All posts by Rochelle Baker

Rochelle Baker is a staff reporter with Canada’s National Observer, thanks thanks to a grant from the Local Journalism Initiative of the Government of Canada. She previously worked as a newspaper reporter and photographer in BC’s Lower Mainland for over 7 years.
Communications

Connectivity gap closing for B.C.’s isolated coastal communities

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It’s a landmark moment for an ambitious project to bring rapid internet to a swath of remote communities along the B.C. coast.  

The first 50 kilometres of subsea fibre-optic cable was recently laid at the northern reach of the $45.4-million Connected Coast project that will hook up 139 rural remote communities, including 48 Indigenous communities, to high-speed internet. 

Continue reading Connectivity gap closing for B.C.’s isolated coastal communities →
Rivers & Oceans

International science expedition sets out to investigate secrets of Pacific salmon

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A multinational scientific expedition is set to launch to solve the mystery of what happens when salmon head into the Pacific Ocean and how climate change is impacting both the iconic fish and their marine environment. 

Four vessels and more than 60 international scientists from Canada, Japan, the U.S., Russia and Korea are taking part in one of the largest-ever surveys of salmon in the North Pacific from February to March, said Brian Riddell, science adviser for the Pacific Salmon Foundation.

Continue reading International science expedition sets out to investigate secrets of Pacific salmon →
Rivers & Oceans, Waste

Coastal communities ‘fed up’ with B.C. shellfish sector’s plastics problem

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Coastal communities are tired of paying to clean up plastic and debris from the B.C. shellfish industry to protect the marine environment, stewardship groups say.

The amount of garbage being retrieved from beaches in areas where shellfish aquaculture is concentrated grows year after year, and there’s little apparent enforcement by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to deal with the issue, said Dorrie Woodward, chair of the Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards (ADIMS).

Continue reading Coastal communities ‘fed up’ with B.C. shellfish sector’s plastics problem →
Forests, Justice

Teal Jones wins court appeal to extend injunction against Fairy Creek old-growth blockade

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Fairy Creek activists have been dealt a blow after a court decision Wednesday upheld a logging company’s bid for an ongoing order to halt contentious old-growth blockades on southern Vancouver Island. 

Continue reading Teal Jones wins court appeal to extend injunction against Fairy Creek old-growth blockade →
Business

Nipped in the bud: B.C.’s potential as a craft cannabis hot spot failing to grow

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

British Columbia has been a mecca for cannabis enthusiasts and growers long before the product became legal in Canada in 2018.

But the underground pillar of the province’s economy hasn’t flourished despite the hard-fought battle for legitimacy, industry advocates say.

Policy hurdles continue to strangle the life out of the dreams of small craft growers and squander the legacy of B.C. bud, said Marshall Anselmo of Grass Roots, a Vancouver Island company that markets exclusive strains of cannabis plants.

Continue reading Nipped in the bud: B.C.’s potential as a craft cannabis hot spot failing to grow →