⛱️ July 2026 Newsletter ⛱️
- Jul 1
- 9 min read
Hi, friends!
It’s summertime!!! We at GWAS have been enjoying the shining blue sky and bright sunshine, taking the opportunity to get out and take care of our beloved park and waterway with our amazing summer staff and volunteers! With the Nature House now open seven days a week, there’s never a dull moment out in Esquimalt Gorge Park!
With Ocean Week Victoria having drawn to a close last month, GWAS is getting back into the usual swing of things, hosting restoration sessions and keeping the Nature House in tip-top shape for visitors. You’ll still be able to catch us at the various events happening this month, notably the annual CrabFest. And as usual, we’re always looking for new members and volunteers to help out around the park, so be sure to join us if you’re all for helping a good cause! GWAS is swingin’ into summer and we hope you’ll be there for all we have in store!
GET INVOLVED
🌷 Volunteer With GWAS 🌷
Interested in getting involved at the Gorge Waterway Nature House? Volunteers support hands-on environmental education, restoration, and community outreach aligned with our Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) programming. From welcoming visitors to supporting shoreline learning, your time helps connect people to place and care for the Gorge Waterway!
Summer options for volunteering:
Weekdays at the Nature House
European Green Crab trapping, email andrea@gorge.ca for more info
Ecological Restoration Community Drop-Ins on Thursday mornings from 9:30am to 11:00am, meet at the Nature House (no registration or experience required)
Dungeness Crab Light Trap Volunteering, email andrea@gorge.ca for more info
For any other volunteer-related inquiries, contact us at volunteer@gorge.ca.
💚 Become a GWAS Member 💚
An annual membership with GWAS helps fund vital restoration projects and environmental education initiatives, such as the operation of our youth-focused Nature House in Esquimalt Gorge Park. As a member, you will receive free admission to the Gorge Waterway Nature House, free tea and coffee, and you'll also receive voting privileges at the Annual General Meeting to help decide the future of GWAS!
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Welcome to another installment of “Blast from the Past,” a new segment run during the summer months focused on noteworthy stories from GWAS’ archives!
September 12, 2000 marked the first year in 65 years that a swimming competition was held in the Gorge Waterway. From the 1920s to mid 1930s, the Gorge was a popular destination for recreational activities and a favourite spot for swimming competitions and boat races. However, its use for swimming declined as the number of sawmills along the Gorge grew. If you recall John Roe from the newsletter in June, he and the Veins of Life Watershed Society played a critical role in ensuring the water was safe for swimming by the year 2000. According to a Times Colonist article, “In the ‘70s, before the cleanup efforts began, Roe and others were being told it couldn’t be done. … Since then, the Veins of Life Society and its many volunteers have done everything from haul away refuse to reduce the amount of effluent poured into the waters.”
And in September 2000, this vision became a reality. Eighteen swimmers from across Canada competed in the 10 kilometre swim competition held by the Gorge Swim Festival, which was given the creative motto: “Get into it.” Bill Robertson, who competed in the Christmas Day Swim in the Gorge 13 times between the 1920s and 30s, even handed out awards to the competitors! The event was a success and highlights the important role that the community has played, and continues to play, in caring for the Gorge.
JUNE RECAPS
🌊 Ocean Opportunities Fair Recap 🌊
On June 3, GWAS and Ocean Week Victoria opened the floor of Tillicum Centre to the amazing environmental and marine organizations around the city to share all their opportunities for getting involved with the ocean scene! Tables for 16 different organizations were situated around an upper-floor unit of Tillicum, where they got to meet with a crowd of eager guests looking to discover ways to break into the marine scene. It was a highly successful evening of networking and meaningful conversation, and we hope that every guest that attended gets to find new experiences!
🏞️ Gorge Beach Clean-Up Recap 🏞️
Things cooled down on June 3, giving Peninsula Streams Society and 15 volunteers a calm day to head out to Regatta Point for a clean-up of the beach. We combed the wet sand and silt to find as much trash as we could so it could be properly disposed of. From cans to ropes to old clothes, we made sure to grab it. A grand total of 368 lbs of trash were collected, including 61 lbs of glass. Overall, a great success to another Ocean Week Victoria event that will help the shoreline in the long run!
