we launched our campaign to permanently protect KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest and together we have already raised over $2 million. As we enter the final days of our fundraising campaign, we have been reflecting on all that has happened over the last year. We are overwhelmed by the incredible support of our conservation community, from Pender Island to Halifax, from British Columbia to Switzerland, and beyond! On the ground,

By Shauna Doll and Dr. Erin O’Brien Without protection, this forest will become a residential suburb. Image by Alex Harris When the Pender Islands Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation made the decision to purchase what is now known as KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest, we had to act fast. Since the 1950’s when it was last logged, the land had mostly been left alone. However, in late 2021 rumblings began rippling through the Pender Island community: plans to transform t

Photo by Pam Wright Antje Anne and Barb, two longtime Pender residents, are encouraging old and new Pender Islanders to donate to the matching campaign to protect Kingfisher Forest. They’ve participated in previous conservation purchases like Brooks Point and S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest and have jumped in once again. When asked why, Antje Anne said “It’s part of the island’s culture to want to keep these big areas for the future”. “We enjoy these beautiful and important places

By Shauna Doll, Gulf Islands Forest Project Coordinator, Raincoast Conservation Trees to Seas EcoFair provided opportunities for education and building community connections and in the process raised $15,000 toward the protection of KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest. Hannah Stoakes at the Meadow Making Workshop Photo by Kelly Irving After a record-breaking 100-day drought in the Salish Sea region, the morning of October 22nd dawned to the welcome sound of a light rain, the perfect b

Shauna Doll-Raincoast Conservation Foundation EcoFair is just 2 weeks away and an incredible community of artists are showing their support! In the long tradition of arts supporting science, an amazing creative community has come together to support Raincoast and Pender Island Conservancy in our collaborative effort to permanently protect KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest on S,DÁYES (Pender Islands). Since first announcing our campaign, artists like Morgan Warren, Owl and Bear Studi

Last year, the Pender Island Conservancy and Raincoast purchased a 13-acre property on S,DÁYES or Pender Island. Now, we are seeking public input to inform the management and restoration plan for this property as a first step in developing the stewardship ethos that will govern this forest for generations. This beautiful place is unique in that it supports several ecologically important features in a relatively small area. The wetland is an oasis for Pacific chorus frogs and

Be Ursula for a day! She was passionate about this island and unafraid to share her thoughts on it. She was Pender's Broom Bash queen. In honour of her passion and perseverance in removing this highly invasive plant, the Pender Island Conservancy presents the 3rd annual Ursula Poepel Broom Bash from May 15-28. We will kick off the Bash together with Raincoast Conservation Foundation, on Sunday, May 15, from 10 am- 3pm. We will be removing broom at KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest

Welcome to Pender Hannah and Cassidy! We are so excited to have these 2 amazing people joining the Conservancy this summer! You will see them out and about on the island! Please say hi and introduce yourselves! Hannah Stoakes Hello everyone! My name is Hannah and I recently moved to the island to work for the Pender Islands Conservancy as their ecological technician. I recently graduated from a fish and wildlife program at BCIT and am excited to start a career in conservation

Many thanks to the folks who scoured the beaches, shores, parks and roadsides of North and South Pender removing plastics, garbage and other debris, preventing two large bin loads from potentially getting into the Salish Sea. Thanks also to those who helped people collect their debris and get it into the bins at the drop-off site, and to those who baked treats, signed people in, directed traffic, played music, and took care of the many other tasks required for this event, esp

Earth Day is a day to celebrate the wonders of our planet Earth and all the wild and wonderful life it supports. It is also a day to recognize how human activities are affecting the living things we share the planet with, and a day of worldwide action. An important action that we can take is to protect marine life and ecosystems by removing the litter and debris found along the roads, pathways, and shorelines of Pender. Please join us for the 34th Annual Earth Day Clean up.

Less than 3 weeks into our campaign, we have reached our first fundraising checkpoint goal! On December 22, 2021, the Pender Conservancy...

The Pender Islands Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation are thrilled to announce that our purchase of the S,DAYES Flycatcher Forest is complete and Pender has a beautiful new nature Sanctuary. Heartfelt thanks to our many donors from Pender Island and all across the country who made this a dream come true. We will be busy over the next few months doing restoration work and developing our management plan. Until these are complete we are asking that the public no

S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest will be permanently protected to become the old-growth habitat of the future. Photo: Alex Harris | Raincoast Conservation Foundation Thursday, February 18, 2021 We are excited to announce that together with Raincoast Conservation Foundation, we have raised the funds required to purchase and permanently protect S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest on North Pender Island! It was just in November that we officially submitted an offer to purchase this 13 acre prope

The forage fish project is back up and running once again after a two year hiatus, under the guidance of Haley Tomlin and her colleagues at the University of Vancouver Island. Forage fish are various species of small schooling fish that consume plankton and tiny animals floating near the surface, and in turn become food for everything higher in the food chain. Thus, they are vital to our marine ecosystems, providing a crucial source of food for other marine creatures, and wit