The Department of Biology at the University of Victoria hosted the Association for Biology Laboratory Education’s 43rd annual conference at the University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada on June 21-24, 2022.
The University of Victoria is located in the capital city of Victoria, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. A true west coast location surrounded by beaches and beautiful views of the Salish Sea, San Juan Islands, and the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. First established as Victoria College in 1903 and later as the University of Victoria in 1963, UVic has grown to 22,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The campus itself is beautiful with the core of the campus buildings located within Ring road (yes, it’s a ring-shaped road!). Most of the campus is relatively flat and walkable, but accessible options are available. Click here for a virtual tour of campus!
The conference was hosted on campus in the Cunningham and Petch buildings, the location of the Department of Biology teaching and research labs. The opening reception and business meeting were held at the University Club and the HHMI night was hosted in Vertigo in the Student Union Building on campus.
The university is located 7 kilometers from downtown Victoria, an approximately 15 minute drive by car or 30 minutes by transit. The Victoria International Airport is located 25 kilometers away, an approximately 30-minute drive by car.
Victoria is a destination for nature and adventure. Known as the City of Gardens, it comes as no surprise that you will find the city to be in full bloom when you arrive. There are numerous local sites to explore that offer myriad opportunities for hiking, beach combing, garden touring, and ocean adventuring. Explore the inner harbour on foot or by water taxi; tour the First People’s Gallery at the Royal BC Museum; visit the Art Gallery… The opportunities are endless! For those not keen on challenging activities, there were plenty of low-key activities, like taking a tour on the water taxis in the Victoria Inner Harbour, or touring the First People’s Gallery in the Royal BC Museum.
Victoria has one of the mildest climates in Canada. You can expect temperatures ranging from 12 – 20 °C (55 – 70 °F) in June. Victoria has low humidity and an offshore breeze that tends to keep temperatures from soaring. The key to dressing for the ever-changing weather in Victoria is to dress in layers. At this time of year there were 17 hours of daylight.
As a visitor to the territory on which the University of Victoria stands, we are incredibly grateful for the privilege to live and work on the traditional territory of the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.
If you have any questions for us, please contact us.
We enjoyed hosting you all!
The ABLE 2022 Organizing Committee
Kimberley Curry, Roswitha Marx, Alicia Rippington, Mauricio Carrasquilla, Gregory Beaulieu
