This workshop explores how Indigenous sciences, rooted in land, language, and deep observation, help us understand the return of orcas to the Inlet. Western science only began studying orcas in the 1970s, yet Indigenous knowledge has tracked their behaviors for thousands of years. From marine biology to linguistics to ancestral law, we’ll reflect on how Indigenous ways of knowing continue to shape sustainable relationships with the natural world. Participants are invited to reframe what counts as “science,” question colonial narratives, and celebrate the brilliance of knowledge systems passed down through story, song, and experience, still alive and guiding us today.

This workshop explores the cultural and ecological connections between orca and Coast Salish governance systems, both led by matriarchs. Orcas, like many Indigenous communities, rely on mothers and grandmothers to guide decisions, care for the young, and hold collective memory. Through the lens of kinship, participants will learn how leadership, survival, and knowledge are maintained through intergenerational bonds. We’ll look at how Indigenous governance challenges colonial hierarchies and offers models of care-based leadership. By understanding the social structures of orcas and the teachings of Coast Salish matriarchy, we begin to see how deeply connected we are across species and generations.

Join us for our monthly educational bird walk focused on seeing birds and their interconnection to the site.

Hosted by avid birder and horticulturalist Sam MacTavish. Sam will be taking attendees along the trails to show you what types of birds can be seen and discuss the importance of Indigenous plants for wild birds and what habitat restoration work is being done at the flats.

Plant identification is only part of learning about the ecosystem around us. To understand how the plants communicate to us as humans, and how plants communicate with one another. 

Ethnobotanist Cease Wyss share plant teachings and from her perspective as Skwxwú7mesh educator. 

Plant identification is only part of learning about the ecosystem around us. To understand how the plants communicate to us as humans, and how plants communicate with one another. 

Ethnobotanist Senaqwila Wyss share plant teachings and from her perspective as Skwxwú7mesh educator. 

“Camas Bulbs & Coast Salish Knowledge” with Ethan Ardal, Cease Wyss and Irwin Oostindie

Information share about Camas and propagation workshop in the Coast Salish plant nursery.

“Camas Bulbs & Coast Salish Knowledge” with Ethan Ardal, Cease Wyss and Irwin Oostindie

Information share about Camas and propagation workshop in the Coast Salish plant nursery.