2025 Stewardship Summit Agenda

Get our official event app,

For Blackberry or Windows Phone, Click here

For feature details, visit Whova

Thursday, October 2, 2025

3:00pm-5:00pm

5:00pm-7:00pm

Kick Off the Summit, Nanaimo-Style! We’re rolling out the coastal hospitality red carpet! Join the Tourism Nanaimo team and local industry partners at the incredible Nanaimo Museum for an unforgettable welcome to the 4TVI Stewardship Summit. Here’s what’s in store:
- Local Bites & Sips – An array of fresh, flavour-packed appetizers paired with local bar service.
- Cultural Style – A showcase from Ay Lelum – The Good House of Design
- Creative Spark – A Nanaimo Art Gallery activation to get your creative energy flowing.

Location – Nanaimo Museum – 100 Museum Way (access through 101 Gordon Street)
Delegates will also be able to check in at the Welcome Reception. The Nanaimo Museum is a short walk from the hotel.

7:30am – 8:30am

Hullo Ferries Summit welcoming and breakfast. Join Hullo Ferries and 4TVI as we welcome delegates to the 2025 Stewardship Summit!
Location – Hullo Ferries Terminal – 100 Port Way, Nanaimo, BC
Transportation – Wilson’s Transportation will be providing a shuttle bus to and from Hullo Ferries at 7:15am and 7:35am - we would appreciate those attending the morning welcoming to use the shuttle. Pick up will be at the front lobby of the Coast Bastion Hotel.
If planning on driving, there is paid parking at the terminal. This is a 5 minute drive from the Coast Bastion Hotel.

8:30am-9:00am

Shuttle will leave Hullo Ferries at 8:30am and 8:45am for return to Coast Bastion Hotel.

8:55am-9:00am

9:00am-9:10am

9:10am-9:20am

9:30am-10:30am

Keynote Speaker: John Vaillant – author and freelance writer John Vaillant whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and The Guardian explores collisions between human ambition and the natural world. His latest book, Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World, is a stunning account of a colossal wildfire and a panoramic exploration of the rapidly changing relationship between fire and humankind.

10:30am-11:00am

11:00am-12:00pm

Concurrent Session #1: Taking Action – Our Role in Equity Efforts
Concurrent Session #2: Cultivating Resilience: Building Stronger Food Systems Through Culinary and Agri-Tourism on Vancouver Island

12:00pm-1:15pm

Tourism Cowichan Luncheon presents Rooted in the Land, Indigenous Foodways and the Future of Tourism on Vancouver Island

Join Chef Jared “Qwustenuxun” Williams as he weaves stories of Quw’utsun foodways with a vision for a more respectful and sustainable tourism industry. Vancouver Island’s landscapes once flourished with clam gardens, reef nets, camas meadows, and salmon runs that sustained Indigenous Peoples for millennia. Colonization disrupted these food systems, but today communities are working to bring them back.
In this keynote, Qwustenuxun shares his journey as an Indigenous chef and language speaker, highlighting how tourism and hospitality professionals can engage with Indigenous foods and cultures in ways that honour protocols, build relationships, and strengthen local economies. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how cultural safety, respect, and collaboration can shape the future of tourism on Vancouver Island.

1:30pm-2:30pm

Shifting Recreational Culture: Tourism-Led Stewardship in BC's Marine Areas & Wilderness

2:30pm-3:00pm

3:00pm-4:00pm

4:00pm-4:15pm

4:15pm-4:30pm