Gary Backlund has helped organize the last four Vancouver Island Paddlefests held in Ladysmith, BC. He is a house designer and building consultant and has delivered workshops on housing maintenance for First Nation communities throughout BC and the Yukon. Gary and his daughter, Katherine are the volunteer wardens for the Woodley Range Ecological Reserve, the home of 29 rare plant species. Gary and his family own and operate a British Columbia Managed Forest. Gary also sits on the Cowichan Valley Regional District's Round Table on the Environment.