🌿 Make a Difference Week Restoration Recap 🌿
After a day of clouds, the sun came back out on June 4 for a special restoration session in Esquimalt Gorge Park for Make a Difference Week. GWAS staff and volunteers ventured out past the salt marsh and onto the trails for a bright morning of removing invasive growth and planting new life. 18 new types of plant specimens were added to the park as a part of this effort, including Woolly Sunflower, Field Chickweed, Canada Goldenrod, California Aster, and many more. After the session had concluded, we treated ourselves to some light refreshments to celebrate a job well done! When it comes to Making a Difference, GWAS knows how to do it well.
🐬 Saltwater Tongues Recap 🐬
GWAS went cozy for this Ocean Week event alongside Georgia Strait Alliance on the evening of June 6. There was a calm buzz in the atmosphere of Caffe Fantastico as we gathered there for a night of marine-themed poetry. Many of us took the mic to share some works, whether they were our own words or someone else’s, that highlighted beauty, serenity, hope, and other thoughtful subjects that warmed our hearts. We thank Russ from Georgia Strait Alliance for running the show and letting us express our dedication to protecting the ocean in such a creative outlet.
🐟 World Ocean Day at Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea Recap 🐟
The air was cold and windy down in Sidney on June 7, but that didn’t stop us from having some more marine-themed fun for Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea’s World Ocean Day celebrations! GWAS joined fellow nature organizations once more to give event guests a fun, meaningful day with our signature crab trivia wheel and a cool new addition to our table: a piece of whale baleen. This was the last Ocean Week event that we were in attendance for; a huge thanks to everyone that helped out with tabling and all the incredible people we got to meet!
☁️ Esquimalt Neighbourhood Party Recap ☁️
An absolutely gorgeous sunny day greeted us just in time for the Esquimalt Neighbourhood Party at Bullen Park on June 13! GWAS staff manned the table as usual, situated with a great view of the various musical performances and the Kids’ Craft Market, alongside our fellow Victoria and Esquimalt organizations. We enjoyed talking with party guests as they had fun with all the activities around the event. We were happy to participate in a wonderful celebration and we thank Esquimalt Parks and Rec for putting it on outside their rec centre!
UPCOMING EVENTS
🎼 Queering Climate Action: Gay4Choir 🎼
Join us for an evening of musical fun, queer joy and climate action in the park!
Queering Climate Action is an event series hosted by the Gorge Waterway Action Society that creates space to celebrate queer art, community, and joy within climate action and environmental stewardship. This event is a continuation of this series, featuring a Gay4Choir dress rehearsal performance!
Gay4Choir hosts monthly two-hour choir gatherings with the goal of building community, relieving stress, and finding joy through collective singing and self-expression. This performance is the result of a 6-week rehearsal series in preparation for performing on the family stage at the Victoria Pride Festival.
This event will take place outdoors in Esquimalt Gorge Park, outside the Nature House. Bring your friends, a lawn chair, or a picnic blanket, and enjoy an afternoon of music and community. All ages are welcome, and snacks will be provided.
This is a registered event with entry by optional donation. For accessibility requests please email madi@gorge.ca and outreach@gorge.ca
We would love to see you there!
🗓Monday, July 6
🕰7:30-8:30pm
🎹 Celebrating Gaia Series 2026: Oceans and Rivers / Of Water I Sing! 🎹
Acclaimed pianist Sarah Hagen presents a joyous programme celebrating the gift of water. The concert will feature Ravel’s Jeux d’eau (Water Games), Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau (Reflections in the Water) and works by Chopin, Liszt, and others.
