6 Sustainable Events that Celebrate Victoria’s Green Scene

CELEBRATE OUR GREEN-SCENE!

1. Cycle to the Saanich Earth Day Festival

April 23rd – 11:00-3:00pm – Saanich Municipal Hall

Explore Saanich by bike and celebrate Earth Day!  Guests who cycle to this free festival can register to win a variety of prizes including a $1000 gift certificate towards an E-Bike from a local cycling shop.  Free family-friendly activities include live music, eco-friendly interactive displays, a cycling obstacle course, an electric vehicle display, festival food carts and concessions, and an eco-centre play area for children. Teach your children about the different ways they can be eco-conscious in your communities!    

2. Surfrider Vancouver Island’s Earth Day Power Hour

Anytime from April 12th – 22nd 

Surfrider has piloted a worldwide “Earth Day Power Hour” campaign that you can get involved with your friends, family, community, business… or even solo! They invite everyone to commit to cleaning up their communities for just one hour on Earth Day, registering either a solo or group cleanup. Head out to any environment of your choosing – be it the city, neighbourhood park, beach, lake, or trail – and take the pledge to remove plastic pollution endangering plant and wildlife. By registering your clean-up data, you have the chance to win a prize for collecting a) the most trash, b) the biggest trash, c) the weirdest trash, and more. Get your group together, and rake in those Trash Awards this year! 
 

3.    Earth Day at the Bateman Foundation

April 22nd – 23rd – 10:00am – 4:00pm – The Bateman Gallery

The Bateman Foundation and Gallery is returning with their Earth Day celebrations with free admission for children and free family-friendly activities all weekend long. Through a celebration of art, the Bateman Foundation hopes to inspire a new generation of eco-lovers. Their guest exhibition, Environment Impact II, features over 20 artists withs powerful themes that examine how human actions and inactions impact our planet. Trivia and art-creation activities will be held, with green prizes such as NatureSketch colouring books. It’s a perfect event for the creative, nature-loving kid in your life.

4.    IMPACT 2022 Sustainability Travel & Tourism Conference

May 8 – 11, 2022
 

It all started here in Victoria! IMPACT is a collaborative dialogue on innovation in the travel and tourism sector, eyed at from a sustainability lens.  Tourism as a prominent economic driver, has a large footprint on a destination’s environment. This multi-day conference sees influential speakers and industry leaders from all corners of the country, brought together through a partnership between Destination Greater Victoria, Synergy Sustainability Institute, Tartanbond and Starrboard Enterprises. 

We can all play our part in the discussion for a more sustainable future for Victoria, and Canadian tourism field alike.  Make an IMPACT, and register today.

5.    Celebrate World Ocean’s Day at Fisherman’s Wharf

June 5, 2022

Every day, our ocean is working for us. Let’s all play our part in supporting it. 

As part of Oceans Week Victoria (running from June 3rd- 12th), Victoria’s 8th annual World Oceans Day is all about teaching you how to care for our big, blue backyard. Participate in interactive activities taking place at Fisherman’s Wharf and discover new ways to keep our waters healthy for generations to come. On this day, you will learn about several fantastic community-and-business-led initiatives, such as beach and city cleanups, river restoration projects, sustainable seafood events, and more! 

This year’s event is hosted graciously by Eagle Wing Whale & Wildlife Watching Tours and the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.  

6.    Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Summit 

September 28-30, 2022 

North America’s Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Summit will be held this year at the carbon-neutral Victoria Conference Centre… and registration is now open! 

This event connects tourism industry professionals with local changemakers in places around North America. The goal of the summit is to “learn from one another, infuse more sustainability into our businesses with the knowledge we’ve gained and roll up our sleeves to volunteer in and with the local community.”

We believe we can change the world through travel. If you do too, you can register at the webpage here.

