Tag Archives: North Island

Arts

Willow: The Southend

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Originally Published on November 18, 2019

Willow acknowledges the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory or the Laich-Kwil-Tach people of the Wei Wai Kai Nation.

Quadra Island’s folk roots quartet Willow has just released a new EP: “The Southend.” They chose that name because the EP was recorded at the United Church in Cape Mudge, and many of the associated photos were taken in a field near Tsa-Kwa-Luten Lodge. (Both sites are in the south end of Quadra Island. ) Asked what is special about this particular release, Noelle Maffin says that she usually finds performing so much easier than recording, but “there was a sense of magic in the room. This [EP] just fell into place and was recorded very easily in about five hours.” 

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Politics

North Island: 38 Days from the Provincial Election

British Columbia is heading for the polls on October 19, a little more than a month from now.

So far only two candidates have registered in our electoral district, North Island.

Michele Babchuk has been our MLA since 2020 and prior to that she was a Campbell River City Councillor for six years, as well as Chair of the Strathcona Regional District Board. 

Dr. Anna Kindy is running for the Conservative Party of BC. She is an  addiction specialist, and physician. On her campaign website it states   “Throughout her career, Anna has been a tireless advocate for the marginalized and stigmatized populations of the North Island.”

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Forests

Logging in watershed frustrates Quadra Island residents

Editor’s note: On January 27, 2022, Mosaic unveiled its three year plan to log Cortes Island. Community opinion quickly turned against them after it became apparent that the forestry giant intended to harvest the forest at a rate six times greater than that of the Cortes Forestry General Partnership. Many Cortesians want to see the forest restored to what it was before the advent of industrial scale logging. In the face of a potential large scale community resistance, Mosiac has not commenced logging.

In 2010, the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island was formed to purchase 600 acres of Mosaic’s land in the James Creek Watershed. Negotiations have been ongoing, and there is hope that the deal will soon be finalized.

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A Quadra Island community is increasingly frustrated by its inability to protect vital watersheds from being clear-cut despite the increasing risks of climate change. 

Many residents in the Copper Bluffs community and elsewhere on the island have been urging Mosaic Forest Management to reconsider logging remnants of mature forests, particularly in stream sheds and wetlands. 

Despite long-standing opposition from residents, Mosaic has harvested six parcels totalling five hectares from tree farm licence 47 (TFL 47), which spans most of the island north of Gowlland Harbour and Hyacinthe Bay. 

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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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Fire

B.C. firefighters battled through the night to dampen out-of-control Quadra Island wildfire

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

​BC Wildfire Service’s specialized attack crews worked through the night to tame an out-of-control wildfire that broke out in a populated area of Quadra Island Thursday afternoon.

Three first-response crews, a helicopter and two tree-fallers continue to fight the blaze east of Village Bay Lake near Bold Point Road and it has shrunk from four hectares to 1.5 hectares in size, BC Wildfire Service information officer Sam Bellion told Canada’s National Observer early Friday. 

The wildfire service’s latest alert at 11 a.m. said the fire is being held. It broke out in the island’s Village Lakes area, a popular summer destination with numerous recreational properties and homes. 

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