Wild Creature Injured? Big to the Rescue
by Jayson Biggins
When an injured bald eagle needs urgent transport to the mainland, North Saanich residents Jayson Biggins and Natalie Foley wheels up in minutes.
Together, they have combined their love of animals with their single engine airplane to form a volunteer animal transport organization, ‘Big to the Rescue’!
Together, they have combined their love of animals with their single engine airplane to form a volunteer animal transport organization, Big to the Rescue.
A paraglider pilot and instructor for over 20 years, Jayson spent his days outside in the valleys and mountains of southern Vancouver and Salt Spring Islands – often interacting with wildlife (both in the air and on the ground).
After almost 10 years of living on nearby Salt Spring Island with a number of rescue dogs and farm animals, Jayson and Natalie moved back to Vancouver Island and settled in North Saanich,. During their time on Salt Spring, they were involved with a local wildlife rescue and rehab centre (Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre) and would often see a volunteer helicopter pilot land in the Fulford Valley to provide emergency transportation for injured wildlife.
After they relocated to North Saanich, Jayson decided to get his Private Pilot’s License, and quickly enrolled in a flight training course conducted by the longstanding Victoria Flying Club at the Victoria International Airport (YYJ). Located in North Saanich, Victoria International Airport is a hub for local, national, and international travel with countless pilots having earned their ‘wings’ here. In the 1930s it began as an RCAF training base. Originally called Patricia Bay Airport, its name was changed to Victoria International in 1959. With his thousands of hours as a paraglider pilot, fixed wing aviation came naturally to Jayson, and he was hooked!
By happy chance, Natalie’s father, Alex, a longtime resident of Sidney/North Saanich, owned a single engine airplane (Cessna 172) for many years that he kept at YYJ. It is this plane that Natalie and Jayson now own and modified to make it more capable of transporting animals.
Sadly, due to failing health, the helicopter pilot who they had often seen on Salt Spring lost his pilot’s license and was no longer able to fly rescue missions. The care centre reached Jayson once they heard he was a certified pilot and had access to a plane. In no time, he was transporting a bald eagle as his first wildlife transport passenger!
Living in North Saanich has allowed them the ability to mobilize in a matter of minutes as it is quite often the case that time is not on the injured animal’s side. Most of the rehab centres are based on the mainland and travel time via BC Ferries is quite lengthy. So being able to fly directly across the strait has proven to be invaluable to save the lives of several feathered and furry creatures.
Between rescue flights, Jayson and Natalie can often be found at Mary’s Bleue Moon Cafe, a local aviation-themed restaurant that has been serving the North Saanich community since 1939. Mary’s proudly supports local music, hosting singers and bands including Natalie’s own group, The Haven. The band regularly plays at Mary’s and other locations and events in North Saanich and Sidney.
Now in their third year of full time operation, they are very grateful for all of the local support they have received and are hoping to achieve charitable status so that they can offer tax receipts for donations in order to keep Big to the Rescue airborne!
This past season alone they transported 51 animals including: eagles, hawks, owls, dogs, cats, seals, bear cubs, coyotes, fawns, and even porcupines!
Natalie and Jayson have a hangar at Victoria airport (right across from Mary’s!) which houses their airplane and supplies. From here they fly domestic and wild animals to various rehabilitation centres and forever homes up and down the coast, the mainland, and further as needed.
If you notice a small white airplane with yellow wing tips flying overhead in North Saanich one of these days, there’s a pretty good chance it’s Jayson and Natalie of Big to the Rescue!
Big to the Rescue was showcased on CTV’s Sawatsky Sign-Off on July 23rd, 2025. It will be featured in an upcoming BC documentary entitled, ‘Raptor Rescue’ and also in a TV series called ‘West Harbour Heroes’. Be sure to stay tuned for that!
