Rachel Stewart-Dziama

Rachel spent her childhood on two of Canada’s coasts; born in Tofino and raised in Ucluelet, she spent significant time with family in Nova Scotia. Never far from the sea. While studying at the University of Victoria, Rachel had opportunities to study and explore the Great Bear Rainforest and Tanzania, where she hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro. After completing a BSc (Honours) in Geography and Anthropology with a minor in Applied Ethics, Rachel started a new kind of adventure and jumped on a sailboat in Tahiti. After a lap through French Polynesia’s Society Islands, she sailed the blue water passage to Fiji, island-hopping through the archipelago including the Mamanuca Group and Lomaiviti Group. Five seasons working as an interpreter for Parks Canada left Rachel with a passion for storytelling and for sharing the ecology, history, and the joys of being outside. When not guiding or on an adventure, Rachel also works for an NGO researching best practices for marine management, advocating for sustainable shipping, and engaging with Indigenous and coastal communities. Rachel spends her downtime planning the next mountain to climb, ocean to cross, or trail to follow. Although she comes and goes, Ucluelet and Tofino will always be home.