{"id":21175,"date":"2015-11-15T22:56:18","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T06:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-hakamagwp.pantheonsite.io\/?page_id=21175"},"modified":"2024-01-29T13:05:59","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T21:05:59","slug":"about-us","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hakaimagazine.com\/about-us\/","title":{"rendered":"About Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

Launched in April 2015, Hakai Magazine<\/em> explores science, society, and the environment in compelling narratives that highlight coastal life around the world.<\/p>\n

Our mandate is to foster a global conversation about coastlines, the places where much of the world\u2019s population lives. These environments filter toxins, buffer erosion, and support vibrant communities of people, plants, and animals. To understand this land- and seascape, people need access to accurate, unbiased, and engaging information.<\/p>\n

We practice journalism in the public interest and publish all of our stories exclusively online, without paywalls or ads.<\/p>\n

The magazine is part of the Tula Foundation<\/a>, an independent charitable foundation. While our editorial team decides which stories the magazine will cover, it shares the same philosophies as the Tula Foundation, celebrating exploration, discovery, and science.<\/p>\n

Our name is inspired by Hakai Pass in the Hakai L\u00faxvb\u00e1l\u00eds Conservancy<\/a>, one of the largest protected marine areas on the west coast of Canada, located about 400 kilometers north of Vancouver. It\u2019s a place of rare beauty and it breathes with marine life. Our stories span remote places like Hakai Pass, bustling urban centers, and occasionally, extraterrestrial oceans.<\/p>\n

\n

Support Hakai Magazine<\/h2>\n

Read and share our stories. Hakai Magazine <\/em>is free to all and doesn\u2019t require a subscription, but sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a> and you\u2019ll receive links to all of our stories.<\/p>\n

Follow us on\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

Our Team<\/h2>\n

David Garrison<\/a>, Jude Isabella<\/a>, Mark Garrison<\/a>, Adrienne Mason<\/a>, Shanna Baker<\/a>, Colin Schultz<\/a>, Meigan Henry<\/a>, Katrina Pyne<\/a>, Rowena Rae<\/a>, Vanessa Minke-Martin<\/a>, Sarah Gilman<\/a>, Mercedes Minck<\/a>, Tyee Bridge<\/a>, Marina Wang<\/a>, Devon Bidal<\/a>, Serena Renner<\/a>, Krista Langlois<\/a><\/p>\n

ISSN 2371-5790<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Awards<\/h2>\n

Hakai Magazine<\/em> has won numerous awards for our work. See all awards \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Contact Us<\/h2>\n

Our offices are on Wharf Street in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Visit our Contact Us<\/a> page to get in touch.<\/p>\n

If you are a writer, illustrator, artist, photographer, or videographer and are interested in contributing, please see our Submission Guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Our Office<\/h2>\n

From Old Custom House to Hakai Media Central<\/h3>\n

A man steps from the dock and onto a bobbing boat that, if it were toy-sized, would look at home in a bathtub. He pushes away from the dock, and the canary yellow \u201cH2<\/sub>0 taxi\u201d putts away, shuttling tourists to their next destination. The smell of fried fish floats on the breeze and the chatter of people enjoying their lunch or strolling the wooden boardwalk punctuates the air. The scene from the deck of our office overlooking Victoria\u2019s Inner Harbor is ever changing, the only punctual and reliable event in our busy office being the baritone blasts of the M\/V Coho,<\/em>\u00a0a ferry that sails between Victoria, British Columbia and Port Angeles, Washington several times a day.<\/p>\n

\"Hakai

Hakai Magazine’s office on Victoria’s Inner Harbor is in the historic Custom House, built in 1874-75. Photo by Shanna Baker<\/p><\/div>\n

From the roof of our office building, we have a 360-degree view of the ancestral home of the Lekwungen People. The harbor provided shelter from the open ocean as well as rich fishing and intertidal habitat, while the surrounding forests were prime hunting grounds and a ready source of timber and edible plants. What was good for the Lekwungen was good for the Hudson\u2019s Bay Company (HBC), too. The company\u2019s Chief Factor, James Douglas, recognized that the harbor\u2019s geography and abundant resources, combined with a capable Lekwungen workforce, made a \u201cperfect Eden,\u201d and an ideal site for a trading post.<\/p>\n

Were our offices here in 1843, our day\u2019s work would be accompanied by the sound of construction as the trading post\u2014and what would eventually be called Fort Victoria\u2014rose next door. Trade in this corner of the HBC\u2019s empire flourished and before long Victoria was the busiest harbor north of San Francisco.<\/p>\n

When British Columbia entered confederation in 1871, Victoria was an established commercial center, but had no federal presence, at least in the physical sense. A building of brick and stone was one way to flex some federal muscle, so in the spring of 1874, construction of the Victoria Custom House began. The Second Empire architectural style was popular for government buildings of the era and the substantial square structure, with its mansard roof, hooded dormers, and \u201crestrained details\u201d established a permanent federal presence in the city.<\/p>\n

The Custom House had a lower receiving floor, an upper level for offices, and a clear view of the harbor. The lower floor\u2014where we work today\u2014was the warehouse. When gold was found in the Klondike in 1897, prospectors rushed to Victoria and lined up by the hundreds at Custom House, spilling out along Wharf Street, as they waited for a mining license. After the initial rush for gold, the Collector of Customs and his staff worked out of these offices for two more years, ensuring that the federal government\u2019s regulations were enforced and closely monitoring the goods entering and leaving the city.<\/p>\n

As Victoria prepared to welcome a new century, the custom offices moved and the harbor master and other federal departments took over the building. In the mid-1940s, the Custom House was renamed the Marine Building and became the navy\u2019s mess hall. In 1952, the building was renovated yet again to house the headquarters of the HMCS Malahat Naval reserve, a volunteer \u201ccitizen navy,\u201d and given its current name, the Malahat Building.<\/p>\n

Today, the Malahat Building is privately owned and houses four floors of offices, including those of Hakai Media. It remains the oldest surviving example of a 19th-century Second Empire federal building in western Canada and is federally recognized through the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.<\/p>\n

\n