the stories that came before us
The coast of British Columbia is filled with generations of history. Fascinating characters and stories from tiny coves, scattered islands + remote inlets still live on in the vast landscapes that exist today.
The site where our Johnstone Strait Glamping tour on West Cracroft Island takes place is no exception!
Join us in reflecting on the previous dwellers of this coastal cove.
where nature + music dance: jim nollman
Born in Massachusetts in 1947, Jim Nollman found his way to San Francisco in the early 1970’s where he first began experimenting with ‘interspecies’ musical pieces. These initial projects focused on seeing how animals engaged with music being played near them.
In 1976, he joined saxophonist Paul Winter, soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause, and neuroscientist Paul Spong (of OrcaLab BC) in a Japanese film production about playing music with wild orcas.
These early days eventually inspired years of dedicated research and musical recordings— all taking place under water!
interspecies communication society
Jim founded the Interspecies Communication Society in 1979, an organization focused on supporting artists, writers, and philosophers exploring new approaches to environmental art and novel means of communicating with nature.
In 1983, they sponsored a large group of musicians to attempt communication with orcas in the waters off Vancouver Island. This volunteer crew built a temporary camp, called Orcanada, along the shore of a small cove along Johnstone Strait, British Columbia.
A medium-sized trawler was anchored offshore of the base camp and they assembled an underwater recording studio inside the fishing vessel’s main cabin.
Nollman and his cohort took a thoughtful approach to developing sonic relationships with the orcas and other wildlife they encountered, always keeping a respectful distance as they found one another with their ears.
Orcas’ Greatest Hits collects hydrophone recordings drawn from over 60 hours of interspecies collaboration recorded over nearly 20 years, showing the playful ways in which Nollman engaged the orcas from the portable studio floating above their home.
create your own history
The Interspecies Communication Society were the previous inhabitants of the site where our Johnstone Strait Glamping tour on West Cracroft Island takes place today, using it for their projects from the early 1980’s until about 2002.
Spirit of the West Adventures acquired the site after they moved on, and it has been our longest running tour ever since.
Come experience the expansive history for yourself!