Tag Archives: Alert Bay

Animals

The Quadra Project: Biological Wonders – Part 3

Click here to access part one of this series and here for part two .

• A species of weaver ant found from India to northern Australia
(Oecophylla smaragdina) makes its nests by curling leaves into loops.
The leaves, however, are too stiff for any single ant to accomplish this feat. To solve this problem, the ants form a chain of up to 17 individuals. Using their mandibles, each ant grabs the abdomen of the previous ant, and they all pull together to bend the leaves. Using this tug-of-war strategy, the ants are able to pull up to 100 times their individual body weight (New Scientist, 23 August, 2025).

Continue reading The Quadra Project: Biological Wonders – Part 3 →
Indigenous Nations

Life on ‘Na̱mg̱is territory, at the edge of the ocean

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

‘Na̱mg̱is Chief Ho’miskanis, Don Svanvik, is on the phone when I walk off the little ferry in Alert Bay, B.C.

“Standing water and wood is never good,” he says to the person on the other end. “I can come by after I drop my truck off, maybe tomorrow.” 

Continue reading Life on ‘Na̱mg̱is territory, at the edge of the ocean →
Rivers & Oceans

Janie Wray: Listening to Whales

Over 100 people came to the Quadra Community Centre on December 7, to learn about the acoustic dialects and social connections of Orca, Humpback and Fin Whales. Sierra Quadra invited Janie Wray –  CEO and co-founder of the North Coast Cetacean Society, BC Whales, and the manager of the BC Hydrophone Network – to share from her more than two decades of research.

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Politics, Transportation

Highlights from Green candidate Nic Dedeluk’s visit to Cortes Island

Around 30 people turned out to meet Green candidate Nic Dedeluk when she came to Mansons Hall on Monday, October 7. Cortes Currents recorded 145 minutes of the two hour meeting, which is far too much to fit into a half hour broadcast. So today’s program consists of a few highlights. 

This event was put on by  FOCI’s Climate Action Committee (The Climate Action Network) and there is a link to the unedited audio at the bottom of this page.

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Politics

North Island offers a case study for upcoming BC election

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

This article is part of a series by Canada’s National Observer that will take a look at Vancouver Island’s “ridings to watch” in the upcoming election. 

The North Island may well be a long held NDP stronghold but the recent spike in support for the BC Conservatives suggests a tight two-way race is in the making in the upcoming provincial election. 

Continue reading North Island offers a case study for upcoming BC election →