Vancouver Island home to amazing plant and wildlife

Vancouver Island offers everything from salmon tours and old growth forests to seaweed discovery adventures.

Stretching across the island are numerous places to get in touch with the incredible plant, marine and wildlife in the region. From huge old growth cedar forests to whale watching and grizzly bear tours, there is never a lack of things to explore.

Quatse Hatchery

One thing visitors to this area should not miss is the Quatse Hatchery in Port Hardy. The Quatse Hatchery is owned and operated by the Northern Vancouver Island Salmonid Enhancement Association (NVISEA), a non-profit society, and has been dedicated to salmon enhancement since 1983. The Quatse River Hatchery is located five minutes from Port Hardy in the Regional District of Mount Waddington's Quatse River Regional Park.

The Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre which just received a large amount of funding holds the interpretive gallery. There is a fun-filled habitat display complete with woody debris and many of the salmon's prey and predators, and information on challenges to salmon survival in freshwater and ocean environments.

Regular workshops and courses on stream stewardship, habitat enhancement and fish culture are held in the classroom, and tours of the hatchery will open your eyes to a world of salmon that few people get the chance to see.
There are also children's programs, special tours and community events. People can learn about the life cycle of the salmon and what you can do to help salmon survive some of the many challenges they face throughout their lives.

Ken Fuller is the NVISEA manager of the hatchery.

"Lots of people are quite awed by our facilities here," said Fuller. "The best time to come see the adult salmon is mid-August through September but we do have juvenile fish on site at all times for our tours. There are also good opportunities nearby for black bear viewing as well."

Another bonus is the hatchery is located right next to the campground which is nestled in a large stand of old-growth forest. The Quatse River Regional Park and Campground provides a green, secluded riverside hideaway that's moments away from  visitor attractions in Port Hardy. BC Ferries Inside Passage Bear Cove Terminal is only a five-minute drive away. The forested layout of the park provides privacy, as you only see a few of your neighbours spread through the large evergreens.

There are 62 campsites at Quatse River Regional Park and Campground, 41 with water and electrical hook-ups for RVs and 21 tent camping sites. Some campsites are riverfront, others are a short stroll away, but all are conveniently close to firewood, washrooms and a resident manager.

For more information, visit www.thesalmoncentre.org.

Seaflora

Another exciting adventure visitors to Vancouver Island can discover is seaweed tours in Sooke, BC. Seaflora offers a unique experience of being able to intimately interact with the intertidal seaweeds.

You can visit Seaflora between May and September for the unique opportunity to learn about the mysterious life of seaweeds. One of their tours takes you into low-tide and educates you on the various species that grow wild off the coast of southern Vancouver Island. It's a two-hour hands-on intertidal workshop and you'll learn all about the cultural uses, nutritional benefits and different methods of preparing seaweed.

For more information, visit www.sea-flora.com.