Tag Archives: Radio

Community, Environment, Forests

Bruce Ellingsen: 2022 recipient of the Jo Ann Green Award

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Every year, the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) give the Jo Ann Green Award to a Cortes Islander who has made a significant contribution to the environmental wellbeing of the community. Bruce Ellingsen is this year’s recipient.

“Jo Ann Green was an exemplary environmentalist who came to Cortes in 1969, and she immediately became involved in social environmental activities on the island,” explained Helen Hall, Executive Director of FOCI. 

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Communications, Education

Cortes Literacy DIY book club and Kobo e-readers

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Assuming they don’t get snowed out, Cortes Literacy is holding a mandatory training session for their new Rakuten Kobo e-readers today. Manda Aufochs Gillespie explained this is connected to Cortes Island’s new book club. 

 Manda Aufochs Gillespie: “This book club is a hybrid of just another community organized volunteer ‘Let’s everybody pitch in book club’ like we have seen multiple times before on Cortes. And an attempt to blend with a program that Cortes Literacy is doing with Rakuten Kobo, which brings 20 digital eReaders into our community to loan and reuse, as well as a subscription to the Kobo Plus book library. They basically saw a need in rural and remote communities. People had no access to books during COVID. Libraries shut down, community halls shut down, schools shut down, and people in these remote communities had no access to books and reading material.”

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Rivers & Oceans

70% of the fish farms sampled had PRV-1, study finds

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A new study published by the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, states that 70% of the samples taken from 56 fish farms had PRV-1.

One of the co-authors is independent biologist Alexandra Morton, who explained, “The study was my concept and I funded a lot of the analysis and did a lot of the sampling myself. It was truly collaborative with Clayoquot Action sampling the Farms in Clayoquot Sound. An extraordinary man, Dr. Neil Fraser from Powell River got in his speed boat and went to the central coast. The Wild Fish Conservancy down in Washington State, sampled farms there. So it was  a sustained effort by a lot of people, and then Dr. Gideon Mordecai did the analysis of the relationship between the different strains that we picked up.”

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Rivers & Oceans

No Chum in Basil Creek yet, but the outlook for salmon may be improving

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It is November 26 and there are still no Chum Salmon in Basil Creek. Normally they would have returned a month ago, but there was a prolonged drought this year. While the water level has risen, there are still no fish.

“It’s getting to be late for Chum, but we’re seeing other populations come in late. We might see Chum return into the next few weeks, it’s very possible. This year is definitely characterized by a lot of weird conditions,” said Matthew Clarke, DFO’s Head for stock assessment in North Vancouver Island, from Black Creek to Cape Caution (which is actually on the Mainland). His area also includes Cortes and Quadra Islands.    

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Arts, Forests

Raising $10,000 for the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island, two reasons why  

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‘Giving Tuesday’ is just five days away. The Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society (FTCCIS) is trying to raise $10,000 for the valuation and assessment which will hopefully lead to their purchasing two parcels of forest. There are actually several components to this story. This morning we are going to talk to two young women involved with the new Children’s Forest Video made for this fund raising drive. 

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