Your Long Beach Nature Tour Guides
Bill McIntyre
It all started in 1973, right at the tail end of a winter storm. When New Brunswick native and Long Beach Nature Tours visionary Bill McIntyre arrived on Canada's West Coast to work at the newly established Pacific Rim Natural Park Reserve, in his words, "I thought I had arrived at Nirvana... Huge snow white surf was peeling off the blue Pacific swells, and the sun was just starting to edge the dark purple clouds in gold, pink and orange hues... I'll never forget it." Bill acted as Chief Naturalist for the Park Reserve for 25 years, leading its various environmental educational programs. Wanting the flexibility to offer nature tours customized to all wants and needs, from children to retirees and corporate groups, he launched Long Beach Nature Tours in 1996 and has been carrying a pair of binoculars since.
Silva Johansson
An appropriate caricature of Long Beach Nature Tours guide Silva Johansson could be of a witty cultural and ecological encyclopedia with bounds of energy, a bright rain slicker and a head of curls. And she has her hands in a number of tidepools, if you will. When Silva is not "in the office" as Senior Interpreter and Outreach Officer at the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, she can be found leading nature walks such as "Get Fat Quick on the Shorebird Diet" for the annual Shorebird Festival in April, or the "Signs of Spring" for the Pacific Rim Whale Festival. Silva has also made an appearance in living rooms across the county tidepooling for strange and slippery creatures on Long Beach for Canadian Geographic Kids TV. Ask her about her time exploring the B.C. coast aboard the tall ship North Star of Herschel Island.
Jessie Vedova
Guiding is in Long Beach Nature Tours guide Jessie Vedova's genes - growing up with her father as a Park Warden at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, you could say that it's in her nature. Jessie spent her childhood along the shore of Barkley Sound in Ucluelet, and now drives whale watching boats on its waters when she's not teaching at the Ucluelet Secondary School. Jessie spends much of her time in the great Pacific outdoors surfing its waves, painting natural vistas, and searching for elusive Japanese glass fishing floats - which she'll gladly discuss with you, along with all that is natural in Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds.