Programs and Projects
The West Coast Preservation Program
Our capacity building program to support the increasing local interest and activity in community sharing of local and indigenous food knowledge, access, preparation, and preservation techniques so that our families can learn more about each season’s abundance and access a variety of healthy and traditional foods year-round. Learn more.
Eat West Coast Programs
West Coast Garden Guide
School Gardens and Healthy Schools
Community Gardens
Food Access
Food Literacy
Food Recovery and Emergency
Food Production
Indigenous Food and Food Sovereignty
Wild Food, Water and Land
Community Projects
The Clayoquot Biosphere Trust has invested over $200,000 to support food security and food system projects in the region. Eat West Coast provides ongoing support to fund recipients by contributing knowledgeable staff, community relationships to the wider region, program planning and development, and support functions such as evaluation and fundraising.
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Funding to Community Food Projects
Fruit Gleaning Pilot
WildSafeBC 2021
Pilot program to address unharvested or under-harvested fruit trees to both share local food in the community and reduce bear attractants
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Youth Health and Wellness
District of Ucluelet 2021
Skill building for overall youth wellness and mental health, including healthy foods and nutrition
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Pandemic Food Transportation Support
Food Bank on the Edge 2020
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Pandemic Food Transportation Support
Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations 2020
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Growing Resilient Coastal Gardens
Alberni Clayoquot Regional District 2021
Growing the 'Octopus Garden', a network of coastal community gardens community gardens to foster collaboration
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Mealworms + Polystyrene = Compost... what the heck?
Mady Mac (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Demonstrating mealworm c
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Bake Bread and Fried Bread
Annie George (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Teaching community members bread making
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Maaqtuiis Youth Hunting group
Charles Thomas (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Teaching traditional hunting to youth
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Cultural Care Packages
Pat Charelson (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Providing hunted meat packages to community members
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Consent Based Harvest and Traditional Herbal Medicine
Rachel Dickenson (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Sharing knowledge of traditional harvest practices
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TyHistanis Garden - Revitalizing knowledge
Craig Devine (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Community garden work party and leadership development
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Fearless Food Project
Sharon Wu (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Affordable school lunches for low-income families
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Butterfly Garden
Trina Matteson (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Planting by the Ahousaht daycare and school to attract butterflies to the garden
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Breaking the Crust
Sylvain Rollin (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Sharing home baked bread with the community
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Teaching youth how to feed their community
Charles Thomas (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Hunting with Ahousaht youth, as well as processing and distributing
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Opitsaht Nettle
Ivy Martin (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Sharing traditional harvesting and processing knowledge
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Fish care packages for Covid
Tom Campbell (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2021
Fishing and traditional preperation to share with vulnerable community members
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Toquaht Food Security: food preservation project
Toquaht Nation 2020
Teaching citizens traditional and modern methods of food preservation
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Addressing the need for better waste management in the region
WildSafeBC 2020
Reducing human-wildlife conflicts including managing food attractants like fruit trees, compost, and outdoor food storage.
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Advancing the Coastal Agriculture Roundtable: Actioning Priorities around Food and Agriculture
Alberni Clayoquot Regional District 2020
Supporting appropriate, implementable, and impactful local food policies and projects including food system policy and planning, emergency preparedness, and community food production projects.
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Creating Community Through Gardens
Mollie Law (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Supporting home gardening in Lone Cone with native plants
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Ahousaht Home Food Gardens
Melodie Macloud (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Providing vegetable starter plants to families in Ahousaht
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Herb Garden
Laura Peake (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Creating a neighbourhood shared herb garden in Tree Frog Lane
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Food Preservation Workshops
Hélène Descoteaux (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Virtual workshops on preserving seasonal produce
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Virtual Chicken Social
Leah Austin (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Online gathering of local backyard chicken keepers
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Little Green Thumbs
Paula Robertson (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Container gardens with kids in Yew Wood
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Growing Food at the Hospital Garden
Anna Bichel (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Planting edible plants in the hospital garden for staff and the patient kitchen
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Early Learners Food Security Garden
Jennifer Price-Francis and Kimi henderson (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Creating an edible garden at the daycare
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Hatching Chicks - the Essentials
Leah Austin (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Creating videos to share on local chicken raising
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For the Love of Bees
April Robson (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2020
Creting videos to share on the basics of local beekeeping
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West Coast Food Literacy Day
Coastal Family Resources Coalition 2019
A day of food skills and education for youth with community knowledge, dietitans, and schools
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West Coast Youth Food Project
District of Ucluelet (Future Launch) 2019
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Gardening Workshops
Toni Buston and Nicky Ling (Green Grants) 2019
Teaching gardening skills in Ucluelet for families
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Chicken Social
George Patterson and Leah Austin (Green Grants) 2019
A gathering of backyard chicken enthusiast to share and teach.
