Category Archives: Forests

Forests, Politics

A Cortes Island Resident’s Contributions to the 2023 NDP Convention

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Cortes Island resident Bruce Ellingsen was both a delegate to the recent NDP Convention in Victoria, and the original author of resolution #42 written for the segment called ‘Building a Sustainable Economy for All and Fighting the Climate Crisis.’ Unfortunately, he didn’t get to read it that afternoon.   

“We ended up only getting through 10 of the 69 resolutions, with the presentation to the floor and the debate for pros and cons to any of them,” he told Cortes Currents.

Bruce has a suggestion that would increase the number of resolutions that can be heard, and the delegate’s enthusiasm for citizen democracy, which appears later. 

Continue reading A Cortes Island Resident’s Contributions to the 2023 NDP Convention →
Environment, Forests

Burning trees is not a clean energy option: climate advocates

Editor’s note: This article is of interest to residents of Cortes, Quadra and the neighbouring islands because firewood is often our primary source of heat. Wood pellets are sometimes suggested as a more environmental alternative.

By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With the annual United Nations climate conference just around the corner, environmental groups are calling for an end to subsidies that support burning forest biomass to generate electricity.

In an open letter to Natural Resources and Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, the groups say financial support for the industry is at odds with the federal government’s pledge to phase out subsidies that harm biodiversity. The 24 signatories urge the government to “reverse course and choose true climate solutions” instead of “simply shifting from burning fossil fuels to burning forests for fuel.”

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Education, Environment, Forests

Folk U: Briony Penn and Hannah Carpendale talk about Forest Carbon

On September 29, host Manda Aufochs Gillespie was joined by Briony Penn and Hannah Carpendale for a live FolkU Friday discussion about forest carbon. Recorded live off-the-floor and edited for the radio, join us for a conversation on climate change, the ways misinformation shapes our policy and discourse, and carbon sequestration.

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Forests

MYCOBlitz 2023 on Cortes Island

“The goal of a MYCOblitz is to document MYCOdiversity; i.e. the diversity of fungal species present on Cortes Island.Fungal fruiting bodies vary month to month, location to location, season to season. Therefore ongoing MYCOblitz’s are required to cover these bases!!” – email from Sabina Leader-Mense

Close to 70 people of all ages took part in Cortes Island’s community fungal forest walk on November 1, 2023. The students of the Cortes Island Academy were among them. We were greeted outside the Linnaea Education Centre by one of the islands better known scientists, who declared:

“Good afternoon. Good afternoon. ‘Truncocolumella citrina‘ you can call me, the Latin name for Lemon truffle. On any day other than MYCOblitz, my name is Sabina Leader Mense. I’m a founding director and an educational research associate with the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortez Island Society and it’s my pleasure on their behalf to be hosting MYCOblitz 2023.” (Cheers)

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Forests

BC confirms Sierra Club’s findings on 2021 old-growth logging

Editor’s note: Forestry is one of Campbell River’s 3 economic pillars and this confirmation of what the environmentalists have been saying about the need to preserve old growth is very important.

By Madeline Dunnett, The Discourse, , Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The province-wide old-growth rally on Sept. 28 brought attention to the 14 recommendations the provincial government committed to implementing in 2020 to protect old-growth forests.

The recommendations came out of a multi-year independent strategic review of how B.C. forests are managed and included an immediate recommendation that the province work with First Nations to defer logging in old, at-risk forests until the new strategy was implemented.

Shortly before the rally, Sierra Club BC, a provincial environmental advocacy group, issued a review of B.C.’s old-growth logging stating it had increased between 2020 and 2021, instead of decreased, as the government had previously announced. 

The Discourse followed up with the B.C. Ministry of Forests about the number of old-growth logged, and the ministry responded with the same number released by Sierra Club. 

Continue reading BC confirms Sierra Club’s findings on 2021 old-growth logging →