Advisory Council
Dr Marco Festa-Bianchet
The head of the Biology department at the Université de Sherbrooke, Dr Festa-Bianchet is a pre-eminent scholar in wildlife population dynamics. The former Chair of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Marco’s research has taken him around the world, studying Bighorn sheep, mountain goats and caribou in Canada, kangaroos in Australia, and ibex and chamois in the Alps. The author or co-author of more than 250 scientific papers, he also spent 16 years as Chair of the Mountain Ungulate Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In 2022 he was awarded the Ian McTaggart Cowan Lifetime Achievement Award by The Wildlife Society, Canada Section, for his outstanding contributions to the understanding, conservation and management of wildlife in Canada.
A native of Piedmont Italy, he holds a Ph.D in behavioral ecology from the University of Calgary, and a post doctorate from the University of Cambridge.
‘Max̱waya̱lidzi, K’odi Nelson
‘Max̱waya̱lidzi, K’odi Nelson is the founder and executive director of Nawalakw, an ambitious new cultural initiative located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Ḵwiḵwa̱sut̓inux̱w people, one of the four tribes of the Musǥa̱makw Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w, in what is often referred to as the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia.
Nawalakw brings together youth and elders, providing culture and language programming and environmental stewardship, as part of a community-led, land-based healing initiative.
A resident of Alert Bay (‘Yalis) off the Northeast Coast of Vancouver Island, K’odi is a language teacher, traditional dancer, and an accomplished artist. A former pro-soccer player with the Winnipeg Fury, and outdoor adventure guide, K’odi’s dream is for Nawalakw to be a catalyst for social change and become the first place on earth where the kwak̓wala language is once again spoken fluently.
J. Michael Robbins
Michael Robbins has worked around the world as a professional travel consultant for more than four decades. Specializing in sustainable, community-based and Indigenous eco-tourism models, Michael is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, Fellow International Member of the Explorers Club, and was Chairman of the Washington DC-based Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) until 2021.
Michael is currently working to develop an Ecotourism Master Plan for the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra Indonesia, one of Asia’s last large scale intact wilderness areas. A committed supporter of Indigenous eco-tourism in northern Canada, he helps fund various cultural and community initiatives through MakeWay (formerly Tides Canada).
Our Adventures
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Italy Like You’ve Never Seen It
Hiking the Alta Valsesia
7 days from CAD $4,850 or US $3,650 -
Big, Bold, Beautiful Ontario
Canoeing the Canadian Shield
6 days from CAD $2,800 or US $2,055 -
Wild, Sublime Vancouver Island
Kayaking, Killer Whales & the Kwakwaka'wakw
7 days from CAD $5,650 or US $4,200 -
Discover Exotic Dominica
Volcanoes, Hiking and Rainforest Foraging
8 days from CAD $5,830 or US $4,420
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