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Youth Bee Garden at Maaqtusiis Secondary
Kate Drexler and Trina Mattson (Green Grants) 2019
Bringing bees to the school garden
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Youth Healthy Harvest and Community Dinner
Norman Louie and Selina Frank (Green Grants) 2019
Teaching youth in Ahousaht traditional harvesting and food preparation for community feast
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Sustainable Seafood Community Dinner
Charles Lucas and Betty Lucas (Green Grants) 2019
Sharing knowledge of ethical and sustainable marine harvest in Hesquiaht
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Seafood Gathering, Fishing, Community Building
Ryan Churchill and Gynette Galligos (Green Grants) 2019
Sharing knowledge of ethical and sustainable marine harvest in Hesquiaht
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Preserving Food
Lil Webster and Hilda John (Green Grants) 2019
A canning and preservation party to share knowledge and food.
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Smokehouse Knowledge Sharing
Patrick Charleson (Culture Grants) 2019
Building a smokehouse together in Hot Springs Cove.
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Youth Food and Culture
Dwayne Martin and Chris Seitcher (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2018
Take youth hunting and harvesting to provide a feast and cultural support for the community
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Tonquin Park Villa Community Compost
Simon Allison and Warren Rudd (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2018
Exploring collaborative animal-proof community composting
Opitsaht Neighbourhood Smokehouse
Raymond Brune and Sherann Findlay (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2018
Salvaging and hand-milling wood to build and donate community smokehouse on Opitsaht reserve
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Health Oriented Medicinal Plants
Ruth Charleson and Betty Lucas (Neighbourhood Small Grants) 2018
Building a community greenhouse focused on health-related plants and traditional medicines
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Ucluelet Community Garden
District of Ucluelet and Ucluelet Local Food Society, 2017
The first ever Ucluelet community garden. The garden growing beds will be assigned for gardeners to grow vegetables, learn new skills, and share their enthusiasm for growing healthy, local produce.
The garden plots will serve as a foundation for a greater vision: Education opportunities for school age children, Volunteer options available for the public-at-large, The Food Bank will have a plot for growing produce making it available to low-income families.
Emergency Food Bank Study
Food Bank on the Edge, 2017
To address community food security and assist in Emergency Management response during an emergency event, the Food Bank wishes to relocate to a tsunami safe zone. The purpose of this study is to identify feasible sites in Ucluelet where the Food Bank could be housed with the potential for developing an adjacent community garden site in the future. During this process, Community stakeholder data will be gathered and public awareness of food security and the emergency food issue will be promoted.
Community Kitchen
West Coast Community Resources Society, 2017
The Community Kitchen project will bring small groups together twice a month to share ideas on how to stretch food dollars, how to prepare and preserve healthy foods and meals. The Ucluelet Community Centre main kitchen will be utilized for individuals to come together to cook healthy meals, connect with others, learn new skills and share recipes. Several meal portions will be divided among participants to take home for their freezer, shelf or fridge.
Teaching Youth about Aquatic Traditional Territory
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government, 2017
The goal of this project is to develop, expand, and enhance the knowledge and skills of our youth as it relates to the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ traditional aquatic territory, through spending time on the water with our Elders listening to their stories and learning fishing and harvesting skills in our language about traditional names of species and places within our territory and waters.
Hesquiaht Food Preservation
Jeannnine Adams, Beverly Dorward, Patrick Charleson (Neighbourhood Small Grant) 2016 & 2017
Workshops in Hot Springs Cove on food preservation and canning.
Neighbourhood emergency prepardness and food preservation
Keith Orchiston and Bobby Lax, (Neighbourhood Small Grant) 2016
Bringing together the neighbourhood to learn about emergency prepardness including food preservation and canning workshop.
