JANUARY 2025

NEWSLETTER

A bright start to the New Year!

Thanks to your incredible support, our year-end fundraising campaign exceeded our goal! Your generosity is already making an impact, and we’re excited to share what’s ahead. We ended 2024 with the Feed the People workshop and kicked off the year with the New Year’s Day Walk, both of which brought our community closer to nature and to each other.

This month, we’re thrilled to announce the Restoring the Balance project, a new partnership with local Indigenous rights holders that will combine traditional knowledge with conservation efforts to create a more inclusive, sustainable future. More about this below...

Upper image: Rosemary Georgeson (knowledge holder) and Lennox Smith (youth knowledge holder in-training) at the 2024 Feed the People workshop, by Adam Huggins

Lower image: New Year's day walkers at Talking Trees Nature Reserve, by Gertrude Weinert

Please note that we recently changed our email marketing platform to Constant Contact and some errors might have occurred in our contact lists during the data migration. If you received this email in error, please accept our sincere apologies and use the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of this newsletter to remove yourself from our mailing list. Thank you for being an important part of our conservation journey!

YEAR-END FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

WE DID IT!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Photo of the Laughlin Lake Nature Reserve



We are thrilled to share some amazing news today: thanks to your generous support, we exceeded our year-end fundraising goal for 2024, reaching $51,460 in donations, and a record 68 Annual Giving Circle members! Your contributions, dedication to conservation and ongoing support played an essential role in helping us achieve this milestone, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Your generosity helps us continue our mission to preserve and restore biodiverse ecosystems on and around Galiano Island, while fostering a deeper connection between people and nature. Every donation (no matter how small) supports a thriving, sustainable future for this special place we all love.

We’re so lucky to have a community of dedicated supporters who believe in the work we do. Thanks to you, we can continue to:

• Restore and care for ecologically sensitive areas on and around Galiano Island.
• Provide immersive outdoor learning experiences that inspire students of all ages.
• Share sustainable living and agricultural practices with our community.
• Protect and enhance local biodiversity.

From all of us at the Galiano Conservancy, thank you for being such an important part of this journey. Your generosity inspires us every day, and we’re excited to continue this work with you in the year ahead. Please note that your charitable tax receipt will be sent to you in the next few weeks.

Together, we’re making a difference for conservation on the BC coast, and we can’t wait to share more success stories with you!

SHARING TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES

5th ANNUAL FEED THE PEOPLE WORKSHOP

Rosemary Georgeson removes freshly canned smuyuth (venison) from a pressure cooker, by Adam Huggins

The 2024 Feed the People workshop (FTP), held November 30 to December 1, was a powerful weekend of education, reconciliation, and relationship building, continuing the legacy of beloved Penelakut Elder Karen Charlie. This special gathering brought together three generations of Karen’s family, knowledge holders, teachers, researchers, and community members to honor her vision and celebrate the importance of traditional food systems.

Over two days, participants processed venison harvested on Galiano Island, producing 75 jars of food for Penelakut Island families in need.

Read more about this event by clicking the button below.

2025 NEW YEAR'S DAY WALK

THANKS FOR JOINING US!

New Year's day walkers at Talking Trees Nature Reserve, by Gertrude Weinert

What a way to start the year!

On New Year’s Day, the newly-protected Talking Trees Nature Reserve came alive with laughter, wagging tails, and the joyful sounds of hikers of all ages tromping along a new in-progress trail. Over 60+ walkers, furry friends, and enthusiastic little adventurers reminded us of the vibrant community spirit that fuels the Galiano Conservancy’s mission.

We would like to acknowledge and thank those of you who joined us for this special day. Seeing so many bundled up and braving the elements speaks volumes about our collective dedication to nature and conservation. It’s moments like these that reflect the health and vitality of this organization.

From all of us—staff, board and committee members—thank you for showing up, sharing your energy, and kicking off 2025 with so much heart. We can’t wait to share more exciting updates with you in the coming months, and we hope to see you on the trails again soon (or maybe at one of our next events—stay tuned!).

Here’s to a year full of connection, conservation, and community spirit!

BUILDING LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS & ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE

RESTORING THE BALANCE PROJECT

Consequences of industrial forestry and deer overpopulation in a typical Gulf Island forest, by Luthien Teel

We are excited to announce a new, ambitious collaborative project that we are calling “Restoring the Balance”, (RTB), consisting of three focus areas: Stewardship of Forests, Stewardship of Deer, and Stewardship of the Understory. The goal of this project is to improve the health and resilience of Galiano’s forest ecosystems through community-led stewardship activities and training opportunities with local Indigenous rights holders.  

Stewardship of Forests focuses on addressing the damage caused by decades of destructive logging practices on Galiano Island. The legacy of industrial forestry has resulted in the establishment of dense second-growth forests across much of Galiano that receive little to no management and have high fuel loads. These forests create a heightened risk of wildfire for our community, and are unable to support a diversified local forest economy.

Stewardship of Deer focuses on returning balance to the island deer population. Deer are hyperabundant on Galiano due to lack of predators and limited hunting pressure, resulting in negative impacts to the structure, function, and diversity of island ecosystems – as well as posing safety and disease concerns. RTB intends to work with hunters and willing private landowners to create safe hunting corridors on Galiano Island for Indigenous-led hunting. These activities will provide high-quality traditional food to Indigenous families and elders, while also creating mentorship opportunities for youth interested in learning safe hunting practices.

Stewardship of the understory focuses on the revitalization of biodiversity on the forest floor. The goal is to facilitate projects and programs that bring Indigenous Families and Knowledge Holders together to share traditional foods, medicines, and material practices. Activities will include establishing native food and medicine gardens, offering workshops, and hosting community events.  

The Galiano Conservancy Association (GCA) is committed to meaningful reconciliation, and this project has grown out of a series of shared initiatives between the GCA and several Indigenous families over the past decade. We believe that coordinated action and investments in capacity building – led by Indigenous People and supported by the GCA’s land base and organizational infrastructure – provides a viable path forward to achieve the Restoring the Balance vision.

We are so excited to roll out this project, working together to improve the health, productivity, and resilience of Galiano’s forest ecosystems. 

Consequences of industrial forestry and deer overpopulation in a typical Gulf Island forest, by Luthien Teel

NATURE-BASED LEARNING WITH LOCAL YOUTH

THE RETURN OF THE SALMON

Photo: 100 Salmon eggs that will be released by GCS students into Greig Creek, by Sarah Fleming



The Galiano Community School (GCS) welcomed 100 newcomers last week – 100 salmon eggs, that is! Thanks to the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the Galiano Conservancy is able to facilitate the “Salmon in the Classroom” program. We have received 100 Chum salmon eggs from the Goldstream Hatchery, which are currently in the 'eyed egg' stage, meaning the salmon’s eyes have begun to develop.

In the coming weeks, GCS students will closely observe the eggs as they develop, eagerly awaiting the time they begin hatching as alevins. As they continue to grow, the alevins will enter the fry stage, at which point the students will take on the responsibility of feeding them.

Once the fry are strong enough, they will be released into Greig Creek, where they will continue their journey to Retreat Cove and beyond! It’s an exciting opportunity for our local youth to learn about the life cycle of salmon and the importance of healthy stream ecosystems!

Coast Salish Peoples have lived on and cared for the land now known as Galiano Island for millennia. We acknowledge that we live and work within 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.

See What We're Up To: