My professional career has spanned five decades. It will likely continue for many more years yet. I love what I do and so why would I want to quit?
At present, I’m engaged as a tour director and naturalist/interpreter with Mile Zero Tours (Victoria) and Orbridge (Seattle). This year, my season starts in May and ends in October. A couple of personal highlights that I’m very excited about is leading a nine day trip through the badlands of Alberta in June and two tours to Churchill at the end of the season to observe polar bears. A full list of the tours I’ll be leading can be found here.
During this same period of time, I’ve also been on contract with the Friends of Shoal Harbour Society assisting them with public outreach and school programms. This led to me also becoming the coordinator of the Greater Victoria NatureHood, a very cool collaborative initiative between 14 local organizations, all of whom have a programs and activities aimed at connecting children, youth and families with nature that is nearby. Nature that can be found within the region, including within one’s backyard perhaps. We’re doing so much great work. Our “Nature in the City” map designed to assist residents and visitors alike find nature close by has proven to be award-winning several times over.
It’s also been five years now that I’ve been giving one-hour illustrated talks at several retirement residences in Victoria. Mostly they’re travelogues with a strong emphasis on the natural and cultural history of the places I’ve visited either while leading a tour or on my own. My camera is almost always at hand and I’ve been lucky to capture some compelling images while on trips through Rockies, Haida Gwaii, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Great Bear Rainforest, Newfoundland, Southwest USA, Italy, and the Caribbean to mention but a few.
Although I haven’t been a Director of the Victoria Natural History Society for nearly as long (just a year), I’m thoroughly enjoying the experience. There has been great camaraderie amongst the board and we’re getting lots of good work done for the acquisition, protection and restoration of natural areas and biodiversity found within the region.
If you’re interested in knowing about what I’ve done over the other 45 years or what my qualifications are, please visit my LinkedIn profile.