Most Cortes residents have now received a questionnaire, about the Cortes Island Community Wildfire Protection Plan, through the mail. According to the records we possess, going back to 1950, Cortes hasn’t had a fire larger than 10 hectares in extent – but our climate is changing, wildfires are getting bigger and however unlikely it seems at the moment, we need to be prepared in case there is a major wildfire.
Continue reading Updating the Cortes Island Community Wildfire Protection PlanAll posts by Roy Hales
One step closer: Community Halls and First Responders
There was little discussion. The Strathcona Regional District Board approved the agreements at their August 19th meeting. Cortes Island’s two community halls and first responders are one step closer to receiving funding.
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Vancouver Island communities concerned about climate change impacts
The University of Victoria completed a climate resilience survey of 106 elected officials and staff from 38 municipalities and 10 regional districts on Vancouver Island. Saanich, Nanaimo, Victoria, and Campbell River were all represented. Vancouver Island communities are concerned about climate change impacts on weather patterns.
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Reinventing Hollyhock for a virtual world
In a normal year, Cortes Island’s best known learning centre needs to take in $3 million in revenues to keep operating. 2020 has been anything but normal. As a result of COVID, most of this year’s programs were cancelled and Hollyhock could not rehire most of its usual staff. This has also been a year of innovations: with courses being offered online for the first time and a day-long virtual Hollyhock-a-thon called ‘Shine the Light.’ The Cortes Island centre’s response to this year’s challenges almost amounts to reinventing Hollyhock for a virtual world.
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SRD Delivered to 230 Households
The ‘Sayward Futures Society‘ application was turned down because they proposed to use the funding to hire a coordinator. Emergency Management BC (EMBC) did not feel the COVID situation on Vancouver Island was sufficiently desperate, but they did approve a study to see how the SRD Delivers program could be implemented on Cortes Island. More than 80% of the $10,370 obtained from the province was forwarded to organizations that “offered assistance with grocery shopping, the delivery of food, prescriptions and other essentials for the benefit of the elderly (65+) and other vulnerable persons.” The SRD delivered to 230 households in Campbell River, Read Island, Gold River and Tahsis.
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