The Field Files series documents CARL project progress by engaging with different experts who have contributed to project work and publicly sharing their expertise and contributions. This will aid in future project replicability.

See our Educational Portal: Salt Spring Island’s Coastal Douglas fir (CDF) forests are part of a globally rare ecological zone found almost exclusively on BC’s south coast. These forests and associated ecosystems are critical to the health of island communities – watershed health and freshwater availability, resilience from drought, flood and fire, and mitigation of impacts of…

Trees are working for us! How do forests support our drinking water? When we protect forest cover and native plants, we preserve soil health and keep water where it lands.

Job Title: Ecological Monitoring and Data Analysis Intern Application Deadline: Nov 22nd Description/Opportunity Transition Salt Spring Society’s Climate Adaptation Research Lab (C.A.R.L.) is a long-term experimental watershed restoration program based in the Maxwell Creek watershed on Salt Spring Island, B.C. We are currently looking to add a new team member in the Winter 2025/26 season…

🌿A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who joined us in the field for our spring and fall planting days this year – and to all who donated plants, offered support, or helped behind the scenes. Together, we planted over 2,000 native plants! Your efforts are helping to restore ecosystem functioning (erosion control), reduce wildfire risk,…

We’re proud to share that Dr. Ruth Waldick, Lead Scientist with Transition Salt Spring and head of the Climate Adaptation Research Lab (CARL), is featured in a new University of Victoria podcast exploring how our communities can better respond to extreme heat and wildfire risk. Ruth appears in Episode 3: “Ruth” of A Hot Topic:…

We are hosting a community restoration planting on October 17 & 18, and we’re looking for donations of native plants to help restore and strengthen our local ecosystems. Here’s our target plant list: Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor) Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) Pacific Willow (Salix lucida) Baldhip Rose (Rosa gymnocarpa) Red Alder (Alnus rubra) Blackcap Raspberry…

Wildhaven and Transition Salt Spring have partnered to create an early eco-literacy nature immersion program on Salt Spring Island. This video shares from the first 6 months of our pilot project, which is a weekly hands-on immersion experience. We are focused on forest restoration and experimental regenerative methods on Hwmet’etsum and other ecological opportunities around…

On June 14th, 2023, a group of students from the homeschool group Wild Haven spent the day in the field with our lead scientist Ruth Waldick, restoration ecologist Grace Fields, and botanist/restoration ecologist Angeline Emmott. The students learned how to spot a healthy forest and how those characteristics can act as natural firebreaks. Toward the…

During the May Victoria Day long weekend, Transition Salt Spring’s Climate Adaptation Research Lab (CARL), together with restoration ecology students from UVIC, UBC, and the Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS), worked on restoring the forest understory to create a fire-resistant environment and reduce wildfire risks on the island. The high school students were excited to…