Protecting

Nature Victoria is active in the community, and plays an effective role in furthering our mission – to inspire and empower people to love and protect nature  – through support of organizations that share our core values.

For many years, Nature Victoria has been deeply involved in the organizing and compiling of results of the annual Southern Vancouver Island Christmas Bird Count. This count occurs across North America, and is used to determine trends in bird populations, and which bird species are in decline and require additional conservation efforts. We see this activity as crucial to our protection focus.

Nature Victoria provides support to the Rocky Point Bird Observatory (RPBO) in the form of grants that assist in the delivery of their programs. In 2000, RPBO became a separate Society, continuing the work of monitoring migrating songbirds begun in 1994 while a part of VNHS. We are proud to contribute to the important bird science being conducted by RPBO, which is helping to illuminate the complex behaviour of our diverse migratory bird life.

Nature Victoria also supports the work of the Habitat Acquisition Trust, or HAT, with financial assistance. HAT’s many programs deal with habitat improvement and rehabilitation, removal of invasive species and enhancing biodiversity. HAT was founded in 1996 by VNHS to assist with conservation of habitat and foster stewardship of the natural ecosystems on Southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, through land acquisition, covenants and restoration efforts. 

In the present and past, Nature Victoria has provided financial assistance and volunteer time to other organizations and initiatives such as the Bring Back the Bluebirds Project, the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair, and the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary. We made a sizable donation in 2023 in support of the very successful 100th anniversary celebration of the Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary. We support scholarships and bursaries at the University of Victoria, Camosun College and Royal Roads University.

Through this support provided to other organizations, Nature Victoria occupies a prominent position of leadership in promoting the study of natural history and advocating for its protection.