Tag Archives: West Vancouver

Squamish Nation ethnobotanist touts medicinal benefits of native plants

By Mina Kerr-Lazenby, North Shore News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

When headaches plague Leigh Joseph, she doesn’t immediately reach for the Tylenol bottle. When winter’s flu strikes, cough medicines and throat soothers are acquired, but not from the pharmacy or the drug store aisle of her local supermarket.

Instead, Joseph, a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) ethnobotanist, looks to the great outdoors for remedy.

The natural world, she attests, can be a great source of healing and nourishment.

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Kelp forests, foundational to coastal ecosystems and Nuu-chah-nulth culture, are at risk

By Alexandra Mehl, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Thriving in cool water temperatures, kelp forests cover over a quarter of the world’s coastlines, with Canada having the longest, says Marissa Ng, Seaforestation Project Coordinator for Ocean Wise. 

Of Canada’s 243,042-kilometre long coastline, British Columbia makes up 25,725.

“In the Pacific Northwest, kelp forests are a foundation species. Similar to salmon, they’re important for the health of the coastal ecosystem,” said Ng. “They’re also foundation species because they’re so abundant up and down the coast and much like forests on land, marine forests – kelp forest – they provide food and shelter for thousands of marine species.”

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Newcomer to Vancouver: Transit like waiting for a flaky date

By Mina Kerr-Lazenby, North Shore News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Like all great love affairs, the one that occurred between myself and Vancouver’s public transit system was brief and tumultuous. It was a summer fling that began at the tail-end of August, when I, like a gazillion British people before me, moved to the city in search of great landscapes, good people, and endless poutine.  

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Designing a safer nursing home for COVID times

By Martha Perkins, North Shore News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The images were heartbreaking — a senior citizen, alone in their nursing home bedroom while, on the other side of the window, a family member stands outside and tries to establish some kind of connection to ease the sense of isolation and foreboding.

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