Kindergarden
Kori Wechlin and Stephi Munshaw, (Neighbourhood Small Grant) 2016
Buildin garden beds in Ahousaht for kindergarten age children
Fruit Trees for Yew Wood
Deddeda White and Leah Austin, (Neighbourhood Small Grant), 2017
Plant apple and fig trees along the public streetscape to provide fresh, locally grown fruits for residents
Hesquiaht Gathering
Gynette Galligos, (Neighbourhood Small Grant) 2017
Community dinner bringing together all families and neighbours to celebrate traditional foods and bring a fun event to the winter months.
Ucluelet Joy of Gardening festivals
Ucluelet Local Food Society 2016 & 2017
Bringing together local gardeners in the winter to share, learn, and celebrate growing local.
West Coast Farm and Garden Show and Seedy Saturdays
Tofino Community Food Initiative, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
A showcase of regional farmers, growers, and backyard enthusiasts producing food on the West Coast. While farming is not a term you hear every day on the West Coast, this inagural event highlights and promote farming of all varieties including aquacultures, specifically around kelp and shellfish, beekeeping, seed saving, urban farming, square foot gardening, composting and more. This event aims to collectively pull together our community, our region, and Vancouver Island to share thoughts and best practices so that we may all come away with ways to make our lives a bit more sustainable.
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ƛułcamis Well-BEEing
Toquaht Nation, 2016
The Toquaht Nation community garden has been active for three years; it’s growing and
cultivating and we are prepared to take it one step further, to help aid production of pollination
and growth through these beautiful creatures, bees.
Youth Community Garden
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government, 2016
To create a garden at the CixÊ·atincommunity centre acessible to all members of the community of Hitacu, including children at the daycare and youth involved in recreation programs.
Heathy Start
Wickaninnish Community School, 2016
Healthy Start is a morning elementary school program offering exercise and nutritional food so children are well nourished and ready to learn.
Community Feast
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government, 2016
An event for upwards of 500 guests, to celebrate the five year anniversary of becoming an independent nation upon signing of the Maa-nulth Treaty. The feast is comprised of traditional food items, many of which will be gathered for this feast: Young Warriors program participants gather game, fish and clams. Youth gather berries and Elders and other community members to assist with the gathering and preparation of food. For instance, once the fish has been caught, a community member can teach the young people how to clean the fish and how to smoke the fish. The Nuu-chah-nulth language will be incorporated in these teachings.
Water Catchement Seminar
Jennifer Price-Francis and Dede Monette (Neighbourhood Small Grant), 2015
Covering everything from basic garden barrel to large home cisterns, the seminar introduces expert advice on catchement systems then hand on building of rain barrels.
Ty-Histanis Community Garden
Craig Devine and Naomi Seitcher (Neighbourhood Small Grant), 2015
Good soil is hard to come by on the peninsula. The newly created garden in Ty-Histanis plans to gather kelp and seaweed from local beaches and use a vegetation shredder to chop and compost material to build nutrient rich soil.
Garden and Sustainability Education Centre
Ucluelet Elementary School, 2011, 2014, 2017
Immersing students into study of construction, community, ecology, and global awareness. School garden, greenhouse and outdoor classroom along wth classes in sustainability to educate students on the life processes of gardening, instill in them the values and benefits associated with gardening, and show them the enjoyment and satisfaction derived from producing their own healthy food. Includes multilingual sinage, planting, composting, insects, birds, pollinators, and more. T
Back-to-Basics Youth Sustainable Food Initiative
District of Ucluelet, 2013
Back to the Basics program focuses on teaching youth about the importance of food security, and them with the skills and knowledge required to become more connected
with their food source. There will be a series of workshops offered to youth from a variety of skilled, knowledgeable instructors, including information on current food systems and the environmental impact of food production and transportation. There will also be a number of
hands-on courses that use local foods to prepare delicious and nutritious meals.
Toquaht Community Hunt
Toquaht Nation, 2013
It is the Toquaht Nation’s desire and intent to ensure that our traditional practices, such as hunting and fishing, are known and practiced by our citizens to ensure the continuation of our vibrant culture.
Ahousaht Youth Hunt
Ahousaht First Nation, 2010 and 2012
Give youth the opportunity to increase their confidence and abilities through cultural activities based on our Aboriginal traditions and beliefs, encourage them to make healthier changes for themselves their families and community.
