Chris Darimont

I am fortunate to be a Professor, Provost’s Engaged Scholar, and the Raincoast Chair of Applied Conservation Science Lab in the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria.

Favouring an interdisciplinary approach, I have been – and continue to be – influenced by a broad network of mentors and collaborators.

I earned a PhD in Ecology and Evolution from the Biology Department at the University of Victoria with Dr. Tom Reimchen. Postdoctoral opportunities took me to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where I worked with Dr. Chris Wilmers.

My long-term affiliation with the science-based eNGO, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, has also strongly shaped me and the work in which I engage. I receive mentorship and partnership with many Raincoasters. Dr. Paul Paquet in particular has influenced, taught and empowered me since I first met him at a pizza restaurant in Canmore in December 1998.  

Colleagues, friends, and Knowledge Holders among the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk), Wuikinuxv, Kitasoo Xai-xais, and Nuxalk Nations have also been enormously influential in guiding what I do, and how I do it.

As a Chaired Professor, I have limited teaching opportunities. Currently, I teach GEOG 353 (Coastal and Marine Resource Management) during the spring term. My colleague and sister, Jess Housty, and I also teach a field course about integrating western science and Indigenous knowledge in the use, monitoring and management of natural resources (GEOG 453). This land-based course takes place at the Koeye River.