Give the gift of ocean exploration and discovery
At the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, we are passionate about training the next generation of ocean scientists, educators and stewards. Your investment in BMSC research, teaching and learning supports a vision of inspiring transformational relationships with the Ocean through science
The Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre has operated since 1972 as a not-for-profit education and research facility located in the traditional territories of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, on the outer west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. We provide highly specialized resources to safely access ocean biodiversity and ecosystems while our teaching labs host impactful university field courses. Our award-winning K-12 Field Trip Program provides our students with multi-day, immersive, STEM educational experiences in nature. We support scientists from around the world who rely on our facility to tackle urgent scientific challenges and to translate knowledge into innovative solutions for sustainable, healthy oceans.
Our programs and unique marine station continue to give young students an unmatched opportunity to make genuine discoveries in ocean science and Canadian biodiversity in this breathtaking region. Our five western Canadian university partners provide annual financial support to cover basic administration and operational costs. The rest comes from the programs that we offer, and largely through generous gifts from people like you.
Whether you donate to our station so we can allocate the funds where they are needed most, or make a contribution to existing funds directed towards student and school bursaries, you are helping us to forge the path for a better future for our One Oceans, and the planet. Every charitable gift makes a difference, and every gift is an investment in the Ocean’s learners, protectors, and leaders of tomorrow.
Partnerships, science, and education will be the catalyst for climate solutions and healthy oceans. Thank you for supporting the BMSC.
Sean Rogers, Director
How You Can Help
| We are creating a convening space to foster innovation in ocean sustainability and climate solutions. By supporting our facilities, you are driving forward unparalleled safe ocean access at our facility, promoting student access to unique coastal environments for a truly immersive learning experience as well as sustainable and socially-responsible marine research that drives data-based conservation and restoration efforts, both in Canada and globally. Donate to our marine station today | ||
 |
| Through the bursary and scholarship funds, managed by the Vancouver Foundation, we aim to increase access and inclusion to the BMSC university field courses and our field trips programs by training the next generation of ocean leaders and inspiring younger generations to care about our coastal environments through place-based learning. Donate directly to Vancouver Foundation bursaries and scholarships |
More Options
Looking to donate gently used equipment or gear?
If you want to donate used research equipment or donate used diving and snorkeling gear, we would happily receive them in order to give better access to these tools for our experiential learning programs! Please contact diving(at)bamfieldmsc.com to donate dive and snorkel items or research(at)bamfieldmsc.com for research equipment.
Thinking about a transformational gift, corporate partnership, or cross-border donation?
If you would like to discuss more substantial gifts and how they may be structured, or would just like to speak to us about how your donation can best help support us at this time, please get in touch with our director through email
director(at)bamfieldmsc.com
Past Projects and Campaigns
A few examples of our past campaigns and projects that have been supported by donors!
Kelp Restoration Incubator
With help from UCalgary Giving Day in 2023, we raised money for a very important kelp incubator! We received an incredible $11,060 in donations and around $11,000 in matching funds from The University of Calgary for this project!
Why was an incubator so important? Well, kelp forests have declined considerably around the world in the last few decades, and nearly disappeared fully along parts of the North American’s West Coast. Kelp forests protect our shorelines from erosion, help regulate water quality and carbon and are crucial habitat that supports everything from seals and sea otters to whales that depend on the krill that live within them.
The incubator has allowed us to upscale the efforts of outplanting under the Kelp Rescue Initiative, which is developing and implementing science-backed restoration efforts. The kelp grown here is used in experiments for developing better restoration techniques and much of it is outplanted into The North Salish Sea and Barkley Sound.
Copes for Student ResearchOur copes are the workhorses of student research, and like any well-loved vessel, they don’t last forever. In 2022 UCalgary Giving Day supported us in raising funds for new copes for our students. This campaign received $16,851 in donations and just over of $14,000 in matching funds! With those some $30,000 we were able to acquire four new 14′ welded aluminum vessels, new safety equipment for the vessels, four new fuel injected outboards, and had the vessels wrapped! These boats continue to give undergraduate students real experience in fieldwork and research in marine environments! As Dave Porter put it “The copes are our primary tool that our students use to access the marine environment on their own [in small groups] and they can access remote field sites to get their boots on the ground and take ownership of their own projects.” You can watch the giving day video here and you can read the story about the campaign and the impact the copes have on our students in this article here. |
BMSC Bird Strike Prevention Project
Window strikes is one of the leading causes of bird deaths in the world, but there is something that can be done about it! With help from generous donors, almost $1000 was raised to help us prevent bird deaths at the station by installing Feather Friendly markers on many of our windows on site. These markers, small dots placed strategically on windows, disrupt reflections of trees that confuse birds and cause them to fly into windows – preventing avian tragedies by ~95%.
Thanks to this campaign, we were able to put these markers across much of our campus and have reduced the number of collisions that have occurred here! You can see the now archived campaign link here: BMSC | Bird Strike
You can also support BMSC students directly through your Alma Mater with university-specific scholarships that are managed directly by each respective university.
or contact us directly to discuss collaborative ways to make impactful changes for research, education, and healthy, coastal ecosystems.
 |  |  |  |  |