We walk the talk!

At Eagle Wing Tours, we don’t just talk about conservation. We fuel it. Through our participation in 1% for the Planet (see below), our per guest Wildlife Fee (see below), and carbon offsets we’ve raised more than $1.25 million since 2011. These funds are dispersed to a broad range of conservation organizations who are working hard to restore and protect the wildlife of the Salish Sea and beyond.

Join us on one of our tours to learn more about the many conservation initiatives that you help us support! Give us a call or book online!

“Environmental stewardship is at the heart of everything we do at Eagle Wing. Our customers can take pride in knowing that their tourism dollars are leaving a positive impact on the whales and the marine environment we all depend on.”
— Brett Soberg and Don Stewart, owners, Eagle Wing Tours

One of our partners: Goldstream Volunteer Salmonid Enhancement Association

1% for the Planet

In 2011, we were Victoria’s first whale watching company to join 1% for the Planet. As a member, we donate 1% of our total annual revenue to non-profit groups dedicated to sustainability and environmental protection.

Wildlife Fee

In 2013, we were the first whale watching company in Victoria to add a per guest wildlife fee to support conservation research in the region. The fee, currently $5, is donated directly to three organizations: the Center for Whale Research, the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Wild 4 Whales Foundation.

Where are the funds going?

This pie chart shows where the funds from all donations are going. For a complete list of the organizations we support, see below.

Our four pillars of conservation

Our mission is to protect marine wildlife and the ocean environment through four main areas: conservation, sustainability, research and education.

We directly support conservation activities.

We promote environmental stewardship through industry-leading sustainability initiatives.

We enable research partnerships and collect research data from our vessels.

And we build awareness through award-winning education and outreach programs.

Your donations are helping us do all of these things!

Meet our conservation partners

Center for Whale Research

Since 1976 the US-based Center for Whale Research (CWR) has been the leading research and advocacy organization studying killer whales in the Salish Sea, with a special focus on the endangered southern resident killer whale population. Through an ongoing photo-ID project known as Orca Survey, the CWR performs on-water census and health assessments of the whales, informs elected officials of ecosystem needs, and shares the whales’ stories with the world. More than four decades of research has created the world’s only long-term dataset on the behaviour, health and social dynamics of the southern resident killer whales. Learn more

Pacific Salmon Foundation

Wild Pacific salmon are food for resident killer whales! They’re a keystone species in BC, supporting ecosystems, coastal communities and cultures, and more than $1 billion in economic activity. The Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of wild Pacific salmon and their natural habitats in BC and the Yukon. The foundation provides money to community groups that conserve and restore salmon streams across the province, manages watershed initiatives to connect multiple stakeholders, advances science to better understand the factors that limit salmon abundance, and works with government to prioritize salmon conservation in the province. Learn more

Wilderness International

Wilderness International is a non-profit foundation dedicated to protecting wilderness areas for future generations. Since it was created in 2008, it has purchased, registered and legally protected 4.5 million square metres of valuable and endangered rainforest in Canada and Peru. At Eagle Wing, we’ve been measuring our carbon footprint since 2009, reducing what we can and offsetting what we can’t. We invest in carbon offset projects with Wilderness International to purchase tracts of old-growth forest in the Toba Valley north of Vancouver. Eagle Wing offsets one square metre of old growth forest with every $1 raised through seat sales!

Photo: Toba Valley / Reinhard Mink, Wilderness International

Wild 4 Whales Foundation

The Wild 4 Whales Foundation is a not-for-profit organization created by Eagle Wing Tours in 2016 to support research, advocacy and education on cetaceans and other marine wildlife in the Salish Sea and beyond.

Organizations and projects funded through the foundation to date include:

- Alert Bay Cetological Society
- Author Mark Leiren-Young video on Moby Doll
- Exploring the Salish Sea floating classroom education program
- Lake Cowichan Salmonid Enhancement Society and Hatchery
- Ocean Wise
- Peninsula Streams Society
- Porpoise Conservation Society
- Race Rocks Ecological Reserve (Pearson College)
- Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition: Chinook project
- Wilderness International
- World Fisheries Trust

Conservation organizations we’re supporting

Here’s a round-up of all the organizations and projects we—and our tour guests—continue to support through 1% for the Planet and the Wildlife Fee.

- Bay Cetology – ongoing database on Bigg’s killer whales, live hydrophone system
- Center for Whale Research – ongoing wild killer whale research
- Cowichan Lake Salmonid Enhancement Society & Hatchery classroom salmon incubation program and general support
- Eagle Wing’s award-winning Exploring the Salish Sea floating classroom education program – creating a connection between youth and the Salish Sea
- Goldstream Volunteer Salmonid Enhancement Association – classroom salmon incubation program and general support
- The Land Conservancy – local habitat protection
- Mark Leiren-Young – documentary on “Moby Doll” the killer whale
- Marine Guides Association of Canada
- Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) – “See a Blow Go Slow” campaign and general support
- 1% for the Planet – membership
- Pacific Salmon Foundation – chinook salmon enhancement projects
- Pacific Wild – Protect Pacific Herring campaign and advocacy for wild wolves
- Peninsula Streams Society – beach and salmon spawning habitat restoration projects
- Porpoise Conservation Society – regional and global porpoise conservation and research
- Race Rocks Ecological Reserve – upgrades to solar panels, generator batteries, desalination system
- Rocky Point Bird Observatory – educational programs
- SeaChange Marine Conservation Society: eelgrass and shoreline restoration projects
- Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea – salmon life cycle display
- Sierra Club – habitat preservation for salmon, bears, wolves, eagles and more
- South Vancouver Island Anglers’ Coalition – Sooke River chinook salmon enhancement project
- Synergy Foundation – sustainability monitoring
- Surfrider Foundation: beach clean-ups, outreach programs
- Wild 4 Whales Foundation – marine research and education initiatives
- Wilderness International – habitat preservation in the Toba Valley
- World Fisheries Trust – herring research and enhancement

What our conservation partners say about us…

“Currently, only 3% of total philanthropy goes to the environment and, only 5% of that comes from businesses. The planet needs bigger support than this, and our growing network of business members—including Eagle Wing Tours—is doing its valuable part to increase giving and support on-the-ground outcomes.”

— Kate Williams, CEO, 1% for the Planet

“The premier study undertaken by the Center for Whale Research has always been benign photo-identification work to document the demographics and occupancy of all ecotypes of killer whales in the Salish Sea. The Pacific Whale Watch Association currently provides early contact information useful for this study and Eagle Wing Tours, in particular, provides this information for the Strait of Juan de Fuca.”

—Dr. Ken Balcomb, Senior Scientist, Center for Whale Research

“We’re grateful for Eagle Wing Tour’s early and generous financial support of our recently concluded five-year Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, the largest international research project ever undertaken in the Salish Sea targeted at concerns about production of Pacific Salmon.”

—Mike Meneer, President & CEO, Pacific Salmon Foundation

“Pacific Wild is grateful for financial support from Eagle Wing Tours, a sustainable marine tourism company with a passion for conservation. Your donation toward the work to save the last viable Pacific herring population on BC’s coast is making a difference.”

—Justyne Banno, Pacific Wild