Instructors

As a child growing up Julia was an outside kid. These early experiences formed the base for her connection to nature and her love for the outdoors. Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Social Psychology and explored different fields of social work before starting a Masters Program in Adventure and Experiential Education. During her Master’s program, she got some more formal training in Mountaineering, Climbing, Kayaking, Sailing and Canoeing and further opportunities to work in the outdoor education world.  She offered adventure-based counselling programs to school groups, worked in an outdoor education centre in Scotland that offers outdoor activities to people with disabilities and spear headed a project in the field of nature and forest kindergartens in central Germany. Shortly after she started working for Strathcona Park Lodge as an Outdoor Instructor and later as the Instructor and Curriculum Development Manager in the Program Department.  Julia started teaching for the COLT Program in 2014.  As CO-COLT Director she facilitates the general flow of each semester. As a Level 3 Sea Kayak Guide with the SKGABC she teaches on the kayaking trips during the semester.

For Julia a beautiful day is nearly impossible to spend inside! She loves roaming around on our nearby trails, going for swims and paddles on the lake or climbing at the nearby crags.  When more time is available family adventures, longer sea kayak trips and mountain journeys fight for her priorities.

Ever since he became part of a German environmental youth group Sebastian had an interest in the outdoors and outdoor education. He started rock climbing more than 15 years ago and fell in love with the mountains while exploring the Swiss Alps. He has worked as a climbing instructor in a climbing gym, taught lead climbing courses in the Mediterranean and lead students up mountains in the Swiss Alps. Sebastian studied Geography and also holds a Master in Adventure and Experiential Education, a great combination of understanding our environment and working with people in the outdoors.

Before becoming Co-Director of the COLT program he worked at Strathcona Park Lodge as an instructor for many seasons and lead the instructional staff team for five years. In the COLT Director position Sebastian is now in charge of the planning, staffing and overall facilitation of the COLT experience as well has the mountain and climbing trips within the semester. In his spare time he loves to explore the peaks and crags of Strathcona Park with his friends and family.

Don’t let Jamie’s size intimidate you. At 6’6” he’s a gentle sort of giant and impressively agile. He’s friendly and supportive and always willing to answer questions and pass on wisdom. There is no one that knows more about Strathcona Park Lodge than Jamie. He grew up here and has been running the Lodge since 1993 with his wife Christine Clarke.  Running a remote, wilderness lodge is a full-time job but Jamie is passionate about the COLT program and will be involved in many aspects of the program, especially on the water.

Jamie is one of the most respected outdoor educators and paddlers in Canada. He’s a master canoe instructor, a senior whitewater kayak instructor and a sea kayak full guide examiner. He is a volunteer committee member for Water Use Planning for our local watershed, and has also spent many volunteer hours developing standards and best practices in outdoor leadership and education. Previous to the Lodge Jamie went to the University of British Columbia where he was the Thunderbirds Varsity Basketball Team Co-Captain and a Canadian National Team rower.

In his quiet, incredibly knowledgeable way Richard is one of the most respected instructors in the COLT program. Originally from Nova Scotia, Richard took the COLT program in 1992. He’s worked at Strathcona Park Lodge ever since. He has a passion for sea kayaking, completing expeditions around the Maritimes of Canada, Baja, Mexico and the Pacific Northwest, including a solo circumnavigation of Vancouver Island and a trip around Newfoundland. Richard is a full Sea Kayak Guide with a unique ability to make wilderness trips even more unforgettable. He will likely be on all COLT sea kayak trips. Richard is also a journeyman carpenter, helping to build and repair many of the buildings at the Lodge in the off-season, and no slouch in the mountains.

Bill is a true Vancouver Island local, born and raised in Campbell River. He has taught all of the climbing and mountaineering courses in COLT. He has a complete climbing resume that includes steep rock routes to high mountain travel, alpine ski touring to ice climbing.  In the off season, Bill works as an avalanche forecaster and ski patroller at Mt. Washington Alpine Resort where he combines his interest in first aid, search and rescue and helping people enjoy the great outdoors. It doesn’t hurt that he gets to ski most of the day too. Bill’s expertise and genuine interest in helping people are great assets to COLT. His attention to detail and organized teaching progression provides students with incentives to learn the finer points of climbing and mountain travel.

Few people spend as much time in self-propelled watercraft as Laurel does. She is passionate about paddling, from ultra-long distance races to exploratory whitewater expedition trips. Ironically, Laurel grew up in arid southern Saskatchewan but by the time she was in university she was disappearing into the Canadian wilderness on long canoe trips. She’s paddled rivers, lakes and coasts from Central America to Asia over the past 20 years, and has been a wilderness canoe guide since 1988.

