
In 2021 Sheila Harrington embarked upon a three-year journey to explore the creation of local nature conservancies on 17 islands. Cortes and Quadra Islands were among them. She conducted more than 50 interviews, and wove together a chronicle of land conservancies and the people behind them since the 1990s. The resulting book, ‘Voices for the Islands, 30 Years Of Nature Conservation On The Salish Sea’ is just being released by Heritage House.
There is a chapter dedicated to each of the 17 islands.
The subject is very close to Harrington, who was the founding Executive Director of the Land Trust Alliance of BC from 1997 to 2011. She was also a director of the Lasqueti Island Nature Conservancy for more than 12 years.
Cortes Currents: Why should we care about land conservancies?
Harrington: “We should care because it works! These conservancies are protecting land and protecting nature. We’re in the midst of a species extinction that is unheard of all over the planet. The only way to save species is to save habitat, and land conservancies are an excellent way to save land. They’re local, they know what’s important, and they’re on the ground in order to ensure that it gets protected over time. They often work with regional districts. The Strathcona Regional District has worked with Land Trusts on Cortes , Quadra, and the province. On Salt Spring Island we protected 10 percent of the island by various land trusts working with the province and this whole Burgoyne Bay Park was protected through local people working with those other agencies.”

“I took a sailing journey to meet with the dedicated founders of land trusts, which are also known as conservancies, and current activists from 17 of the islands in the Salish Sea, who have protected hundreds of nature reserves, parks, and protected places for people and the wildlife we share these precious islands with. The book chronicles this legacy of passionate Salish Sea Island residents who have dedicated much of their lives to protecting nature in determined, creative ways.”
“It’s just so inspiring to learn about the projects and how close it sometimes came to not working. Mostly it’s through buying private land. When someone sells their land, they generally don’t want to wait a year, but these campaigns take about a year to raise the money if they’re going to buy it outright. If it’s a covenant, it’s easier to raise the money.”

As you can see from the following examples, this book is highly recommended:
Bob MacDonald host of CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks wrote, “As a sailor, I have had the privilege of visiting every one of the islands in this book and hiked many trails in the parks and protected areas. Each Gulf Island holds a distinct beauty . . . It is a delight to follow in the wake of fellow sailor Sheila Harrington as she meets the people and organizations that have fought tirelessly to preserve these unique ecosystems for future generations to enjoy.”
Bobbi Hunter, co-founder of Greenpeace stated, “At last, a good news story . . . Engagingly written, part chronology, part inspiration and part guide for the future. It details the battles and sacrifices of the many dedicated crusaders for Mother Gaia.”
To which Sarah Cox, author of Signs of Life: Field Notes from the Frontlines of Extinction, adds, “‘Voices For The Islands’ unflinchingly documents the mounting threats facing the islands in the Salish Sea and describes on-going efforts at reconciliation with First Nations, the original stewards of the waters and land. In these troubling times of climate change and biodiversity loss, Harrington’s book is an uplifting testament to how individuals and communities working together to protect what they cherish can make an incalculable difference.”

Cortes Currents: Tell us about your trip to the islands. When did you go? and how did you come up with the idea?
Harrington: “I took it over three summers, from 2021, 2022 and 2023.
I came up with the idea because a person that I had worked with had died. John Scull, was the founder of the Cowichan Land Trust. I knew him and of course. I knew a lot of the people on the islands because I’d been working with them over about 15 years, but I hadn’t known those people as well as John. When John died, it just really made me realize, wow, the elders’ voices would soon be lost as many of them are now in their 70s and 80s and are passing. They’re pioneers of this land trust movement, which is local people who are working to protect areas on their islands or in their communities.”
“I was also the coordinator of ‘Islands in the Salish Sea: A Community Atlas,’ which you may have seen. Many people on the islands purchased it. It was an atlas made up of community maps that were created by artists on all the islands. So I’ve had a long time relationship with people on the islands.”

“I love traveling to the islands and meeting all these people, some of whom I’d never met before. Listening to them tell their stories was so inspiring to me. There was a couple on Cortes, for example, that put a covenant on their property and they were just so inspiring to meet and learn about their motivations.”
Cortes Currents: Who are the couple on Cortes you’re talking about?
Harrington: “Mary Gordon and George West.”
Harrington wrote about the covenancies on their property, the late Gilean Douglas’ property, Treedom Ventures and the ongoing negotiations to purchase 600 acres from Mosaic and set up Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island.
Cortes Currents: In your book, you also mentioned Sabina Leader Mense.
Harrington: “Sabina Leader Mense and Sean Black helped Linnaea Farm become a registered society. Then a conservation covenant was registered on Linnaea Farm, which was the first one in B. C., and that happened in 1999. Today, Sabina works with many residents and other professionals in the field to connect protected lands across the landscape on Cortes. She does this primarily through using conservation covenants. A current landowner can register a conservation covenant on their property because they want to save some trees or they want to save a riparian area or something like that and make sure it’s protected long after their ownership, because the covenant stays on the title to the next people who buy the property. So she’s using these covenants to create conservation corridors on the island, which in the conservation world are the best way of protecting land, because species can cross over these corridors.”