Both music and water are elemental to life, responding to a deeply felt need. Often the two intertwine in our speech and thought: we talk about a thirst for beauty, and the way music flows. In this programme, Sarah explores music’s extraordinary ability to harness both the beautiful rhythms of waves and rainfall as well the sense of calm and depth that can result from water’s stillness. Originally from Vancouver Island, Sarah enjoys an international career as a soloist and chamber musician. Sarah is a visionary who places innovation and collaboration at the forefront of her performances.
GWAS will also be present at this event to showcase our many restoration projects!
Ticket info coming soon.
🗓Sunday, July 19
🕰2:00pm
🦀 BC CrabFest 2026 🦀
Now in its fourth year, BC CrabFest is a one-day harbour celebration of BC waters, coastal food traditions, and the communities connected to them. Set at Ship Point in Victoria's Inner Harbour, the festival is anchored in the Authentic BC Dungeness Crab Boil—a hands-on meal cooked on-site and enjoyed dockside, at its freshest, surrounded by the people and place it comes from.
From live music and chef demonstrations to an Educational Marketplace, Seaside Family Zone, and local BC drinks, BC CrabFest connects guests to coastal food traditions, fishing families, and the rhythms of life on the water.
Presented by BC Crab Co., a family-run seafood business founded by commercial fishing families committed to sharing sustainably harvested BC Dungeness crab with local communities.
🗓Saturday, July 18
🕰11:00am-10:00pm
🏳️🌈 Have A Go Day at Power To Be: Pride Theme 🏳️🌈
Did you know that over 1,500 animal species have same-sex relationships? Did you also know that around 500 fish species change their gender during their lifespan? Why do they do this? Because diversity makes their species stronger! And the same goes for humans!
Power To Be’s July Have A Go is all about celebrating the strength of our 2SLGBTQ+ community and its connection to nature. Join us for a fabulous day outside including canoeing, paddleboarding, dancing, queer ecology and ~cue confetti~ performances by Victoria's own Honey Dewme and Vivian Vanderpuss!
Experience the outdoors and build community with Power To Be in a safe, fun, and inclusive way! This event is open to all current Power To Be participants and their families, as well as anyone interested in learning more about Power To Be, and about making nature more accessible for all ability levels.
🗓Thursday, July 4
🕰10:00am-3:00pm
🧺 Companion Planting with Wild Embrace Farm 🧺
A 4-8 week program where you will learn to garden, build connections, and gain confidence in a group setting.
This program is built for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, wheelchair users, Autistic adults, or otherwise self-identified as disabled.
To look at costs and drop-in options, and to view the registration form, click the button below!
🗓Wednesdays from July 8-29
🕰2-3hr sessions, mornings or afternoons available
🪸 Pauquachin Sea Garden Restoration 🪸
The Pauquachin Marine Department would like to invite you to a summer filled with sea garden restoration events in Coles Bay! Join us as we continue to build on the 400ft wall that was started last year by amazing community members and volunteers. These events will include moving rocks, spreading shellhash, and hanging out with a lot of other awesome volunteers!
For more information on registration, please visit this page on the Pauquachin website.
🏹 Celebrating Gaia Series 2026: Robin Hood by Ben Moore and Kelley Rourke 🏹
Step into Sherwood Forest with Pacific Opera Victoria’s Youth Summer Performance Program as they present a fully staged production of Robin Hood, the spirited 55-minute opera by Ben Moore and Kelley Rourke.
Featuring talented local performers aged 8–18 alongside professional artists, this lively retelling of the classic legend is filled with adventure, humour, music, and heart: a fun and memorable experience for audiences of all ages.
Interested in being part of the magic? Check out Pacific Opera Victoria’s Youth Summer Performance Program!
🗓Friday, July 17 to Sunday, July 19
🕰12:30pm (July 18 & 19), 4:00pm (July 17 & 19)
📆 Save the Date for these Events! 📆
Summer Bioblitz | August (Date TBD)
Birdsong: A Festival Day of Music and Nature | Saturday, September 12
We hope your summer has been just as bright and joyous as ours! We’ll see you in the next newsletter.
Sincerely,
The GWAS Team
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