She’s a Master Canoe Instructor, whitewater kayak instructor and Sea Kayak Guide Trainer and Lead Guide. Besides writing a thesis for her Master’s degree in Education, she’s penned three guidebooks based on her extensive experiences canoeing rivers in northern Saskatchewan and British Columbia. In 2007 she was inducted into The Explorers Club for her work in documenting historic and lesser-known canoe routes and her efforts to promote their conservation. Today, when she’s not training competitively for a canoe race, she works as a canoe and sea kayak guide and instructor. She’s a regular COLT instructor for canoeing, whitewater and sea kayaking and almost never misses the Nimpkish River trips. See www.laurelarcher.com for more about Laurel.

Of course it is their tremendous achievements in climbing and mountaineering that catches everyone’s ears at first but Rob and Laurie’s contribution to the philosophy of Strathcona Park Lodge and COLT is what has really tied them into our program. With Rob’s ongoing reflection on what it is that we learn when traveling in the mountains and Laurie’s complete dedication to a sustainable life style they continue to inspire students as elders of their field.

For years Rob and Laurie taught wilderness self reliance on a three day mountain trip during the COLT program. Due to health reasons they have scaled down and now share their wisdom with the students during a program day at the Lodge.

Rob and Laurie built an off-the-grid homestead on Maurelle Island where they continue to host our students on sea kayak trips in the discovery islands and there fore also inspire people who want to explore living in alternative communities.

Also check out Rob’s new film project here: https://gripped.com/video/legendary-rob-wood-featured-in-new-film-project/

David grew up on Vancouver Island, but after a trip to Nepal in 1995, where he made a rafting trip down the Kali Gandaki River, he was hooked. From there, David has worked on 6 continents, safety kayaking and rafting in places like Iceland, Morocco, India, Australia, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Turkey, Scotland, and of course world famous BC. David is a mainstay of the Whitewater community on Vancouver Island with a wealth of local knowledge and the event organizer for the Puntledge Paddle Fest. Dave worked as an international Raft Guide/ Safety Kayaker for 13 years in a number of different countries while also working on photography skills and cooking before heading into a healthcare career in the Comox Valley.  Kayak teaching opportunities came about when I was back on the Island with a school program at SD 69 and at COLT.

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Amy’s love for the water started in high school, as she spend her summers teaching sailing and racing in regattas. She spent two years travelling around Australia and Thailand teaching scuba diving and then returned to Canada to do COLT in 2005. She fell in love with the lodge, the people, and the lifestyle and instructed at the lodge for many seasons between semesters at TRU’s Adventure Guide diploma, and also spent a few seasons raft guiding, sea kayak guiding, and teaching scuba diving. Somewhere in there, she was also Chief Instructor at Strathcona Park Lodge for a season! Amy teaches various programs within the Program including WW-Canoeing , Sea Kayaking, the whitewater expedition and surf kayaking.

When she is not with the COLT students Amy keeps herself busy, always. Scuba Diving Instructor/boat captain for Rockfish Divers, as well as a sea kayak guide. She loves to climb, bike, hike, and do yoga, and is a math teacher.

All the way from Toronto, Ontario Sarah now calls Vancouver Island her home. Sarah completed the COLT program in 1997 and has since taken on various jobs in the outdoor industry including working for Strathcona Park Lodge as an outdoor instructor, canoe tripper in Ontario, ski patrol at Mt. Washington, sea kayak guiding and COLT instructor. Her infectious smile and extensive knowledge of the ocean are sure to make any COLT sea kayak trip fun and educational.

Sarah spends a lot of my free time on her mountain bike on trails close to home, or in the winter she works and plays on her skis.

Max Fisher was born and raised on the east coast of Canada, traveling out to the west coast for the COLT program at SPL in 2003. Max has been an outdoor educator for 15+ years, working whitewater canoe expeditions in the Yukon to mountaineering expeditions in Alaska, Chile, USA and Canada. When he is not working you may find him planning his own trips, timber framing or hanging with his partner Steph. Some of Max’s most memorable adventures are climbing Cerro Torre in Patagonia and new Alpine routes in Alaska. 

Doc has been a Wilderness First Aid Instructor since 2005. He is an Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) Instructor and Instructor Trainer, as well as a member of and trainer for the Mount Washington Ski Patrol Association. Doc is a member of the Wilderness Medical Society, and is pursuing his Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM). Over the years, Doc has spent a lot of time in the wilderness, both solo and with his friends and family. Doc is a published nature photographer, seeking out close encounters with wildlife, often in remote areas. Becoming a father in 2007 did not end the adventures.

COLT appreciates DOC’s tremendous wilderness first aid experience mixed with his authentic passion and skill with a high variety of outdoor sports and wilderness expeditions. When he does not teach the COLT students he loves bike polo and teaches at Slipstream Wilderness First Aid

As a kid growing up in Squamish Tony spent a lot of time mountain biking and snowboarding. When he left high school, rock climbing became his prime focus. His attraction of rock walls, from boulders to big walls has taken most of his time and energy. He is grateful to share this love for climbing as a teacher for beginners of all ages.

Sean found his love of the outdoors in WYLD camps before attending COLT in 2005. He is now an ACMG Rock Guide and Apprentice Ski Guide based out of Revelstoke, BC.