Cortes Currents You also mentioned there were also some people on Quadra who were doing this.
Harrington: “On Quadra Island, there’s the Quadra Island Conservancy and Stewardship Society. They were started because they wanted to protect an area along Morte Lake. Michael Mascall is one of the original board members who I met during my sailing journey. He said that the community was concerned because this 57 acre property came up for sale and it was right in the middle of the Fletcher Challenge logging lands. Michael’s landlady phoned up and said, ‘Hey, let’s do something, get together, buy this.’ So they all got together, formed a land trust and purchased the 57 acre property. They’ve built trails along Morte Lake, not only on their property, also on some of the Fletcher Challenge lands, too.”
“Most recently, the Quadra Conservancy worked with the Save the Heart of Quadra Park Society to protect the north side of Wyatt Bay, which is part of the Octopus Islands and Small Inlet Provincial Park. This conservation site has expanded the park by 400 hectares. The Quadra Island Conservancy and the Save the Heart of Quadra Society raised $200,000, together, towards the purchase that BC Parks made.”

“There’s another group working on Quadra lately called the Nature Trust of BC, and they protected Breton Island, which is right in Heriot Bay. The whole island was actually given to the Nature Trust of B. C. by the former owners, the Whitridge family. They owned that island for 60 years or more, and knew about Land Trust because they come from the States. Land Trust has been working across the United States for many decades. At the death of the patriarch, the family donated 100% of the value of the park to the Nature Trust.”
“Stories like these are in the book: of people that have donated land and the people that have become the directors of these groups. It’s just a really good news story, which I think people are desperate for these days.”

Cortes Currents: How did you get involved with conservancies.
Harrington: “I was the founding Executive Director of the Land Trust Alliance in B. C. I was living on Salt Spring Island at the time, and doing a conference on green building. I was talking to all kinds of people. I interviewed Briony Penn because their home had been brought from Victoria to Saltspring. Then I found out that there was a position available with a province wide alliance. I got in touch with them, was hired and I’ve been in conservation ever since.”
Cortes Currents: As an employee?
Harrington: “I was, but for the last 12 years I’ve been working on the Lasqueti Island Nature Conservancy. I was there for over 12 years as a volunteer.”
Cortes Currents: Did you have anyone sailing with you when you visited the islands?
Harrington: “Some of the time I was alone, some of the time I had a crew. It’s only a 28 foot boat, so it’s not that big and I’m on Lasqueti Island right now. I can go both north and south from here and sail to the other islands.”
Cortes Currents: Do you have anything to say to people who might be cinsiu-dering putting their land in a land conservancy trust?
Harrington: “I would definitely recommend they talk to someone with the local land trusts on the islands. On Quadra, it’s the Quadra Island Conservancy. On Cortes, I would talk to Sabina because she’s doing that work in terms of helping landowners put covenants on their land.”

Cortes Currents: When will Heritage House be releasing your book?
Harrington: “It’s coming out officially on July 9th, hopefully it’ll be available in June. Then I’m going to be doing a little tour around in August and September doing author talks. I’m looking forward to seeing people again and bringing the combination of all these stories together back to these islanders. Many of them are quite interested in learning about what happened on the other islands. How did they do it there? I’m very interested in people’s responses to the stories and sharing them. And it’s such a good news story.”
Cortes Currents: Do you have any trips planned in terms of book releases on Cortes or Quadra or Powell River or Campbell River?
Harrington: “I do have a planned event in Campbell River. It hasn’t been confirmed, but Friday, September 13th is the tentative date. I’m hoping for daytime so that people from Quadra or Cortes could come over. If there was a real interest on Quadra or Cortes for me to come, I could possibly plan for it, but it’s a big journey.”
Links of Interest
- A Property For Cortes Island’s New Land Trust & Other Housing Alternatives
- Articles about, or mentioning, the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island
- Articles about, or mentioning, Linnaea Farm
- Articles about, or mentioning, the Quadra Island Conservancy and Stewardship Society
- Articles about or mentioning Save The Heart of Quadra Parks
- Articles about or mentioning Treedom
- Articles about, or mentioning, land covenants
All photos courtesy Sheila Harrington.
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