From Users to Caretakers: Volunteers Steward West Ballenas Island

In 2020, thousands of people from BC and around the world came together to protect West Ballenas Island, a rare jewel in the Salish Sea.But the need for stewardship didn’t end there.

Just off the Nanoose–Nanaimo coast, the island is one of the ten most biodiverse islands in the Salish Sea—and one of the most fragile. Sensitive and rare plants can be damaged by a single step. The forest canopy shelters bald eagles and ravens, while along the shore, black oystercatchers and herons forage as humpbacks and orcas glide by.

Visitation to West Ballenas is carefully managed through a conservation plan developed by BC Parks Foundation and local partners. The plan protects the island’s sensitive coastal bluff ecosystems and rare plants while allowing people to visit responsibly. It addresses fire risk, waste, and litter, and the growing influence of social media, where a single post can draw too many visitors to a fragile site overnight.

Each new conservation area is unique. For West Ballenas, the goal is balance: protecting fragile flora and fauna, allowing low impact recreation, respecting constitutionally protected Aboriginal rights, and meeting legal and safety imperatives. (View the full plan here.).

That balance can’t happen without visitors recognizing that the opportunity to use an area comes with the responsibility to steward it. Local partners are also needed, to help educate, do some of the heavy lifting, and be the eyes and ears on the ground.

Coastal Caretakers—volunteers with BC Marine Trails—take on the hands-on work of caring for West Ballenas Island and stewarding its fragile ecosystems. In the last several years, they’ve donated hundreds of hours rerouting trails away from brittle lichen, removing invasive ivy and blackberry, documenting sensitive species, and talking to visitors.

They use BC Marine Trails’ VOICE approach: Visit, Observe, Interact, Caretake, Exchange data. This approach turns every visit into a chance to learn from the land and care for it in return: hauling out bags of ivy by kayak, marking photo points to track change, and adjusting routes to keep feet off fragile soil.

“There’s been a real shift from simply visiting a place to taking responsibility for leaving it pristine,” says BC Marine Trails chair Karina Younk. “When you contribute, you’re part of the ongoing work it takes to keep these places healthy and accessible.”

Giving back to a place is a gift that gives three times: it benefits the land, it benefits visitors, and it gives you a deeper connection and purpose.

Reindeer lichen was an early signal that trails needed rerouting. “It looks hardy, but it’s brittle,” says Younk. “You step, and your footprint stays behind.” BC Parks Foundation did a rare plants inventory, and volunteers have continued to monitor, flagging rare plants like coastal wood fern and slimleaf onion, species that rely on the island’s dry, exposed conditions to survive.

Small actions matter here. Respecting fire bans, picking up debris, or staying on a marked path can have a big impact. On an island this sensitive, each careful step helps it stay wild for the next visitor and for the species that depend on it.

“Never underestimate those single little actions you’re doing every day,” says Younk. “They do make a difference.”

In three years, Coastal Caretakers have volunteered hundreds of hours on West Ballenas—and hundreds more paddling, sailing, or boating there to do the work. They’ve cleared invasive species, adjusted routes and signage, marked monitoring sites, and documented orcas, humpbacks, seals, black oystercatchers, bald eagles, ravens, and herons.They also greet visitors and make sure there is an appropriate placetoovernight when needed.

“For coastal recreationalists, sometimes creating a tent site is a matter of safety,” says Younk. “You don’t go back out on the water when the wind comes up.Creating a designated site away from fragile vegetation isa clear example of how responsible recreation and conservation go hand in hand.”

Caring for West Ballenas means balancing conservation, recreation, Indigenous rights, and safety, which is an ongoing, shared effort among BC Parks Foundation, BC Marine Trails, local supporters, and visitors.

Together, they’re showing how using a place can inspire stewardship, and how stewardship deepens our connection to a place. Step by step, care for West Ballenas continues, contributing to the peaceful enjoyment of BC’s coast for generations to come.

• Caretaker days: 53
• Volunteer hours: 774 on-island + additional reporting/training time
• Visitors recorded: 169 (kayakers, boaters, sailors)
• Stewardship actions: invasive plant removal, debris cleanup, and trail rerouting to protect fragile bluff vegetation
• Sensitive ecosystems: coastal bluff lichens and rare plants
• Documented flora: prickly pear cactus, coastal wood fern, reindeer lichen, slimleaf onion, Scarlet paintbrush
• Wildlife sightings: orcas, humpbacks, harbour seals, sea lions, black oystercatchers, bald eagles, ravens, herons

These efforts demonstrate how people can work together to balance the conservation and responsible use of fragile ecosystems.