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Students walking on tree with a guide cable

Outdoor Adventure Workshops

Build your confidence, capacity, and knowledge while having fun! Join us for our Adventure Workshop Series.

Develop your land and water wilderness skills !

  • Contact: westcoastadventureworkshops@gmail.com
  • Cost: $120
  • Timing: See calendar below for the next session!
    • Backcountry workshops: Friday Evening 6PM – 8PM, Saturday and Sunday 9 AM – 4PM
    • Nature Workshops: Tuesday and Thursday Evenings 6PM – 8PM, Saturday 9 AM – 4PM
  • Instructor ratio: 1:8
  • Location:
    • In class: Westcoast Adventure College campus
      5449 Sooke Rd., Sooke, BC V9Z 0C8
    • In Field: Various South Island parks and wilderness areas including East Sooke Park, Sooke Hills, Goldstream Park

About our workshops

The foundation of our ethos is connecting people to their environment. Each workshop is designed to provide learning and practice to hone individual skills. Vancouver Island is one of the best locations for outdoor education in Canada and with our experienced instructors and the diverse outdoor classrooms, participants will explore their backyard with a fun and educational focus.

About Us

Operating since 2002, Westcoast Adventure College has graduated over 300 wilderness guides. We are British Columbia’s premier Adventure Tourism College and with accreditation by the BC Private Training Institutions Branch we ensure the highest level of experience and skills required for today’s Adventure Tourism industry. Over 20 years in wilderness education has proven to us that the benefits of outdoor learning on participant confidence and knowledge retention is unparalleled.

Our Instructors

All of our instructors are professionals in the field with years of experience across BC and the world. See instructor bios here.

Students camping, lighting a fire and map reading

What you’ll learn

Each workshop we will focus on a set of skills to prepare you for your outdoor adventure.

  • Introduction to Backcountry Hiking and Navigation

    Students walking on tree with a guide cable

     

    Get off the beaten track with our backcountry travel workshop.  Join us to learn the essential gear to bring while hiking in the wilderness, safety considerations while on the trail, and the fundamentals of navigation. Weekday evening classes will focus on choosing a hike based on terrain and timing, route planning, essential gear for day trips, and navigation theory. Weekend class will be primarily field-based providing opportunities for practical application, navigation in the field, and emergency preparedness.

    Everyone is welcome, no previous experience necessary!

    REGISTER HERE!

  • Pacific Northwest Nature and Ecology

     

    Instructor teaching about plant ecology in the forest

     

    We live in one of the abundant ecosystems in the world. Learn how everything is interconnected from salmon to eagles to bears to whales. Weekday evening classes will focus on the fundamentals of ecology and an overview of the natural history of coastal British Columbia. The weekend class will be field-based investigating forest, coastal and intertidal habitats.

    Everyone is welcome, no previous experience necessary!

    REGISTER HERE!

Calendar

Schedule is subject to change. Workshops beginning this fall!

Get prepared

Westcoast Adventure College provides the instructors and safety equipment. Students supply all personal snacks, drinks, and lunch and personal gear.

Please familiarize yourself with our Covid-19 Policies and Agreement.

  • Gear List

    Weekday classes will be held indoors. Participants should bring note taking material, any personal snacks or water, and a face mask.

    Weekend class will be mostly outdoors. Participants should be prepared to spend the day outdoors.

    General List (Here is a list for all workshops, look below for workshop specific gear):

    • Waterproof outer layers (rain jacket and pants)
    • Waterproof footwear
    • Appropriate warm layers if it is cold/ rainy forecast (ex. mitts and toque)
    • Snacks and lunch
    • Water
    • Face mask
    • Personal hand sanitizer
    • Hat
    • Note taking material

    For Navigation workshops:

    • Compass
    • Binoculars

    For Introduction to Backpacking:

    • Any gear you normally take hiking. A part of the workshop will focus on what gear to bring and how to pack.
    • Other than the General List, no specific gear is needed to complete the workshop

    For Pacific Northwest Nature and Ecology

    • Binoculars
    • Any nature field guides you have
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