Tag Archives: Jennifer Banks-Doll

Community

Strengthening Community Connections on Quadra Island

The Quadra Island Foundation hopes to strengthen their island’s community connections. They invited the island’s charities and non-profits to a meeting at the Quadra Community Centre from 1:00 to 5:00 PM on Saturday, February 24. 

”We have perceived there has been significant redundancy of projects between organizations. With collaboration between the groups, we will gain some strength, not only in people power,  but also in the strength of ‘asks’ when applying for grants,” explained Jody A Rodgers, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Quadra Island Foundation.

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Business, Community

Community, Connection and Engagement on Quadra Island

When Quadra ICAN held a community consultation last September, the central question was ‘what are the challenges the island will face as global temperatures warm up.’There were different questions when ICAN held another community meeting at the Quadra Community Centre on Sunday, February 11, 2024. 

“We’re moving to solutions and planning. So today, the questions we’re going to be working on are: ‘What can we do as a community to become more resilient and self-sufficient in the face of ecological challenges? And then what is important for us to be working on right now?’” said Jennifer Banks-Doll, facilitator of the event. 

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Food Security

The Quadra Nut Tree Project’s Third Planting

Editor’s note: Food security is a major concern in the Discovery Islands. 98.4% of the 245 respondents to a ‘Quadra Island Eating and Growing Local survey’ stated they wanted more access to locally grown food. Most participants at the recent Conversation Cafe, on Cortes Island, shared a rough consensus that the existing food system (industrial farming, long-haul transport, and large scale grocery chains) was likely to falter or fail under the pressures of climate change and rising energy costs. The Cortes Community Economic Development Association [CCEDA] will soon be releasing a report of the findings at that event. A Garden Club/ICAN Food Security Team project is increasing that island’s protien supply. 

229 blight resistant nut trees were most likely planted on Quadra Island during the past 12 months, and that number should soon increase. There are Hazelnuts, Sweet Chestnuts, Black Walnuts, Persian/English Walnuts and a Heartnut. Most of these trees have been sold to private residents, but the Quadra Nut Tree Project’s third planting was on January 4, 2024.  

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Food Security

Quadra Ican: The Nut Tree Project

On Saturday, 14 volunteers turned out to plant the first batch of hazel-nut trees for the Quadra ICAN Nut Tree Project. 

The organizer, Jennifer Banks-Doll, explained, “For a few years now on Quadra, we’ve been working towards increasing food security. There’s been lots of different ideas about how to do that. From  perhaps the more obvious, perhaps not more obvious ideas about gardening workshops and learning how to preserve food —  different types of gardening, things like that.”

“Then we thought, one of the gaps here is really plant protein and oils. How do we address that gap? You can’t really produce a lot of oils in this climate or on a small island because they require expensive equipment. Actually it was my husband, Marc Doll, who came up with the idea of planting nut trees.”

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Communications

The Bird’s Eye: under new Ownership

The Bird’s Eye, Quadra Island’s only weekly newspaper has a new owner. 

“It was an 11th hour saving of the local paper that was about to close the doors.  Had been trying to find a new publisher for several months with no luck and Amanda Smith, who has been the publisher editor for several years was posting the  final edition when ICAN approached her to ask was it possible to save the paper and could a deal be worked out?” said Ramona Boyle, Coordinator of Quadra ICAN. 

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