An astounding new guidebook packed with colour photographs, day trips, personal reflections, and a variety of activities for nature lovers of all ages.

Wildlife Weekends invites readers to discover the wildlife living within the many different ecosystems of southern British Columbia. Greater ecological awareness offers readers the ability to deeply appreciate and understand animals and their habitats. With knowledge comes action, ultimately resulting in more people placing greater value on protecting, conserving, and even rewilding ecosystems. Written as a guidebook with 20 species-focused chapters, Wildlife Weekends leads the reader to sites with trails, boardwalks, parking, and restrooms, all within a six-hour drive from Vancouver. Each chapter guides the reader to a place-based discovery of species in their local ecosystems. Topics include natural history, Indigenous cultural and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, current scientific research, and personal stories from wildlife researchers. Themes include how to engage with and take action to protect a species, ethical viewing considerations, minimizing the carbon footprint of your experience, and understanding how each species is affected by climate change. Special emphasis is placed on getting children and youth involved and on resources to grow one’s knowledge.

Wildlife and locations span from Killer Whales off Saturna Island to hummingbirds in Princeton, and from snakes in Osoyoos to Bald Eagles on the Chehalis Flats near Harrison. Species outlined in the book range even more widely, from tiny American Pikas to enormous Grey Whales, from endangered Vancouver Island Marmots to iconic Moose and colourful Canada Darner Dragonflies. Wildlife Weekends offers something for everyone!

Roy Jantzen is an environmental educator, naturalist, and author of Active Vancouver: A Year-Round Guide to Outdoor Recreation in the City’s Natural Environments. He holds a master of arts in environmental education and communication from Royal Roads University and has had a career as an educator at Capilano University, where he teaches courses in natural history, ecotourism, and climate change. For over three decades, Roy has helped educate the public about the importance of biodiversity and our human place within it. Though he has a passion for local ecosystems and the species that inhabit them, he also has a strong desire to relate the environment to our lives and larger issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals, planetary boundaries, and our personal ecological footprints. Roy is passionate about helping his students become the next generation to answer the call of creating a sustainable planet, and asks, “Shouldn’t all education be environmental education?” He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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