Colin wears many hats at Quest: ecologist, beekeeper, botanist, polar expedition guide and filmmaker. Underpinning these various roles is his interest in understanding human relationships with the natural world through research, teaching, documenting, exploring and communicating. His research focuses mainly on the cause and consequences of anthropogenic impacts on marine biodiversity.

He first experienced the Block Plan as a student in 1995, and has taught a wide range of courses on this system—including science filmmaking, seaweed biodiversity & ecology, plant biodiversity, photography, beekeeping, scientific research methods, biostatistics, and science journalism. He has supervised hundreds of undergraduate independent research projects, and teaches at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. He is also an adjunct professor in the Botany Department at UBC.

Colin has studied coastal ecology from the west coast of Vancouver Island to the Bay of Fundy. He has worked in the Arctic and Antarctica as a lecturer, guide and zodiac driver onboard polar expedition tour vessels. He has sailed ¾ of the way around Antarctica, participated in the 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition searching for the Franklin’s HMS Erebus and Terror, and runs Quest’s Antarctica Field Course.

As a co-founder of ScienceFilm, Colin runs workshops teaching science professionals how to communicate their stories and research findings with compelling and professional-quality video narratives. Visit sciencefilm.org to learn more.

In his free time, Colin is a fanatic tinkerer, gardener, Volkswagen and Vespa mechanic, and musician.