Our Team

Lucy has travelled in Canada for the past year and after spending her first summer in Port Renfrew, couldn’t wait to return to the West Coast for another year! She has grown up by the ocean and has always loved spending time in and around the sea. She is excited to share this love with the guests who stay at Cedar Coast

Ashton is originally from the UK and a job last summer brought him to Vancouver Island where he spent a few months enjoying the West Coast and immediately fell in love with the nature that the island had to offer. His keen interest in sustainable living and the Ocean, along with his great British humor, will help provide a transformative and positive experience during your stay at Cedar Coast Centre.

Chaya grew up on Hornby Island and through living there has learned a deep appreciation and wonder for the natural world, especially the Ocean and everything it connects. She loves helping share this love of our world and she will be happy to introduce each of our guests to the richness of the unique fauna and flora of Vargas Island through guided tours, educational workshops and various activities bringing awareness of the unique ecological system that we have here.

Following his passion for the great outdoors, especially surfing, hiking, kayaking and nature conservation, Ben has travelled the globe for the last 7 years. He fell in love with the West Coast of Vancouver Island and Clayoquot Sound - its natural beauty, and cultural diversity - and wants to protect and share about this magical place on Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousat lands and waters for future generations of all living beings to enjoy.

His passion for nature and his enthusiastic mindset will help you to have a memorable and enjoyable experience as a guest and on your kayak trip.

After obtaining a degree in teaching Biology and Geography & a Master degree in Teachings, Mandy left her home country Germany seven years ago to experience the natural phenomena our world has to offer at first hand. Through a great curiosity and passion for nature and its protection, she started to participate in various conservation and restoration projects around the world.

Drawn by the intriguing beauty of coastal temperate rainforests, she arrived in Tofino 3 years ago, putting her background in education and environmental sciences into an occupation as sea kayak guide. When Mandy is not paddling, she loves seeking tranquility in remote places, being on backcountry hiking adventures, practicing yoga, surfing, enjoying live music, travelling and supporting local non-profit organizations as a volunteer.

Dan honed his marine instincts fishing and diving up and down the west coast, Vancouver Island and our northern gulf Islands from a very young age. 

Dan's relentless search for balance has brought him to the deepest depths highest highs; with a thirst for curiosity, there’s not much he hasn’t tried.  An experienced yogi, record holding free diver, and in the offseason, a skydive videographer, 

Leveraging many previous careers including Marine Film Logistics and working in Adventure Tourism, Dan is our "jack of all trades". He brings a passion for the wild nature around and an enthusiasm for our corner of the world that keeps everyone having a good time. 

Raised on a forested acreage on Hornby Island, B.C., Simon developed a strong connection to the ecology of the west coast from a young age. At age 17, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in advertising. After five years in NYC Simon moved to an off-grid boat access property on Vargas Island, B.C., where he developed the idea for an Arts and Ecology Centre in Clayoquot Sound. Refining this idea became the focus of his education at Quest University Canada, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in 2017.

Marcie is a 3rd generation settler to Vancouver Island and is married into Ahousaht Nation. She graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Education in 2014. She has been passionate about the marine sciences since a young age when she would play in tidal pools for hours on end, which fueled her interest in outdoor education. Marcie feels there is great value in place based education and integrates traditional ecological knowledge and values into her lessons and guided excursions.

Kayla is a member of the Tla-O-Qui-Aht Nation and a life-time local of Tofino. She was raised by a family of fishermen and is very passionate about the boat to table food culture. Kayla takes lots of pride in locally sourcing the fish, as it’s so easily accessible around here. She’s been working in the kitchen for almost 15 years and has had the privilege of apprenticing alongside a few of Canada’s favourite chefs. Kayla loves living on the coast, and when not in front of the stove, she loves spending time on the beach, the boat and with her family.