Giving back to the communities that we love, live in and rely on.
At Jamie’s Whaling Station we are surrounded by passionate individuals who spend their lives learning and educating people from around the world about the beautiful intricacies of our local wildlife and environment. We pride ourselves on providing necessary support, through funding and volunteering, to help our local ecosystems thrive for future generations. It is with this mindset that we began collecting the Research, Rescue & Education fee in 1997.
Research, Rescue & Education Fee
Currently, we collect $3 from guests of our Whale Watching, Bear Watching and Hot Springs Cove tours, which we then donate to local, non-profit wildlife research, rescue, and educational organizations. In doing this, we are able to provide crucial funding to programs that help improve our understanding of wildlife and the local environment along with protecting it. To date, we have dedicated over $1,000,000 to these local organizations and societies.
We would like to thank all of our guests – past, present and future. Without your support, we would not be able to provide the funding necessary to support many local initiatives and research projects. We appreciate your donations, as do the recipients receiving funding.
A few of the incredible organizations we support:
Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society is a registered charity based in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Since 1991 they have been dedicated to conducting long-term research and monitoring, providing emergency marine mammal response, and educating the public about marine ecosystems in Tofino, Ucluelet and beyond.
Through their research, education, and outreach initiatives, they strive to deepen our understanding of the ocean. This is to better protect it and inspire people to become stewards of the marine environment within our own backyards
For over 30 years, the Surfrider Foundation has been protecting coastlines throughout the United States and more recently – British Columbia. Here in Tofino & Ucluelet, we have our own chapter Surfrider Foundation – Pacific Rim. Since its inception, this chapter of Surfrider has been working fast and hard to make drastic policy changes to help protect the natural environment around us in Clayoquot and Barkley Sound. Through a dedicated group of employees and a strong network of volunteers Surfrider Foundation – Pacific Rim has helped to make monumental changes on our coastline through programs including:
-Love Your Beach Clean | Every month Surfrider host a cleanup at one of our local beaches combined with other remote coastline cleanups throughout the year
-Rise Above Plastics | Surfrider has helped guide local governments to make policy changes to reduce single-use plastic waste which saw Tofino & Ucluelet become the first communities in British Columbia to ban single-use plastic bags. They are also working hard to have takeaway styrofoam containers and plastic cutlery banned as well.
The Raincoast Education Society (RES) was established in 2000 with a mission to help shape an environmentally sustainable future for the Clayoquot and Barkley Sound region through education and community stewardship. Their aim is to enable citizens within and beyond the Clayoquot and Barkley Sound region to participate knowledgeably, effectively and responsibly in the work of shaping this future for our region and for our planet.
They believe that adventure and discovery are at the heart of a well-rounded education. By providing our local public schools with unique, field school programs that meet BC curricular learning outcomes and that feature traditional Aboriginal knowledge, they have created educational opportunities that are quite unique in British Columbia. While some private schools are extending their classrooms into the outside world, few public schools have the resources to do so.
The Ucluelet Aquarium is a non-profit society where you will get an up-close and personal encounter with a diversity of local marine life. The touch tanks provide an interactive and fun, hands-on, learning environment for children and adults. The displays are full of beautiful, interesting creatures and are always changing.
Its mission is to raise awareness about local marine biodiversity and promote respect for the ocean environment. They greet visitors from all over the world treating them to a very personal view of the fish and invertebrates from our local waters in Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds.
The Pacific Wildlife Foundation has been operating for over 30 years with the mission to inspire the conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems through scientific inquiry and education.
The Pacific Wildlife Foundation’s objectives are to conduct original scientific research on the biology of coastal and marine ecosystems; present information that will inspire conservation and appreciation of coastal and marine ecosystems; and provide opportunities for others to experience coastal and marine ecosystems where conclusions are drawn from the data rather than opinion.
WildSafeBC is the provincial leader in preventing conflict with wildlife through collaboration, education and community solutions. WildSafeBC evolved out of the highly successful Bear Aware program and is managed and delivered by the British Columbia Conservation Foundation.
The WildSafeBC Pacific Rim program has been operating on the West Coast of Vancouver Island since 2014 and helps communities living in the Clayoquot and Barkley Sound region. They are dedicated to working with businesses, local government, municipalities and community members to find ways to better coexist with the incredible wildlife we are so lucky to share the landscape with.
Clayoquot Action is a Tofino-based conservation society committed to protecting the biocultural diversity of Clayoquot Sound. Their goals are accomplished through public education, citizen research and monitoring, and advocacy. Clayoquot Action stands for democratic rights, Indigenous Rights and the Rights of Mother Earth.
The Clayoquot Action vision is simple: to keep Clayoquot Sound clean and green for future generations, to preserve the diversity and integrity of the ecosystems, and to maintain and develop community and cultural richness.
Since 1982, we have been visiting whales and wildlife from our office and marina in Načiks (Tofino), which is in the unceded Traditional Territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations. Through respect and a commitment to support the Tla-o-qui-aht Guardians in their efforts to protect, maintain, and restore the ecosystem in their ancestral lands, Jamie’s and many other local businesses have become certified as a Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Park Allies. By contributing a portion of your ticket, you are helping to improve and maintain the health, beauty, and diversity throughout Clayoquot Sound.
Jamie’s also recognizes that we visit the traditional Ha-ha-hoothee (territories) of other members of Nuu-chah-nulth (representing 14 nations along the west coast of Vancouver Island), including Ahousaht, Yuu-cluth-aht, Hesquiaht, Toquaht, Tse-shaht, Uchucklesaht, and Huu-ay-aht.
It is important to our team that our passengers are aware of and understand the history of guardianship and the importance of ecological diversity in our region. When you join us on tour, you can count on learning a small part of the history (traditional stories date back 10,000+ years), and the incredible culture of the Nuu-chah-nulth in Tofino and Ucluelet.