All posts by Anastasia Avvakumova

Four fully electric BC Ferries vessels scheduled for 2027

BC Ferries (BCF) is expanding its number of Island Class hybrid-electric vessels, with four more contracted to Damen Shipyards Group (Damen) as per their Jan. 16 press release.

While the six Island Class ships currently operating on various routes across the province use both electric and diesel power, the future ships are designed to run solely on battery, with the diesel engine as a fail-safe.

Two routes are slated to receive a pair of the future ships to operate the respective connections in tandem: Nanaimo-Gabriola and Campbell River-Quadra (Quathiaski Cove). Currently older versions of Island Class vessels operate on these routes. In contrast, the newest ships will be built to run powered solely by rapid-charging technology that will be constructed at the terminals to coincide with the 2027 deployment. The Island Class electrification project is estimated to reduce emissions by 10,000 tons of CO2 equivalent.

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2023 Cortes Social Profit Gathering

Originally published by the Cortes Foundation

A woven tray of fresh flowers is making its way around the circle of 50 or so participants in the Social Profit Gathering held mid-June on Cortes Island, BC. Co-organizer Manda Aufochs Gillespie (Cortes Island Community Foundation, Folk U), has kicked off the day with an address to this land that has continued to provide for human communities since time immemorial. Everyone is invited to take a colorful bloom and connect to this place by holding a piece of it. The other invitation is to co-create the day ahead, building onto the scheduled agenda with collective knowledge, ideas and experience.

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Friday Market vendor profile: Thaddeus Conrad

The selection of products Thaddeus Conrad carries at his table reflects his eclectic interests, knowledge base and travels.

He makes some of his own herbal medicines, such as tinctures and topicals. “I import organic arnica butter from India and I make a tiger balm,” he said.

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Cortes Literacy book club gets off the ground with eReader grant

CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

A grant of eReaders from Rakuten Kobo has translated into a monthly book club on Cortes Island where readers use both print and digital media to access titles.

Late last year, 20 Kobo eReaders came under Cortes Literacy’s stewardship. Through the partnership, a regular book club is now being held: readers have access to the devices and subscriptions to the Kobo Plus book library included with the grant, as well as public library’s offerings.

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Small island community Darn Tough on sock warranties

Cortes Island is a noteworthy location for the number of annual warranties claimed through the Darn Tough brand of socks, which are guaranteed for life.

Although the 2022 claims total was only 21 pairs for the island, per capita this is 24.75 times higher than the Cities of Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver combined. Cortes and Quadra Islands together added up to 43 pairs claimed under warranty in 2022, which is the same number as all of Campbell River, said Carly Murdoch in the warranty department of the Canadian distributor, Interex Industries.

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