The Hakai Institute—part of the Tula Foundation—has offices in Quadra Island/Campbell River, Victoria, and Vancouver. We also partner with universities, NGOs, First Nations, government agencies, businesses, and local communities.
About the Hakai Institute
The roots of the organization extend back to the early 2000s when the Tula Foundation helped conserve key coastal habitats in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
From land securement, the organization’s focus shifted to supporting science on the BC coastal landscape to guide stewardship. One major hindrance was a lack of infrastructure to carry out the science. To fill that gap, the Hakai Institute ramped up its operations in 2009 with the purchase of the former Hakai Beach Resort fishing lodge on Calvert Island.
The first official gathering in the spring of 2010 was the Coastal Guardian Watchmen conference bringing First Nations from across the BC coast to Calvert Island—an event we’ve hosted each spring since that time. Research began mostly in the immediate vicinity of Calvert Island.
Calvert Island and Beyond
In 2014, the Hakai Institute expanded and we opened a second ecological observatory on Quadra Island. In 2015 and 2016, we extended our interests farther across the BC coast and to Washington and Alaska through strategic partnerships.
The Next Phase
In 2017 opened the Hakai Node at the University of British Columbia Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, as well as new offices on Langley Street to complement existing offices in the Old Victoria Custom House. In 2018, we built the state-of-the-art Marna Lab on Quadra Island for shellfish, ocean acidification, and genomics research.
Increasingly, we’ve added expertise in technology, including sensor networks, geospatial mapping, information technology, and computer modelling.
Hakai Timeline
2002
Land securement and stewardship program for BC coast.
2005
Began sponsoring scientific research on the BC Central Coast
2008
Commissioned Rivers Inlet Ecosystem Study with BC universities and Wuikinuxv First Nation
2009
Converted Calvert Island fishing lodge to an ecological observatory
2011
Began a five-year archaeological program based on Calvert Island, elucidating the early migration and settlement of the BC coast
2012
Sea Otters return en masse to Hakai Calvert and stay for a few years before moving on. Kelp forests expand dramatically in the otter years.
2014
Transformed Quadra Island facility into a second ecological observatory.
2014
A week-long conference was held in June at Hakai Calvert, led by Pew Charities, SFU, and First Nations, to discuss the impacts of returning sea otters.
2015
Established networks for ocean acidification and watershed research with Alaska and Washington partners
2015
Ongoing hearings related to the Northern Gateway bitumen pipeline project. Tula sponsors UVic Environmental Law Centre and lawyers Chris Tollefson and Anthony Ho in opposing the project.
2015
Seastar wasting disease spreads to the Central Coast. Hakai launches ongoing initiatives to track the spread of the disease, identify refugia, and search for the cause.
2016
Joined Smithsonian Institution’s Marine Global Ecological Observatory network.
2016
Expanded research in the Koeye watershed in partnership with Heiltsuk First Nation
2017
Highlights of the archaeology program included the discovery on Calvert Island of the oldest-known human footprints in North America, over 13,000 years old, as well as a village site on nearby Triquet Island that is at least 14,000 years old.
2017
Opened Langley Street office in Victoria to complement existing offices in the Old Victoria Custom House specializing in information technology, geospatial mapping, and bioinformatics.
2017
A veteran sea otter weighing 90 pounds dies (evidently from an infected canine tooth) on one of Hakai Calvert's beaches. Many months later, its skeleton and pelt return and become permanent attractions in the dining hall.
2017
Three-week BioBlitz at Hakai Calvert in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. Attendees from across our coast and around the globe.
2017
The Oyster Genome Project, funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, commences, with Tula supporting the laboratory challenge studies. Partners come from UBC, DFO, and elsewhere. Project continues for five years and stimulates the construction of our Quadra laboratory complex.
2017
Installed instruments on an Alaskan ferry to monitor ocean acidification along its 3,000-kilometer round-trip route between Bellingham, WA and Skagway, AK in partnership with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, the Alaska Ocean Observing System, and the University of Alaska Southeast
2017 - Today
Quadra Wet/Mesocosm laboratory is established then revised in several stages, leading to the world-leading facility we have today.
2017 - Today
Quadra Genome lab built and is continuously improved.
2018
Opened Hakai Cryosphere Node at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George.
2018
Two BioBlitzes at Hakai Calvert: one with a terrestrial focus, the other centered on seagrass ecosystems.
2018
Quadra Centre for Coastal Dialogue formally established.
2018
Built Marna Lab on Quadra Island for experimentation on shellfish, ocean acidification, and genomics research
2019
Began working with Ocean Networks Canada to build the Pacific node of the new Canadian Integrated Ocean Observing System (CIOOS), which is funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and MEOPAR
2019-2022
Baby Humpback Whale at the Hakai Coastal Observatory. We organized the entire process, from the discovery of the one-year-old whale dead on a nearby beach to the reanimated skeleton that now graces the main lodge at the Hakai Coastal Observatory.
2019
The Calvert Island Ecological Observatory becomes a base for autonomous ocean gliders to explore the coastal shelf—our role in the multi-year C-PROOF program in collaboration with DFO, UBC, and UVic.
2020 - 2022
Hakai is resilient through the COVID-19 pandemic and continues essential operations at all field stations. Stringent policies prevent disease outbreaks.
2020
Gardens and local food production expanded at Hakai Calvert during the pandemic.
2020
Biodiversity lab built at Hakai Quadra during the pandemic. Specializes in microscopy and genomics, with particular emphasis on microbes, invertebrates, and seagrass and other macrophytes.
2021 - Today
Palaeoecology and archaeology studies on the northwest corner of Vancouver Island extend the tradition established by Hakai on the Central Coast. Early results show that the land was ice-free 18,500 years ago.
2021
Industrial-scale greenhouses at Hakai Calvert extend our capacity for local food production.
2022 - Today
Sentinels and ICO projects expand footprint of Hakai science via community engagement.
2023
Ancient DNA Laboratory established at Hakai Quadra, combining our interest in palaeoecology and genomics.
2024
Three-week BioBlitz held at Hakai Quadra.
2024
Open House to recognize over two decades of Tula, plus celebrate the establishment of our office on Victoria Harbor.
2024
We donate two parcels of land on Calvert Island, totalling 55 acres, to BC Parks for incorporation into the Hakai-Luxvbalis Conservancy.
2024-2025
Supporting Ecotourism. Hakai Calvert Coastal Observatory hosts Lindblad/National Geographic expedition ships and other tourist vessels en route to and from Alaska and other visits in cooperation with the Heiltsuk First Nation.
2024-2025
Hakai Calvert Visitors' Center. Education and outreach to all visitors to the Calvert Coastal Observatory.
2025
Fully recovered from the COVID-19 years, we host XX school and community visits, totally more than XX overnight visitor days at the Calvert Coastal Observatory.
2025
Sea otters return en masse to the Hakai region after a relative absence for almost a decade. This year, we see significant numbers of mothers and pups for the first time. There is an immediate resurgence of kelp as otters gobble the kelp-predatory sea urchins.
2025
In cooperation with the Heiltsuk First Nation and other partner organizations we host a large conference on kelp at the Calvert Coastal Observatory. Forty attendees over three days.