2023 Vital Signs Report
Feature Report
West Coast NEST
West Coast NEST (Nature. Education. Sustainability. Transformation.) is a regional education tourism collaboration led by the CBT along with communities, organizations, and businesses from Hesquiaht to Ucluelet, developed to expand local education opportunities, diversify the economy, and establish further employment opportunities.
The NEST works to diversify our region’s economy by supporting the development of the education tourism economy. Education tourism seeks to connect visitors with experiential learning opportunities where local experts and knowledge holders lead informative talks, guided tours, and hands-on workshops about a variety of topics such as nature, science, history, sustainability, language, culture, and art. We are working to grow our regional education tourism economy by supporting the development and delivery of capacity building programs for residents, the development and delivery of education programs for visitors, and marketing the region's education programs to visiting student groups and adult learners.
Education tourism contributes to a healthy ecosystem as is it non-destructive and provides opportunities to include conservation and sustainability issues in educational experiences. Many outdoor experiential learning opportunities provided on the west coast are centred around the nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-chah-nulth) First Nations philosophies of iisaak, qwa' aak qin tiič mis, and hišukniš c̓awaak. In support of a sustainable, healthy ecosystem, we are seeking to increase learning opportunities offered in off-peak seasons and in less-visited communities within our region.
