Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of MABR and the 10th Anniversary of the Amazing Places

Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the McMillan Arts Centre, Parksville, BC, proudly present

Ts’uliqw’ 

MOUNT ARROWSMITH BIOSPHERE REGION 

MAC SUMMER EXHIBITION

JULY 6 – August 31, 2025

The Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Foundation was established by research scientist, Dr. Glen Jamieson, to raise awareness of the biodiversity of watersheds on Vancouver Island’s Mount Arrowsmith and adjacent marine areas. Dr. Jamieson spearheaded the nomination process that would earn the region its UNESCO biosphere reserve designation. In 2000, the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR) was officially designated as a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

In July of 2014, Vancouver Island University and the City of Parksville signed a Memorandum of Understanding to co-manage the MABR and to build a roundtable involving First Nations, municipal and senior levels of government, private industry, conservation groups, and other regional representatives. In 2014, Vancouver Island University established MABRRI, the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute. MABRRI's purpose would be to connect the expertise and experience of university researchers with the brainpower and energy of students and the priorities and concerns of the community to develop a collaborative research agenda for the MABR.

2025 marks the 25th Anniversary of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region’s designation and the tenth anniversary of the Amazing Places project. The Amazing Places Project connects people with nature in Canada’s UNESCO biosphere reserves and educates residents and visitors about the ecological significance of well-loved, outdoor spaces. In the MABR, this includes 10 locations including: Top Bridge, Heritage Forest, MacMillan Provincial Park, Parksville Community Park, Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park, Milner Gardens & Woodland, Englishman River Falls Provincial Park, Cameron Lake, Notch Hill, and Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park. 

A collaboration between the MABR and Parksville Qualicum Beach Tourism Association, the Amazing Places project aims to encourage outdoor play, sustainable living, and nature connectedness through the use of interpretive signage, online engagement, and outdoor activities that are fun for all. 

Each of the MABR’s 10 Amazing Places has received interpretive signage, promotion through high-quality photo and video coverage, and is featured in the Amazing Places Geocaching Geotour and Adventure Lab activities.

MABRRI connected with the Executive Director of the McMillan Arts Centre two years ago, to begin designing a summer exhibition in 2025 in the Arts Centre, celebrating the Biosphere Region and the 10 Amazing Places, through an artistic lens. 

The MAC has produced large scale summer exhibitions of note since 2018, included Monet, Revisited featuring international Glass Artist Robert Held, SOFT SHORE: Where Land And Water Meet, bringing awareness of water shortages and its impact on salmon on Vancouver Island, and most recently XPEY’, an artistic conversation about the health and preservation of our Wetlands, featuring artists Dan Gray, Christopher Smith, and indigenous photographer GA Fuller. Bringing local artists together to create a single important conversation through an artistic lens has been a primary focus of the summer months, as the MAC has welcomed many thousand visitors to the Arts Centre. 

Ts’uliqw’ - MOUNT ARROWSMITH BIOSPHERE REGION, SUMMER EXHIBITION 2025 at the MAC will feature a glass sculpture of Mount Arrowsmith created by local glass artist Paul Crawford, the amazing photography of Deb Freeman, and Sarah Boileau’s impressive acrylic painting of Mt. Arrowsmith. Tableaux of the 10 Amazing Places will feature the work of Red Cod Forge’s David Kasprick, Mosaic Artist Debra Hagen, Haida Carver Mike Bellis, the Arrowsmith Potters Guild, the Qualicum Weavers and Spinners, Peggy Burkosky, and Margery Blom.

Join us in the galleries to view the work of the amazing artists, watch incredible video of the Biosphere Region in our Media Gallery, visit the Studio to see local carvers at work, and let your youngsters have fun with a Scavenger Hunt! Get ready for an experience unlike any other, and celebrate with us the wonders of our local UNESCO Biosphere Region in the lovely, historic McMillan Arts Centre.

https://mcmillanartscentre.com