Our Story & Team
Meet the Hello Nature Guides & Team who will be leading your Hello Nature Adventure
Hello Nature Adventure Tours ~ Meet Your Guides
Kevin Bradshaw
Head Guide & Operations Manager
Kevin has lived in Ucluelet, British Columbia since 2002, where he has been honing his craft as a professional Sea Kayaking Guide.
He is a Level 3 Guide and Guide Trainer with Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC (SKGABC) and a Sea Kayaking Instructor with Sea Kayak Instruction & Leadership Systems (SKILS).
He has paddled in numerous locations around British Columbia, Vancouver Island, and Costa Rica. He is truly at home in the Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound, British Columbia.
Kevin is Head Guide and Operations Manager for Hello Nature Adventure Tours and oversees training and safety.
Phill Padgham
Co-owner
Phill is born and raised in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Phill grew up kayaking all around the Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands and developed a deep passion for being on the water. He is a Level 3 Guide with the SKGABC and now works on the West Coast of Vancouver Island in Barkley and Clayoquot Sound.
He has enjoyed guiding for the past five years and feels the best part of his job is making people laugh and seeing people enjoy nature, or as he likes to call it “Neature”! His skills and great sense of humour make his tours unforgettable.
Aaron Slack
Level 3 Kayak Guide
Arron Slack grew up all over, from the prairies of Manitoba and Alberta to the shores of Newfoundland and eventually finding home on Vancouver Island. He continues to follow the travellers lifestyle working summers kayaking Vancouver islands waters and winters kayaking the beautiful shores of New Zealand. Arron hopes to work as a guide all over the world, until eventually studying Ecology and environmental sustainability.
Arron holds a Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC – SKGABC Level 2 certificate and has found a love of sharing his passion for biology and showing others the beauty nature has to offer. Give him a kayak, surfboard and a constant supply of avocados and he will never stop smiling.
Lisa Stafford
Level 3 Kayak Guide
Lisa Marie Stafford was born and raised on Salt Spring Island were she fell in love with nature and the ocean.
When not kayaking Lisa is busy raising a family and supporting children with exceptionalities in the public school system through her work as an Education Assistant.
Lisa has been guiding for twenty years in the Gulf Islands and other areas of Vancouver Island and is a level 3 guide with Sea Kayak Guides Alliance and a Paddle Canada kayaking instructor as well. She enjoys exploring new areas of Vancouver Island and sharing her passion of kayaking and exploring nature with others.
Amy Benskin
Level 3 Kayak Guide
Amy has been working as a guide and instructor of various water sports including sea kayaking, whitewater canoeing and kayaking, sailing, and scuba diving for the past 20 years. She is a self-proclaimed bird nerd and loves to share her knowledge of coastal plants and wildlife with her guests.
She has worked as a lead sea kayak guide in Haida Gwaii, the Central Coast, and all over Vancouver Island. Amy has Degrees in both Tourism Management and Education, specializing in math and computer science, and works as a Teacher-on-Call in Ucluelet during the winter.
She is a Level 3 Guide and Guide Trainer with the SKGABC, a Paddle Canada Level 2 Instructor, and is an SVOP certified boat captain.
Jonathan Lee
Level 2 Kayak Guide
Jonathan was born and raised in Richmond, BC and has ran away to live the Island life. He has a BA in Anthropology from UVIC and a Diploma in Outdoor Recreation Management from Capilano University.
Jonathan enjoys interpretating the natural world critically by engaging in conversation about how the ecosystem is interconnected from bull kelp to marine mammals to human impacts. He is currently living an endless summer where flying from BC to New Zealand has been the norm for the past 2 years.
This will be his 6th season kayak guiding and is stoked to be out on the west coast. Friends describe him as a chronic planner and that he has the fastest metabolism in the world. KOWABUNGA!
Kyle Born
Assistant Overnight Guide
Kyle was born and raised on a chicken farm in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia. Growing up, he would often visit his grandparents in Ucluelet, fishing for salmon and halibut in Barkley Sound.
He will be entering his second season kayak guiding and is excited to be amongst the abundance of life on Vancouver Island’s west coast. He is studying Environment and Business at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and loves talking about sustainable food systems!
When Kyle isn’t kayaking, you can find him surfing or making delicious tacos with friends.
Cali Mitchell
Assistant Overnight Guide
Shannon Jensen
Assistant Overnight Guide
Contact Hello Nature
200 Hemlock Street,
Small Craft Harbour Finger "F",
Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada, V0R 3A0
Tel: 250-726-2035
Toll Free: 1-844-706-2751
Email: adventures@hellonature.ca
Hello Nature Adventure Tours recognises and supports the indigenous rights and title of the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, Ucluelet, Toquaht and Tseshaht - the first peoples of the lands and waters now called Clayoquot Sound and Barkley Sound.
