Support us as we paddle for biodiversity in the Salish Sea!
We're paddling for biodiversity—about 40 nautical miles—to raise funds in support of IMERSS!
IMERSS is dedicated to creating capacity for community participation in long-term ecological research in the Salish Sea, to monitor biodiversity in this era of rapid ecological transformation. Your support will help us build local capacity for our innovative programs of research, preserve legacy biodiversity datasets, and create resources for other communities to conduct similar work throughout the region.
Through our paddle-along fundraiser, we'll showcase several dimensions of our organization in an expedition to document biodiversity in the southern Gulf Islands. We'll conduct a cormorant nesting survey (part of a long-standing monitoring effort), collect phytoplankton samples, and assess the status of a rare plant population, among other exciting activities. Along the way, we'll share outcomes of our biodiversity surveys—with the goal of documenting 300 species on iNaturalist.
Your donation will support several programs of community-based long-term ecological research, including:
The Xetthecum Ecocultural Mapping project: an Indigenous-led initiative synthesizing biodiversity data, ecosystem mapping, and cultural knowledge in an interactive map of Xetthecum (Retreat Cove) Galiano Island, BC.
The Janszen Legacy project: preserving a critical legacy biodiversity dataset documenting fifty years of vascular plant data collected in the Salish Sea
The Sentinels of Change project: a long-term monitoring project tracking Dungeness crab population dynamics in collaboration with the Hakai Institute
Your donation will also support the arts!
Donate $50 for a set of six custom biodiversity art cards or $200 for a framed algae-pressing. Our Top Three Donors will win a free biodiversity inventory!*
*limited to donors on Galiano Island
Thank you to our sponsors!
