Ecotourism and Washed Up Wednesdays

By Chair Amorita Adair

Ecotourism is flourishing as a more sustainable way to travel.  It emphasises environmental conservation, cultural respect, and encourages the traveller to consider their physical, social, and behavioural impact on a community. Tofino has a sensitive ecosystem and diverse local population, which makes it an ideal location to adopt the principles of ecotourism while visiting.

One of the most accessible ecotourism opportunities is land acknowledgement. Becoming familiar with who the traditional Indigenous peoples of a land are helps to honour the unfolding culture, history, and laws of the original and ongoing stewards of a place.  Tofino is located in the traditional, unceded Tla-o-qui-aht Ha’huulthii (First Nation Territory). 

Ready for the next step?  Actively seek out and support businesses who are registered as Tribal Parks Allies.  Ally businesses donate a portion of their revenue to the Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks Guardians. These funds are then used to achieve and protect the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation’s vision of clean water, rich ancestral gardens, abundant life, and healthy communities. You can learn more about Tribal Parks Allies on their Instagram @tlaoquiaht.tribal.parks or on their website www.tribalparks.com. Surfrider Pacific Rim is a proud Tribal Parks Ally, and we partner with Tribal Parks on the Take Back The Tap Campaign, which is working to eliminate all single-use plastic water bottles on the Pacific Rim.

One of the best ecotourism opportunities this summer will be to participate in ‘Washed Up Wednesdays’, a new beach clean initiative organized by Tourism Tofino in partnership with Surfrider Pacific Rim. Beach cleans are a satisfying and easy way to give back to the community of Tofino: removing plastic pollution from coastlines and thus keeping the beaches safe and healthy for all to enjoy.

Typically beach cleans are focussed on ocean plastics and marine debris, such as discarded fishing gear and microplastics.  Unfortunately, last summer Tofino saw an increase in litter and personal protective equipment (PPE) on the beaches and in other public spaces.  This collaborative clean-up effort between Tourism Tofino and Surfrider Pacific Rim aims to tackle both beach litter and microplastics. From afar, it can seem that Tofino’s beaches are “pristine”.  However, as you begin to look carefully along the shoreline, microplastics, polystyrene foam and cigarette butts are in abundance!  Experiencing  these pollutants first hand can often be enough to provoke more environmentally conscious purchasing decisions.

Visitors are encouraged to ‘leave no trace’ while enjoying the beaches. Saying no to single use plastics, using reusable vessels for takeaway foods and drinks, and disposing of cigarette butts correctly can all have a positive impact on the oceans, beaches, and waves!  

Washed Up Wednesday Beach Cleans will alternate between North and South Chesterman starting on June 30th and will continue for the months of July and August, ending on the 25th.  Come to the beach between 11-2 pm for a chance to win daily prizes as well as an enter to win a complimentary 3-night stay for two at the award-winning Wickaninnish Inn and enjoy rugged coastal beauty, old-growth rainforest, fresh local cuisine and views of the open Pacific Ocean and beautiful Chesterman Beach. 

Participants are encouraged to download the Marine Debris Tracker App from National Geographic and record their findings while doing their clean up.  Hooray for citizen science!  This information is incredibly useful to Surfrider Pacific Rim, who utilize  the litter and marine debris data to inform positive and systemic change.

 With this information, we’ve been able to work with the community and districts to ban plastic bags, plastic straws and polystyrene foam!  If you can’t download the App, Tourism Tofino will be onsite during all the scheduled clean ups to record collected debris for you.  Furthermore, if you’d like to participate but aren’t free during the clean-up time, the Tourism Tofino Visitor’s Centre is also collecting marine debris and used PPE items for proper recycling.  Everything collected is then brought to the Ocean Plastic Depot, which is then sent to Ocean Legacy Foundation for recycling. Since 2016, Surfrider has recycled over 55 tonnes of marine debris through this partner. 

Surfrider Pacific Rim is thrilled with this initiative by Tourism Tofino but it relies on you, dear reader!  We need volunteers to help keep our beaches clean.  Grab your bucket, download the Marine Debris Tracker App, and we will see you this summer on Chesterman Beach for Washed Up Wednesdays!

Dates, Time + Location: 11 am to 2 pm

North Chesterman:
June 30th, July 14th, July 28th, Aug 11th, Aug 25th

South Chesterman:
July 7, July 21st, Aug 4th, Aug 18th