Summer Intensives

Students are introduced to the exceptional biodiversity in their environment through place-based, experiential learning at a field research station.

Students will visit diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to gain familiarity with ecological monitoring and natural history.

Field projects and seminars will emphasize major environmental topics, including biogeography of the region, principles of ecology, human impacts and conservation.

Students will have the opportunity to contribute to scientific knowledge with meaningful discoveries of their own when completing a small group project.

• Prerequisites: None 
• Dates: July 6-17, 2026
• Program fee: TBD
• Instructor: TBD

This course is a hands-on introduction to using digital maps and spatial data to better understand the world around us.

You’ll learn how to create, analyze, and share maps using powerful tools like ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online, which are widely used in environmental science, urban planning, tourism and many other fields.

We’ll work with different types of real-world data, such as paper/digital maps, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and remotely sensed data, to explore topics like land use change, topography, natural hazards and community planning.

You’ll also learn how to design maps that communicate clearly and effectively. The course is project-based, with lots of practical exercises to help you build confidence using GIS software.

It all leads up to a final project, where you choose a topic that interests you, such as mapping forest canopy, analyzing climate data, studying local neighbourhoods, forest fire detection using remotely sensed data, or crime analysis.

• Prerequisites: None. No previous experience with GIS or mapping is required. 
• Dates: July 20-31, 2026  
• Program fee: TBD  
• Instructor: Hojat Yazdanpanah 

Environmental stewardship and responsible tourism management are essential for sustainable community development as they protect biodiversity, promote economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, mitigate the impacts of climate change and foster meaningful community engagement.

This program immerses students in the principles and ethics of environmental stewardship and responsible tourism management. 

Participants will have the opportunity to explore relationships with the land, identify best practices in visitor management strategies, apply basic stakeholder management frameworks and critique different approaches to resource productivity within sustainable tourism. 

Delivered in a hybrid format, this program combines eight weeks of online learning with a seven-day immersive, hands-on and place-based educational experience at our beautiful Squamish campus.

This course integrates Indigenous knowledge, environmental stewardship, and best practices in trail construction, management and community collaboration, giving students practical skills in building safe, sustainable and approved trail networks.

• Prerequisites: None
• Dates:
  • Online: April 27-May 23, 3 hours per week, 4 weeks. Also, June 1-29, 3 hours per week, 4 weeks
  • In-person at Squamish Campus: May 24-31, 8 hours per day, 8 days
• Program fee: TBD
• Instructors: TBD

In this two-course sequence, students dive into the art and science of creating world-class singletrack trails that connect people, place and environment. You’ll learn how to design, build and maintain trails that honour the land and the Indigenous communities whose territories they traverse.

From your first swing of the Pulaski to advanced design planning, you’ll develop practical skills in sustainable construction, water management, bridge building and technical trail features—while working hands-on to restore and build real trail sections.

Along the way, you’ll gain insight into the relationships that make trail projects successful, including partnerships with Indigenous Nations, local trail organizations and all levels of government.

By the end of the program, you’ll understand how to take a trail from concept to completion—combining field experience, environmental stewardship and community collaboration to create lasting outdoor experiences for all.

• Prerequisites: None
• Dates: April 27-May 8, 2026, plus 6 hours of online instruction
• Program fee: TBD
• Instructors: TBD

This course will support students' development as writers by combining skills in attentive reading, thoughtful writing and dialogical exchange with experiential land-based learning and global concerns.

Students will study short texts (literary/academic, popular and multimedia) associated with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and connect these goals to initiatives in the UNESCO Howe Sound Biosphere. We will particularly focus on SDGs 4, 10, 14, and 16.

This course will combine relevant readings with personal writing projects; support dialogue with conservation professionals, local activists and community members, and elders of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation); and offer field trips like walking through the Squamish Estuary and taking a guided interpretive kayak tour in Howe Sound.

• Prerequisites: None
• Dates: July 20-31, 2026
• Program fee: TBD
• Instructor: Hannah Watts

Students from a wide range of disciplines will be invited to build and/or restore their relationship to land and water through a 10-day summer intensive course that centres on place-based learning, local environments, community and culture.

Exploring storytelling in its myriad forms (poetry, literature, visual art, fashion, cooking) this course will engage with the local Squamish environments through place-based activities (plant identification, Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre), reflective practice grounded in daily journal entries, guest speakers (artists and activists) and a cumulative exhibition at the end of the course where students will showcase their final projects.

The course centres around two research questions, formulated by each student, that will guide their creative practice for their two weeks of study and unify their process portfolios. The first question will focus on land, the second on water.

This experiential class will underscore the connection between land, water and mental health, as well as the climate crisis and how connection to land and water engages a sense of global responsibility and citizenship.

• Prerequisites: None
• Dates: April 27-May 8, 2026 
• Program fee: TBD
• Instructor: Bobbi-Lee Copeland and Alicia Fahey

During your summer vacation, travel to British Columbia, Canada, for a two-week, experiential, place and content-based program, focused on improving English language skills.

Mornings are spent in small classes at our Squamish campus learning about Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler's most engaging cultural, historical and environmental attractions while refining all English language skills in the process.

Afternoons are spent bringing the mornings’ lessons to life through curriculum-driven field trips to Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler that provide opportunities to further develop communication skills.

Cultural ambassadors come along on field trips led by your English language instructor. They also live with you on campus as conversation partners and intercultural ambassadors to support your experience.

Enduring international friendships often develop through these meaningful cultural and language exchanges during this unique English language program at Capilano University, nestled in the forests of Beautiful British Columbia, Canada. 

• Prerequisites: None
• Dates: August 10-21, 2026; students arrive on campus Aug. 9
• Program fee: TBD, additional nights of accommodation and meals available
• Instructors: TBD

These courses advance SDGs 4 (quality education), 13 (climate action), 14 (life below water) and 15 (life on land) by equipping students with ecological knowledge and GIS skills that foster climate action, biodiversity protection and evidence-based stewardship of land and water. 

These programs support SDGs 8 (decent work and economic growth), 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and 12 (responsible consumption and production) by preparing students to design and manage tourism and recreation practices that create decent work, strengthen sustainable communities and promote responsible use of natural resources.

These courses align with SDGs 4 (quality education), 10 (reduced inequalities) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) by fostering inclusive education, reducing inequalities through cross-cultural communication and strengthening community dialogue, storytelling and reconciliation.