Tag Archives: Whaletown Garden Centre

A New Season For The Whaletown Garden Centre

Noah Davidson traces his gardening itch back to the family plot in Ontario  but prior to his arrival on Cortes Island, he worked in restaurants. He started out behind the cash register of his father’s restaurant in Toronto and went on to work in a number of fast food establishments. This continued after his move to British Columbia. Noah worked at the Floathouse Restaurant, in Gorge Harbour Marina, during his first two years on Cortes Island.  

“A couple of seasons after working with them, I decided to experiment with the possibility of starting a business on my own property. I remember asking the Gorge, ‘if this doesn’t work out, would you mind hiring me back, because I don’t know whether this is going to be a grand success or a grand failure.’  They said, ‘you know, you’ve given us two good years and we’d certainly take you back,” he explained.  

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The Cortes Island Museum AGM, Upcoming Garden and Studio Tour & search for an Events Coordinator

The Cortes Island Museum just held its AGM. They have hired two summer students, plan to hire an Events Coordinator, and are gearing up for the Creative Spaces Garden and Studio Tour this summer. These are the topics that Managing Director/Curator Melanie Boyle discussed with Cortes Currents. 

The Museum AGM was at Mansons Hall, from 1 to 3:30 on Saturday May 6, 2023.

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How island growers are adapting to the dry summer heat

CKTZ News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Closely observing and responding to weather fluctuations has always been key to a grower’s success, however the recent extreme heat in early July is forcing farmers to rethink plans for future resiliency.

“This heat dome was the first time where I actually felt, holy crap, here it comes. We’ve been talking about it, we’ve been hearing the impact of the droughts in some of our southern neighbours. We’re going to have to get a lot stronger about how we’re doing things and how we’re supporting each other as community members and how we can support the food producers,” said Tamara McPhail

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Cortes Island Nurseries ‘Bursting At The Seams’

Local farmers produced 85% of the food consumed on Vancouver Island during the 1950s. While a combination of high costs, low returns and cheap imports has almost squeezed them out of the market, there have long been people concerned about our losing the ability to feed ourselves. COVID 19 reminded everyone that, if distribution lines go down, food security could fast become a crucial issue. The increased emphasis has been good for the local food production sector and Cortes Island nurseries are flourishing.

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