In this morning’s interview Manda Aufochs Gillespie, Executive Director of the Cortes Island Community Foundation, discusses a fund called Communitas and explains how the Cortes Foundation doubled the money for this year’s Grant in Aid.
Continue reading Communitas: how the Cortes Foundation doubled the money for this year’s Grants in Aid
The Cortes Island Academy offers an accredited 20 week experimental, project-based education to local students in grades 10 through 12. They just wrapped up their fourth year and, on February 9, are about to start taking applications for 2026-2027. In this morning’s interview Executive Director Manda Aufochs Gillespie talks about the school and their recent annual showcase in Mansons hall.
She explained, “It was an incredible display, not just by the students of the Academy, but by the community who came out in droves to be the most supportive, engaged, and encouraging audience I have ever experienced. It was truly heartwarming to see the relational aspects of what was happening there.”
Continue reading Cortes Island Academy embraces the Laurels from Four Years past and begins a new season
The Cortes Island School Wetland Project is transforming part of the school field into a living classroom that blends ecology, culture, and community effort. In today’s interview, we speak to Miranda Cross from Rewilding Water and Earth, the wetland restoration specialist, and biologist on the project
Continue reading The Cortes Island School Wetland Project
It was Earth Day at Wild Cortes, Cortes Island’s centre for natural history, community science and collaborative conservation.
“It is a very exciting place to be, with new displays coming in every year, always on Earth Day. That’s probably the most important thing to say. It’s Earth Day, so let’s celebrate,” explained Sabina leader Mense, a professional advisor to Wild Cortes.
The centrepiece of this year’s displays is the ‘Humpback Comeback’ section highlighting the stunning recovery of Humpback Whales in our local waters.
Continue reading Earthday & the New Exhibits at Wild Cortes
The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) 2024 AGM is coming up at 5 PM on December 3rd. They are celebrating more than 30 years with their Marine Stewardship program. Sabina Leader Mense will be the guest speaker.
“That’s the second part of the AGM. For the first part, we will be talking about the work we’ve done in 2024. We’ve just produced our 2024 Annual Report and that’s bursting at the seams with amazing work that we’ve been doing over the last year,” explained Helen Hall. executive director of the Friends of Cortes Island.
Continue reading Only A Week From Now: FOCI’s 2024 AGM
