Redd Fish Restoration Stewardship Centre will engage visitors, bolster ecological restoration, celebrate nuučaanuł culture, and support development of Vancouver Island’s blue economy.
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ territory, Ucluelet, November 14, 2024 – Redd Fish Restoration Society is investing in a major expansion with their new stewardship centre to promote ecological restoration, environmental education, and cultural heritage. This project is moving forward through collaboration with the five nuučaanuł Nations located in Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds. Redd Fish Restoration Society leads the project, with a new project investment with Island Coastal Economic Trust.
Based in Ucluelet, Redd Fish is launching a new interactive tourism experience along with a social enterprise business that are poised to benefit from the growing demand for eco-tourism experiences across the west coast of Vancouver Island. ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ (Tla-o-qui-aht) First Nations, tukʷaaʔatḥ (Toquaht) Nation Government, Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government, the District of Tofino, and the District of Ucluelet have all expressed support for this project and the Society, which has an Indigenous-led board of directors and has operated on the west coast for decades.
Redd Fish Restoration Stewardship Centre will educate and engage visitors through interactive activities and informative displays showcasing the relationship between human activity and natural ecosystems. The project includes:
- Interactive Exhibits: Engage with ecological restoration activities such as restoring salmon habitat, wading through a simulated river, and climbing an ancient western red cedar.
- Multimedia Displays: Explore unique ecosystems of the region.
- Interpretive Materials: Discover a range of topics, including the life cycles of local salmon populations, hydrological cycles, and the interconnectedness of the coastal temperate rainforest ecosystem.
- Indigenous Stewardship Exhibits: In collaboration with the nuučaanuł Nations, learn about the long-term stewardship of this land from a nuučaanuł lens.
Revenues raised through entry fees, retail store and coffee bar sales, and space rentals will create sustainable funding for the Society to reinvest in new coastal habitat restoration and employment-generating projects.
Over the past 27 years, Redd Fish has collaborated with five nuučaanuł First Nations to employ both scientific methods and traditional Indigenous knowledge to address environmental challenges effectively. Through the new Centre, the organization aims to build on these relationships, while further integrating into the community to support local ecological, cultural, and economic development. Their goal is to enhance local stewardship efforts and contribute to broader conservation goals.
The project, which will be underway in Fall 2024, targets a June 30, 2026, completion date. Follow their progress and learn about their ongoing conservation work on Redd Fish Restoration Society’s website. To learn about the initiative’s anticipated Community Wellbeing outcomes, please visit our funded project page.
Island Coastal Economic Trust is investing with Redd Fish Restoration Society in the new Redd Fish Restoration Stewardship Centre through its Capital and Innovation Program. The Trust will contribute $200,000 towards a total new investment of $1,006,300 in the Ucluelet area. The Trust is making this investment with focus Culture and Nature-based Tourism impact.
Quotes about the Project
“The Redd Fish Stewardship Centre has long been the society’s goal to showcase the vital work we do in this area in partnership and with permission from the nuučaanuł Nations. It is exciting to share the restoration story with locals and visitors alike through the development of the Stewardship Centre, all while generating further investment and employment into local ecosystems. We are grateful for the support of the Trust in helping to make our vision of regenerative tourism a reality.” – Jessica Hutchinson, Executive Director, Redd Fish Restoration Society
“The Redd Fish Restoration Stewardship Centre brings together the best of many worlds – highlighting the importance of generational stewardship by nuučaanuł Nations, providing meaningful opportunities for people to learn about watersheds and ecological restoration, and contributing to a vibrant tourism industry that brings so many people to the West Coast. I’m so grateful to Redd Fish for their vision and dedication to ecological restoration and sustainable tourism, and I thank Island Coastal Economic Trust for their invaluable support in making this vision a reality.” – Josie Osborne, MLA, Mid Island – Pacific Rim
“Partnering with Redd Fish on this new investment is exciting as they build a new community asset that will launch a new social enterprise business in Ucluelet focused on uplifting nuučaanuł stewardship, building a conservation-based economy, and strengthening cultural and nature-based tourism on the west coast of Vancouver Island.” – Brodie Guy, CEO, Island Coastal Economic Trust.
Media Contact:
Jeff Bartlett
Communications and Impact Manager
Island Coastal Economic Trust
236-308-1570
jeff@islandcoastaltrust.ca
Jessica Hutchinson
Executive Director
Redd Fish Restoration Society
250-726-2424
jessica@reddfish.org
