Tag Archives: FOCI

Environment

Saturday Broom Bash at Mansons Landing Provincial Park

Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) is holding its annual broom bash, in Mansons Landing Provincial Park, from 10 AM to 1 PM this Saturday.

 “We’ve been doing this project on the spit now for five years,” explained Helen Hall, Executive Director of FOCI.

It started out as an attempt to protect the sensitive coastal sand ecosystem on the west side of the spit, facing the dock. Hall said some of the native plants are quite rare in BC.  

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Forests

Significant Accomplishments reported By Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island

This program was funded by a grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada and the Government of Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative. 

One of the advantages of virtual AGM is that people from Vancouver, Calgary, and select locations on both the West and East Coast can also attend. Most were in houses, but one was in a parked car and another on a sandy beach somewhere in Washington state. The Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island (FTCCIS) reviewed significant accomplishments of the past year at a ZOOM conference on Jan 23, 2021. 

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Rivers & Oceans

Mapping forage fish on Cortes Island

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Should you find yourself walking any West Coast beaches this winter, take a moment to send loving vibes to the tiny — but mighty important — little fishes that may be underfoot, a Cortes Island marine biologist recommends.

It’s peak spawning season for the Pacific sand lance, one of the crucial forage fish species being mapped as part of an extensive citizen science project along the east coast of Vancouver Island, says Sabina Leader Mense, the marine stewardship co-ordinator for the Friends of Cortes Island Society (FOCI).

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Animals

Coexisting in Black Bear country

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“This is black bear country. It has always been black bear country. Northern Cortes Island is likely where most of the bears live. Black bears can travel very far in one day and they are good swimmers. They do travel from island to island and there are likely year-round bears here. In the fall of 2019, there was a bear sighted at Blue Jay Lake. Then in April 2020, there was a black bear around Green Mountain. Since then, we’ve had conflicts with two bears: one in Whaletown and one in Squirrel Cove,” said Autumn Barrett-Morgan, a volunteer co-ordinator with the Friends of Cortes Island’s wildlife COEXistence program.

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Animals, Environment, Rivers & Oceans

Friends of Cortes Island AGM

The Friends of Cortes Island Society held their annual general meeting this past Wednesday evening, November 18th. 

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