🌻 May 2026 Newsletter 🌻
- May 1
- 6 min read
Hi, friends!
May we interest you in some new opportunities this month? Of course we can! We at GWAS are surging forward with the spring events and activities, while also preparing ourselves for when the summer months roll in!
We’re taking advantage of the beautiful weather conditions to give the city and community a suite of brand-new events, projects, restoration efforts, and enrichment. This month, we’re even celebrating the world of music related to nature and the world. So take a deep breath of that spring air and turn your ears on, because GWAS is alive with the songs of May!
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!
Spring options for volunteering:
Saturday and Sundays at the Nature House
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
European Green Crab trapping, email andrea@gorge.ca for more info
💚 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!
APRIL RECAPS
🌎 Esquimalt Earth Day Recap 🌎
GWAS was more than excited to take part in the festivities for Esquimalt’s Earth Day event on April 15! Our table was set up amidst many other amazing organizations, ready to show guests all the fun things that we do. Over 600 children across Greater Victoria schools came out to have a good time, and we counted 245 guests that showed up at our table for some Crab Trivia, specimen observation and volunteer opportunities. It was a great day of outreach and activities that the kids enjoyed and so did we!
🦋 City Nature Challenge Bioblitz Recap 🦋
Have you ever seen something as fascinating as an Oak Treehopper (Platycotis vittata) nymph? Neither had we, until the Spring City Nature Challenge Bioblitz in Esquimalt Gorge Park! Our friends and insect-enthusiasts from UVic’s CICADA Club led two bug walks through the park, pointing out countless species and sharing all kinds of fun facts. A huge thanks to Averyl and Nolan for their contagious enthusiasm and knowledge, and to all of the Bioblitz’s participants. If you couldn’t make this one, stay tuned for a summer Bioblitz!
🐟 Craigflower Creek Smolt Trap 🐟
There’s no better way to start or end the day than by counting coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)! The Craigflower Creek smolt trap is in full swing, with trap checks taking place every day, morning and night. We’ve surpassed 1000 coho, and have been treated to quite a few Coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii), and a few giant frogs for good measure. A huge thanks to the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC for supporting this vital stewardship initiative.
UPCOMING EVENTS
🪼 The Gorge Splashtacular Ocean Festival! 🪼
As part of our contributions to Ocean Week Victoria, in collaboration with Seaquaria Ocean Education, we're hosting an extravaganza of ocean fun down at the Gorge Waterway Nature House! Bring the ocean lovers in your life down to the shores of the gorge for touch tank demonstrations with live marine animals, local exhibitors, nature walks, arts, crafts, games, and more!
🗓Saturday, May 30
🕰12:00-4:00pm
🌳 Petition to Save the Mighty Braefoot Oaks! 🌳
Previously, we shared a petition on behalf of Esquimalt Climate Organizers that spoke out against the proposed removal of 33 Garry Oak trees from a property on Admirals Road. This time, a new petition asks the District of Saanich to help save and protect the Garry Oak trees on 4015 Braefoot Road.
68 of the Mighty Braefoot Oaks are also in danger of removal thanks to a development proposal, which seeks to build 24 townhomes on the site. As with the Admirals development, the community habitat and hydrology will take a severe blow if this project goes through. Some good news, however: the petition is nearing 1400 signatures, and the owner of the property has shown to be open to the site becoming a protected park.
To sign the petition and learn more information, click the button below!
🐦🔥 Celebrating Gaia Series 2026: ILLUMINAIRE Wings of Silence 🐦🔥
From the Capprico Vocal Ensemble comes ILLUMINAIRE: Wings of Silence, shedding light on beauty, fragility, and the silenced voices of our natural world.
Wings of Silence features Christopher Tin’s powerful oratorio The Lost Birds—a soaring tribute to the beauty of flight and a lament for vanished species. Joined by the Emily Carr String Quartet, the ensemble partners with the Rocky Point Bird Observatory for a pre-concert panel on art, science, and conservation. Audiences are invited to reflect on humanity’s connection to nature and the urgent call to protect the voices of the earth before they fall silent.
🗓Saturday, May 2
🕰3:00-4:30pm
🗓Sunday, May 3
🕰7:30-9:00pm
🪻 Camas Day Celebration! 🪻
The Friends of Uplands Park Society is inviting you to join them for their annual spring Camas Day celebration! It’s the 80th birthday of Uplands Park, and there is lots of fun and excitement to be had, including live music from the Bald Eagles, displays from environmental organizations, guided walks through the Camas Meadows, and free refreshments, including cake! Come celebrate 80 years of becoming an Oak Bay Municipal nature park!
🗓Sunday, May 3
🕰12:00-3:00pm
🐦 World Migratory Bird Day 🐦
Rocky Point Bird Observatory and GWAS are partnering to kick off Victoria Bird Week 2026 with a day of activities and fun on World Migratory Bird Day!
This year, we’re imagining Beacon Hill Park buzzing with families, kids in costume, bird walks in full swing, and community organizations sharing their passion for birds and habitat conservation. We’re looking to engage families and young people through creative, hands-on learning, and celebrate migration and biodiversity in one of Victoria’s most iconic parks. Expect lots of bird species, interactive activities, and the return of the popular “Scream Like a Seagull” event!
We hope you’ll join us to launch Victoria Bird Week with energy, visibility, and real community pride. For more information, please see RPBO’s event calendar.
🗓Saturday, May 9
🕰10:00am-1:00pm
🎤 hum Micro-opera Event 🎤
Be still; a soon-to-be Mother is building her nest. An imaginative sound world draws you in as a female “Anna’s Hummingbird,” prepares for new life.
hum is a new pollinator-oriented micro-opera, blending electronics, vocals, and poetry en plein air. Soprano Anna Bigland-Pritchard (Gay4Nature Collective’s Green, Rick Waines’ i am beauty, and looping project rose house) and composer Jami Reimer (Soft Tongues, and Here You Are Singing) are building a sonic & visual nest to nurture & delight.
An initial May 2026 tour is possible thanks to funding from Canada Council for the Arts, a residency at the Yellow House Art Centre, and an invitation to perform at Burnaby Blooms.
Click here to learn more about hum. Follow Anna’s Instagram at this link and Jamie’s at this link.
🗓Sunday, May 10
🕰1:00pm & 2:00pm
🪸 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: Marble of the West 🪸
The Victoria Choral Society is thrilled you can join us for our final concert of the season! Our program features the beloved classic, Ein deutsches Requiem, a monumental work by Johannes Brahms. Also featured is the world premiere arrangement of Marble of the West by Canadian-Iranian composer, Iman Habibi, a moving work that addresses themes of displacement and the impact of environmental change – a powerful pairing to end our season.
Join Iman Habibi, Jon O'Riordan (Gail O'Riordan Climate and the Arts Legacy Fund), Jacques Sirois (Greater Victoria NatureHood), and Brian Wismath at 1:30pm for a 30-minute pre-concert talk exploring Habibi’s Marble of the West. This discussion will delve into the impact of deforestation on the marbled murrelet seabird, alongside broader themes of migration and displacement that shape the work.
🗓Sunday, May 24
🕰2:30-4:00pm
📆 Save the Date for these Events! 📆
Ocean Week Opportunities Fair | Wednesday, June 3
Coastal Restoration on a Green Shores Site | Thursday, June 4
Hadyn’s Seasons Performance | Saturday, June 6
Oceans and Rivers Piano Recital | Sunday, July 19
We hope you’re embracing the joys of spring and getting hyped for our Nature House summer hours in June! We’ll see you in the next newsletter.
Sincerely,
The GWAS Team
Comments