Tag Archives: Barry Saxifrage

Michele Babchuk Meets With Cortes Island Voters

Recording by Bryan McKinnon; Broadcast and text by Roy L Hales.

NDP incumbent Michele Babchuk came to Cortes Island Saturday, October 12, in the second in a series of meet the candidate events organized by FOCI’s Climate Action Committee. 

There is not room to unpack close to two hours of fact filled conversation into this half hour, but the full podcast is at the bottom of this page and here are some highlights.  

Continue reading Michele Babchuk Meets With Cortes Island Voters

The carbon footprint of longer distance travel to and from Cortes Island

The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) just released a report on the carbon footprint made by longer distance trips to and from Cortes Island. 

Many of their findings are to be expected. Taking a plane off the island creates a great deal more emissions than driving a car, and people who carpool or take a bus are responsible for only a fraction of that vehicle’s pollution.  

One of the biggest contributors to our local footprint is the Cortes-Quadra ferry, which creates approximately 1 kg of carbon emissions for every walk-on and 12 kg for every car. 

Continue reading The carbon footprint of longer distance travel to and from Cortes Island

Electric Is Better – Even On A Remote Island

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on April 14, 2019. At least one more EV has come to Cortes since then, possibly more. BC’s EV infrastructure has grown (The Plugshare map shows 18 EV charging stations in Campbell River, 2 on Quadra and 1 on Cortes Island) and the latest EVs have an average range of 468 km per charge.

British Columbia’s EV tipping point may be closer than you think. When you factor in the cost of gasoline, the average electric vehicle is already substantially less expensive that a gas car. Level three charging stations, capable of delivering an 80% charge in 30 minutes, are creeping up the east coast of Vancouver Island, BC. There are now seven stations along the coastal route between Sidney and Campbell River and sixteen in the Greater Victoria area. (In addition, there is a Tesla Fast charging station in Nanaimo and another planned for Campbell River.) Now even people in remote locations like Cortes Island are going electric. On Saturday, April 12, 2019, three of the island’s six (and counting) E-car owners explained why electric is better — even on a remote island. 

Continue reading Electric Is Better – Even On A Remote Island

Monitoring Dungeness Crab larvae in Cortes Bay

Last April, Cortes Island became part of an international monitoring project for Dungeness crab larvae. There were 20 light trap stations in the Salish Sea and 17 in the Puget Sound. Three of these traps were within our  listening area. Surge Narrows School had a trap on Read Island. The Hakai Institute and Quadra Island community had another on Quadra Island. Kate Maddigan and Mike Moore coordinated volunteers looking after the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) trap in Cortes Bay. 

Continue reading Monitoring Dungeness Crab larvae in Cortes Bay

How fossil #144 came to the Cortes Island Museum

On Saturday, September 3, 2022, Christian Gronau installed a 130 million year fossil on the Cortes Island Museum porch. This is the third rock from his collection on display, and fossil #144 of a series.

“I believe this quest for fossils, the erratics that he’s been searching for has been a 20 year project,” said Melanie Boyle, Managing Director of the Cortes Island Museum and Archives.

Continue reading How fossil #144 came to the Cortes Island Museum