Teaching and Demonstration Food Garden
Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation, 2012
All of the projects will develop skills of west coast residents interested in growing their own food and in food security: Develop a teaching and demonstration food garden at the Tofino Botanical Garden; host eight workshops on gardening and food topics (e.g., composing, natural dyes, harvest and preparation of vegetables, etc.); and host an informal, weekly networking sessions for west coast gardeners and people interested in food and food security.
Community Compost & Ethnobotany Project
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government, 2011
Creation of the infrastructure and community education/promotion about the value of composting in a central location
Food Skills for Families
Wickaninnish Community School, 2011
This will deliver a new Canadian Diabetes Association food skills program geared to the needs of vulnerable families. The program will build skills necessary for choosing and preparing healthy foods with hands on cooking experience.
Youth Healthy Cooking Classes
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nation, 2011
The program will build skills necessary for choosing and preparing healthy foods with hands on cooking experience.
Grade School Gourmet
Wickaninnish Community School, 2010
The program will build skills necessary for choosing and preparing healthy foods with hands on cooking experience.
Community Compost & Ethnobotany Project
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nation, 2011
Creation of the infrastructure and community education/promotion about the value of composting in a central location
Food Skills for Families on a Smart Budget
Westcoast Community Resource Society, 2010
The overall goal of this program is to assist Ucluelet community members to make healthy food choices. The project is a 6 week, learner-centered program which builds on participants’ knowledge and experience. It promotes healthy cooking on a smart budget and also eliminates the myth that healthy food is expensive and boring. The program validates specific cultural preferences and respects the wealth of wisdom that each person brings to the learning process.
Food Skills for First Nation Families
Hesquiaht First Nation, 2010
For the community of Hesquiaht it was a great opportunity for community members to come and learn about healthy nutrition and cook together. Sharing knowledge, food and cooking is a big part of First Nations culture and the program managed to capture all of that in the 6 weeks of delivery.
Tofino Community School Garden
Tofino Community Food Initiative, 2010
Reconnect students and community members with their food, to cultivate an appreciation of growing and consuming fresh, healthy, organic food, and to enrich our local food system. The garden will have two separate sections, one for the students and another for the community.
Ittatsoo Community Garden
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nation, 2010
Our goal is to bring the positive energy back to Ittatsoo. Looking to increase activities, soup kitchens, lunch-ins, and healthy image. Build a green house for the health clinic.
Master Organic Gardener Training
Ucluelet Community Food Initiative, 2009
Provide expert training.
Community Feasting Project
Uu-a-thluk, 2008
The project will involve the whole community in the celebration of traditional foods.
Hesquiaht Gardening Project
Hesquiaht First Nation, 2010
Quantify the toxicological integrity of clams from important food harvesting sites throughout the harbour.
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Funding to Support an Environmentally Sustainable Food System
The CBT has also funded many research and environment projects that look at the health and viability of our local marine food sources. Below is just a sample of projects, the CBT will be exploring more in depth the connections between our natural resources and food system in the near future.
to be updated...
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Ah’ta’apq Creek Restoration
Central Westcoast Forest Society, 2017
The goal of the project is to restore once abundant salmon and trout populations to Ah’ta’apq Creek through habitat restoration. This project will help maintain the HFN and AFNs’ ability to harvest within Ah’ta’apq creek and contribute to restoring the overall health and quality of Clayoquot sound salmon populations.
Clayoquot Salmon Roundtable
West Coast Aquatic, 2014-2018
Identify factors limiting wild chinook salmon in six major chinook-bearing watersheds in CS; rank factors as having a high- to low-impact; use ranking to develop a chinook recovery action plan for CS. Process will be repeated for wild sockeye and chum.
Bedwell/Ursus River Chinook Recovery Plan
Thornton Creek Enhancement Society, 2011
Creation of the infrastructure and community education/promotion about the value of composting in a central location
Searching for sustainable local foods: A study of the heavy metal toxicity of Ucluelet Harbour clams
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nation, 2010
Quantify the toxicological integrity of clams from important food harvesting sites throughout the harbour.
Community Structure for Shellfish Plant
Ecotrust, 2004
Goosebarnacle Harvest
West Coast Vancouver Island Aquatic Management Board, West Coast Goosebarnacle Association, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, 2002
Host four community workshops to develop direction for sustainable gooseneck barnacle harvest