Tag Archives: Suzanne Simard

Education

Beginning Of The Cortes Island Academy’s Third Year

The Cortes Island Academy’s third year starts on Tuesday September 3, 2024. Executive Director Manda Aufochs Gillespie explained that there are a number of innovative new programs this semester as well as popular facilitators from previous years. The Mother Tree Network, Hakai Intitute, Hollyhock and Power of Hope are all contributing partners. For the first time ever, there are also still some last minute spots available for new students.

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Forests

Carrie Saxifrage: Reflections from the outgoing Community Forest President 

Editor’s Note: Carrie Saxifrage was President of the Cortes Community Forest Cooperative from April 2019 – May, 2023.

This is Carrie Saxifrage with some reflections on the community forest.

Thanks so much to those who attended the Cortes Community Forest Cooperative (CCFC) AGM and to all the forest folk who keep this place deep green.

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Animals, Forests

Earth Day 2023: Wild Cortes Displays (P 1 – the Mother Tree)

Wild Cortes celebrated Earth Day, on Saturday April 22, with the opening of the new Mother Tree Exhibit. One of the advantages of being among the first to arrive, is that the facility was not too crowded. There were only half a dozen people when Wild Cortes opened at noon. Local biologist Sabina Leader-Mense agreed to give Cortes Currents a walk through.

She was making some last minute touches to the exhibit when I asked some of the first viewers, ‘What’s your impression of the exhibit?’  

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Education

Cortes Island Academy: Looking back to lessons learned and forward to 2023/2024

“It’s such a different experience from normal school. I think really just connecting with people, and having a class where you can be friends with everyone in it.” 

 “It regains my faith in humanity a little bit, seeing everyone be so supportive.”

“A lesson that I’ll be taking with me, is that I can learn from everybody who I meet.”

Those were some of the student comments from the Cortes Island Academy website. The 2022/2023 semester is now over and the academy is preparing for a Forest Ecology Semester in 2023/2024.

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Forests, Youth

A Beacon of Hope: Questions from the Children’s Forest Alumni

One of the world’s leading forest ecologists was the feature speaker at the Cortes Children’s Forest virtual AGM on Saturday, January 28th. This is the last in a series of programs from that meeting, in which Dr Suzanne Simard’s answers questions from the Children’s Forest Alumni. 

Forrest Berman-Hatch emceed the session and this abridged broadcast of the audio opens with him asking, “ How do you see the value of the Children’s Forest taking into account all the different factors that are important to small communities like the ecological, the economic, as well as the cultural and scientific values?”

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