News
- 2008 Spring Exchange - Victoria, BC
The spring exchange will be held April 18-20th, 2008 in Victoria, BC. The exchange will be hosted by Ocean River Sports. More info
- Class 4 Waters Endorsement
The SKGABC has recently created a new endorsement that allows guides to work in class 4 waters. More info
- Sea Kayaking BC Study
The SKGABC and Tourism BC teamed up with Malaspina to create an extensive study on the sea kayaking sector in BC. Please log into the members section to access the full report.
- 2008 Exam Dates
Spring 2008 Level 2 and 3 exam dates are now posted. Please click here for dates and locations
- Risk Management Session. At the Spring 2007
Egmont exchange, David Lecovin presented a session on current issues in Risk Management and legal liability. Click here to download the notes from David's session. At the Spring 2008 exchange in Victoria, David Lecovin will present a follow-up session on Legal Liability and Risk Management.
- SKGABC Executive Elections 2007 and AGM - more info here
- The Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC is now able to take credit card and debit payments for membership and exams through Paypal. Once you fill out the form here you will be directed to the secure Paypal website where you can make payments to SKGABC.
- Uclulet Provincial Court finds a non-SKGABC sea kayaking company guilty of operating without a permit in the Broken Group Islands
Click here for more details.
- SKGABC Certified Guides Page now on the website
A listing of guides who have asked to have their name, certification level and date of certification is now on the SKGABC website. You can view the pages here. If you have been certified by the SKGABC and would like to have your name and certification level listed on the website please contact info@skgabc.com
- SKGABC Members Page
The SKGABC has a new members only section on our website. Access to this page is restricted to members of the SKGABC. All members in good standing of the SKGABC will receive login information via email March 3, 2006
- Changes to the SKGABC Guide Certification Levels
The SKGABC has made several changes to our certification levels. Level One Guide certification replaces Day Guide. Assistant Overnight Guide certification replaces Assistant Guide Certification. Level Two Guide certification is a new level. Level Three Guide certification replaces Full Guide certification. More Information.
- Cetus Research & Conservation Society
Cetus Research & Conservation Society has new contact information for their marine education and monitoring programs - Straitwatch and the Robson Bight Marine Warden Program. Please update your address book with the this information
- Are you an Employee or Independent Contractor?
A recent presentation to the SKGABC by the Rulings Division of the Federal Government's Canada Revenue Agency indicated that in almost all circumstances, guides are employees. Get a ruling and get paid correctly - More information
- If you hire people to work for your guiding company – whether they work full-time, part-time or on a casual or contract basis – you’re required to register with the Workers’ Compensation Board. More information ...
- The SKGABC Logo Usage Guidelines are now available. More information...
If you have a question about the SKGABC, please contact us!
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Listed below are the seven basic principles of “Leave no Trace” along with the
SKGABC’s best practices for each principle.
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Reduce the amount of potential garbage. Plan meal quantities carefully, package food in reusable
containers and use leftovers for snacks or lunches.
- Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you are working in.
- Have an emergency and contingency plan in place for your trip area.
- Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
- Set up campsites on durable surfaces. Avoid critical wildlife habitats, obvious animal trails and fragile
terrain.
- Avoid digging trenches around tents whenever possible. Choose well drained or high ground for tent
sites.
- Watch where you walk: use established trails to avoid trampling vegetation.
- Select launch sites carefully to avoid trampling inter-tidal life.
- Tread carefully while exploring the inter-tidal zone and return all rocks, shells, and creatures to their
original location.
- Be aware of first nation sites. Do not disturb middens, fish weirs, culturally modified trees, etc.
- Dispose of Waste Properly
- Human Waste:
- Use established vault and pit toilets where they exist.
- Pack out human wastes whenever feasible (i.e. boom box).
- If no privy is available and packing out human waste is not feasible, use the inter-tidal zone. Choose a
site that is not used by shellfish harvesters and which naturally “flushes” (i.e. wave pounded headland or
shoreline rather than an enclosed cove or bay), away from campsites and at least 100 m from running
fresh water. Dig a shallow hole about 6 inches deep and cover it after use. Try washing with salt water as
an alternative to toilet paper, otherwise all toilet paper must be burned or packed out. Carry Ziploc bags
and/or brown paper bags to conceal contents for used toilet paper or feminine hygiene products.
- All feminine hygiene products must be completely burned or packed out.
- Urinate in the inter-tidal zone and away from known tent sites.
Waste Water:
- Use biodegradable soap.
- Drain waste water from cooking into the ocean.
- Wash dishes at the ocean’s edge or dump waste water into the ocean at water’s edge.
- Brush teeth at the ocean’s edge and spit into the water.
Food Waste and Garbage:
- Food waste must be packed out, or completely burned where appropriate.
- As your kayaks become emptier begin to fill them up with litter on the beaches that you can bring back
with you and recycle.
- Separate clean recyclables from garbage and deal with these appropriately after the trip.
Camping:
- Leave campsites as clean as or cleaner than when you arrived.
- Remove all ropes, line and twine from trees.
- Leave What You Find
- Leave what you find. Do not disturb natural features.
- Within Parks, do not collect natural objects. Elsewhere, discourage collecting natural objects.
- Dismantle any structures that you have built before moving camp.
- Do not drive nails or spikes into trees.
- Do not remove or handle cultural objects.
- Minimize Campfire Impacts
- Respect fire bans
- Fires must be a safe distance from drift logs and vegetation.
- Fires must be small enough to put out quickly and completely
- Build your fire below the high tide line or in designated fire rings or previously well established fire pits.
- Avoid building fires near the canopy of overhanging trees and in sandy areas with evidence of large tree,
shrub or bush root systems.
- Fuel should consist of driftwood found on beaches below the high tide line and be small enough to burn
down completely to ashes.
- Once the fire has been extinguished, all signs of the fire should be obliterated.
- Do not construct a ring of rocks around fires as it scars the rocks, disturbs habitat, and can split from heat
and become a safety hazard.
- If appropriate, dismantle any fire pits you may find.
- Crush any charcoal and then remove all charred remains by scattering it in the ocean.
- Respect Wildlife
- Do not feed wildlife.
- Be aware and knowledgeable of sensitive wildlife sites (breeding areas, nesting sites, haul out sites) and
do not approach these sites in order to minimized disturbance.
- Without compromising group safety keep appropriate distances between your group and wildlife and
conduct ourselves in a manner that does not disturb or alter wildlife’s natural behavior. Avoid interrupting
an animal’s ability to rest, feed, reproduce and end for young. Disturbances can cause wildlife to expend
more energy than they otherwise would.
- Discourage wolves, cougars or bears from approaching campsites.
- Use binoculars and telephoto lenses to observe and photograph wildlife.
- Store food securely in hatches when not in Bear Country, or hang it appropriately when you are in Bear
Country and camping in an area of known bear travel or activity.
- Keep others informed about sites where problematic interactions between wildlife and people have
occurred.
- Be Considerate of Other Visitors
- Keep groups small and contained in one area. Maintain group size within Parks Canada and SKGABC
regulations and guidelines.
- Keep noise levels at a minimum at campsites, on trails and on the water.
- Co-operate and communicate in a friendly manner with other groups and individuals
- While launching and landing on a beach, groups should remain tight and not taking up the entire beach
so that others can use the waters edge.
- Store gear neatly when on shore, i.e. keep a tidy site.
- Keep other
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