Tag Archives: Youth

Farming, Food

This year’s blueberry harvest on Cortes Island

This started out as a story about the incredible blueberry harvest in the midst of this year’s drought. 

One of the seniors picking at Sunnybrae Farm gave Cortes Currents the tip, which Mike Manson subsequently confirmed.

“We are seeing what we think might be the biggest crop ever. In terms of pounds per bush, and the fruit is ripening differently. It’s ripening in a more condensed manner, which is good for picking. The big crop is probably due to favourable conditions for pollination in the spring. Whether or not that had anything to do with dry weather, I’m not sure. Maybe the bees were glad it wasn’t raining and cold and wet, but certainly pollination was key, without that you don’t get a crop. For whatever reason, conditions were favourable for bees to be flying and doing their job,” he said.

“We’ve never seen a dry year start so early.  This year, the dryness started mid May. I remember May 13th was 30 degrees Celsius.  I think  the early heat this year has affected  the way the fruit has ripened. I haven’t seen it ripen in this fashion before.” 

However, there are three blueberry farms on Cortes island and, as I was soon to learn, they are in different micro-climates. 

Continue reading This year’s blueberry harvest on Cortes Island →
Community

2023 Cortes Social Profit Gathering

Originally published by the Cortes Foundation

A woven tray of fresh flowers is making its way around the circle of 50 or so participants in the Social Profit Gathering held mid-June on Cortes Island, BC. Co-organizer Manda Aufochs Gillespie (Cortes Island Community Foundation, Folk U), has kicked off the day with an address to this land that has continued to provide for human communities since time immemorial. Everyone is invited to take a colorful bloom and connect to this place by holding a piece of it. The other invitation is to co-create the day ahead, building onto the scheduled agenda with collective knowledge, ideas and experience.

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Youth

For Teens Who Drink and Do Drugs, Here’s How to Reduce the Harm

Editor’s notes: “In Local Health Area 72 (Campbell River), which includes Cortes and Quadra Islands, 13.5 litres of absolute alcohol are sold per person. This is considerably higher than the Island Health average of 10.9 and the provincial average of 9.0. Given that one litre of absolute alcohol is equivalent to 58 standard drinks, residents of LHA 72 are consuming 783 alcoholic beverages annually, on average” – from the the Cortes Island and Quadra Island profiles

“In Vancouver Island North, which includes Campbell River, Cortes and Quadra Islands, 52% of youth have tried alcohol, compared to 45% provincially. Similarly, 37% of Vancouver Island North youth have tried marijuana, compared to 26% provincially. Tobacco sees a similar trend, with 29% of Vancouver Island North youth trying tobacco, compared to 21% of youth provincially” – from the Cortes Island and Quadra Island profiles

By Michelle Gamage, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About 40 per cent of Canadian teenagers drank alcohol in the last year and one in five used cannabis, according to a bi-annual Health Canada survey that asks kids about substances. 

The 2021-22 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey was filled out by 61,096 kids from Grade 7 to 12 — typically 12 to 17 — in all provinces except New Brunswick, which opted out. This is its 11th year collecting data on tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and drug use. 

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Community

Cortes Community Health Association AGM Held at Mansons Hall

The Cortes Community Health Association held its annual AGM at 1pm on Sunday May 7th, in the main room at Mansons Hall. The meeting was lightly attended and no controversial topics were on the agenda.

After opening the meeting, Board President Ed Safarik welcomed guest speaker Yasmina Cartland who made a brief presentation about “Compassionate Communities.” The rest of the meeting was devoted to the usual business of an AGM, concluding with selection of Board members for the coming year

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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.

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