All posts by Guest Post

Energy

The northern B.C. pipeline you’ve never heard of — Enbridge’s Westcoast Connector

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

The Coastal GasLink pipeline is currently B.C.’s most infamous — with the arrests of Indigenous land defenders and journalists, repeated environmental infractions and celebrity activism from the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Greta Thunberg and Leonardo DiCaprio. 

But the list of controversial pipeline projects in the province doesn’t stop there.  

Continue reading The northern B.C. pipeline you’ve never heard of — Enbridge’s Westcoast Connector →
Animals

Monarch Butterflies Listed As Endangered

Editor’s note: According to a University of Victoria study, the Vancouver Island population has been considered highly vulnerable since 2014, when it was listed as ‘threatened’ by the British Columbia Species at Risk Act. Cortes Island naturalist Gorge Sirk added, “there are no Monarchs here.”

By Dean LaBerge, The Grizzly Gazette, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For the first time ever, the migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus) has been added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) “red list”, categorized as endangered. The IUCN was created in 1948 and is now recognized as the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, with more than 1,400 member organizations and 15,000 experts. According to the IUCN website, they are effectively known as “the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.”

Continue reading Monarch Butterflies Listed As Endangered →
Business, Waste

An informal depot on Cortes Island is moving to become a “Re-Store”

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

For several years Billie Fleming has been collecting and dealing with waste from Cortes Island residences and government docks. She’s passionate about reducing the amount of garbage destined for landfill.

Fleming’s vision is to create a so-called “Re-Store” a place where items can be repaired, brought back to life and resold. She also sees the idea as a way to reduce consumption of brand new items, by giving new life to partially used objects already bought, but then dumped.

Continue reading An informal depot on Cortes Island is moving to become a “Re-Store” →
Forests

Old-growth forests remain at ‘immediate risk’ despite B.C. government promises, report finds

By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

B.C.’s old-growth forests are still in jeopardy despite the province’s pledge to work with Indigenous nations to temporarily ban logging in specific areas, a new report by Stand.earth finds.

More than 55,000 hectares of B.C.’s proposed old-growth deferrals are still at “extreme risk” of being logged, Stand.earth’s spatial analysis revealed. Satellite imagery analysis shows some deferrals have already been destroyed or are in the process of being clear-cut.

Continue reading Old-growth forests remain at ‘immediate risk’ despite B.C. government promises, report finds →
Politics

Quadra island resident Marc Doll running in SRD municipal election

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

Marc Doll is running to represent Area C in the Strathcona Regional District, covering some of the Discovery Islands and mainland inlets between Vancouver Island and the Mainland, in BC’s upcoming municipal elections.

Quadra and Read Islands are part of Area C with a large concentration of population.

Continue reading Quadra island resident Marc Doll running in SRD municipal election →