Everyone was talking about the murals, when they were first unveiled. Thirty-seven years later, the image of three proud First Nations faces comes to many people’s minds when they hear the name Chemainus. Municipalities throughout British Columbia embraced this former logging town as a model for how communities can be reinvented after their principal industry collapses. There are still hundreds of thousands of visitors coming to see this Vancouver Island town every year.I recently dropped in to see how how Chemainus Transformed itself.
Our first urban walks were around the Seawall, or else False Creek, in Vancouver. Over the past couple of decades we’ve tasted some of the visual delights of cities like Seattle, Canterbury and Quebec. However one of our favourites is closer to home. This past year my wife and I returned to some of our favourite urban walks in Victoria BC.
For many, the most visible aspect is two cloud-like pillars ascending into the stratosphere. Others principally know Powell River from the BC Ferry terminal, which they use en route to other destinations. I recently explored some of the many faces of Powell River.
The village of Lund is about 20 miles from my home on Cortes Island. There are vantage points on Cortes, from which you can actually see Savary Island. Though only a short distance across the waters, it takes a day and three ferry trips to drive there. The experience is delightful. Lund is soul candy.
Having served in the Arctic with the Coast Guard driven zodiacs at fast speed, Mike Moore seemed like the perfect choice to guide people in the Antarctic – only he was troubled by the emissions he would create flying to and back from his job. That was one of many challenges we discussed in the Ethics of Ecotourism.