Planning a Green Meeting or Event? The Victoria Conference Centre (VCC) is an ideal place to host eco-friendly meetings and events. From energy-efficiency to water conservation and waste management, the VCC will help ensure your event is as sustainable as possible. The VCC has been working with corporate sustainability management firms Synergy Enterprises and Offsetters to measurably reduce our environmental impacts.

Travelling to Victoria? 

Minimizing your impact while exploring our city is easy to do!  If you’re visiting Victoria, we invite you to take a look at some of our certified, eco-friendly accommodation providers: 

• The Parkside Hotel & Spa – certified Carbon Neutral by Offsetters, with a 5-star Green Key rating! Even their Spa is Surfrider Certified. They support numerous carbon offset projects such as the Great Bear Rainforest Project, the Quadra Island Forestland Conservation Project, and the Three Gorges Solar Power Project in China.
• Inn at Laurel Point – BC’s first carbon neutral hotel, with several hotel-led green initiatives. This includes planting one tree for every reservation booked for a month from Earth Day, offering low-carbon menus at their restaurant, and capturing rainwater for re-use when possible. 
• Delta Hotels by Marriott™ Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort – has earned a 4-star Green Key rating from the Hotel Association of Canada. They are featured on ViSTA’s list of sustainable hotel accommodations in Victoria. 
• The Oswego Hotel – their restaurant, Bar 500, maintains a 100% sustainable Ocean Wise seafood menu that protects endangered species, is committed to marine conservation and limits by-catch.
• Huntingdon Manor Hotel – won the 2019 Greenest Lodging Ecostar Award, as well as having a 4 Green Key status and being an EcoFund Verified business. They also lead many initiatives, such as recycling soaps and toiletries into hygiene kits for local shelters or areas in need, hosting local beehives for pollination, and making the switch to solar-powered yard and garden care.

If you’re getting to Victoria, consider any of these sustainable transport options: 

• The YYJ Airport – our own airport’s water usage is approximately 40% below the North American per passenger airport average. Their waste diversion rate was increased to 58% in 2019 (up from 21% in 2016). 
• The Victoria Regional Transit System – a fantastic way to minimize single-commuter vehicles an minimize your footprint. You can get almost anywhere in Greater Victoria with a $5-day pass.
• Harbour Air Seaplanes – fully carbon neutral since 2007, and have trialled electric aircrafts – the world’s first trial of its kind!
• Wilson’s Transportation Ltd. – the largest bus company on the island, with a portion of their fleet being electric. Green Certified by Surfrider!
• FRS Clipper – resuming on April 15th!  A member of Green Marine, and has numerous sustainable strategies in place to show their commitment to reducing their footprint.

Lastly, some eco-friendly attractions for you to consider: 

• Alset Tours – Victoria’s first gas-free, electric vehicle luxury pick-up and drop-off tours
• The Pedaler Cycling Tours and Rentals – bike rentals and bike tours complete with e-bikes that can help you explore various exploration tours in Victoria at a fast pace (such as The Saanich Peninsula Flavour Trail!) 
• Eagle Wing Whale & Wildlife Watching Tours – a third party certified, carbon neutral whale and marine watching company
• Prince of Whales Whale & Marine Wildlife Adventures – a whale and marine watching company that puts conservation first as a member of “1% of the Planet”, contributing 1% of annual sales to local conservation initiatives
• Ocean River Sports – emissions-free west coast experiences such as paddleboarding and kayaking tours and courses
• Malahat Skywalk – committed to environmental stewardship, and built in collaboration and partnership with the Malahat Nation. 
• Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. – winning several environmental awards for their numerous eco-initatives, Phillips pioneers programs such as CO2 and Steam Recapture, a water reduction strategy, and the spent grain program, where they re-gift finished grains from a brew to farmers and their livestock.     
• Lighthouse Brewing Company – a local favourite! Lighthouse Brewing Co. are the winners of multiple CRD Ecostar awards for enviromental practices.      

CELEBRATE OUR GREEN-SCENE!