The Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy
Number 48, Fall 2011
Leading the Way on Ecosystem Management for Mt. Tuam
participants in the october 5th Mt. tuam Special Management area workshop, left to right: BaCk row: Tim Kulchyski (Cowichan Tribes), Jennifer Eliason (Islands
Trust Fund), Peggy Burfield (BC Parks), Luschiim (Cowichan Tribes, Susan Dann (SSIC), Tej Dhaliwal (Nav Can), Jeff Ward (Islands Trust Fund), Hugh MacDonald (BC
Parks). Middle row: Laura Matthias (SSIC), Kathryn Martell (GOERT), Paul Linton (volunteer warden). FroNt row: Trudy Chatwin (BC Ministry of Forests, Lands,
and Natural Resource Operations), Robin Annschild (SSIC), Carrina Maslovat (contractor), Cat Galbrand (Transport Canada), Karen Hall (Transport Canada)
Mt. Tuam is an ecologically significant and unique site in
southwest Salt Spring Island. It contains fragile meadows,
Garry Oak ecosystems, maturing Douglas-fir forests and
Western Red Cedar bottomlands. Since 2004, funding from
the Government of Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program
for Species at Risk has allowed the SSI Conservancy biologists to identify and map species at risk on Mt. Tuam. With
help from species at risk experts, our work has identified
14 new species at risk on the mountain.
The Mt. Tuam ecosystem is also under stress. It has been affected by historic activities such logging and fire, as well as
current threats such as fire suppression, grazing of sheep,
invasive species, and inappropriate recreational uses.
ContInUeD on Page 3
Inside:
Cover Story .............................. 1
President’s Page
..................... 2
Directors Desk
....................... 3
iNSide SSiCa
New Directors
Annual Apeal 2012
......... 7
New Stewards ..................... 7
SChool proGraMS:
.................... 4
StewardShip:
Bullfrogs
eveNtS:
................................ 4
Stewards in Training ....... 5
eveNtS:
Planet Remarkable ........... 6
Volunteer Corner
............. 6
K1 at Ruckle Park
Scholarships
Book Review
............ 8
........................... 9
........................
10
In Memorial .......................... 10
Essentials
...............................
11
www.saltspringconservancy.ca
2
The Acorn ~ Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy
preSideNt’S paGe
Our Purpose
As I write this note, I have just
returned from a hike in the southwest part of Salt Spring, what I
like to think of as the “wild side of
Salt Spring.” It was a fine day for
this time of year, meaning no rain.
Fall on the coast is the transition
from our dry to our wet season.
My hike started along a bay, where
the tide controls the shoreline. Since we humans first arrived, this shore has provided clams, oysters, herring, and
salmon in abundance. Despite a notice warning of red tide,
I believe it could again be a source of plenty, given half a
chance. The land surrounding the bay is now within a provincial park. The park resulted from the successful 2001
campaign against the plans of Texada Logging, a campaign
in which the Conservancy and its supporters played a
prominent part.
From the bay, we hiked upward on slopes heavily logged
in the past. One of the marvels of nature is its ability to recover, if left alone. That recovery was evident as we made
our way through a forest of cedar, hemlock, grand fir, and
majestic Douglas fir. Soon we emerged on a rocky outcrop, rewarded for our effort with spectacular views over
Satellite Channel and Vancouver Island. We admired the
manzanita, a woody relative of arbutus, that grows on the
rocky, west-facing slopes of our island (it can be found on
Mt Erskine, another special place on Salt Spring protected
forever as a result of an island-based campaign led by the
SSI Conservancy).
So my little outing reminded me of the purposes of your
Conservancy: to help preserve some of the still-wild places on Salt Spring, to be ready to assist landowners who
want to protect their land, to support island campaigns
to save special places, as and when needed. In short, to
be a voice for nature on Salt Spring. We are able to be
this voice through the hard work of our staff and you,
our supporters. Key to our effort is the work of our two
biologists, who carry out scientific research on our island
ecology, with particular focus on endangered plants and
animals. The federal Habitat Stewardship Program has
recognized their work. I am delighted to report that, for
the first time, we have received three year funding, rather
than having to re-apply from year to year. It enables us to
plan longer term.
To carry out our work, we depend on your support. Our
annual appeal letter has just gone out. We know you will
respond generously. We hope many of you will join us as
monthly supporters. Until December, Mouat’s Clothing Co.
will match new monthly donations, for which we are
very grateful.
Another way you could consider support is by donating to
our Acorn Fund. This Fund is designed to provide a permanent endowment, giving us regular income, so we are
not dependent on annual grants. Also, you might consider
a bequest to the SSI Conservancy.
All donations are tax-deductable, and have other tax advantages. Please contact our Executive Director, Linda Gilkeson,
at 250-538-0318 for more information.
Have a great fall. And keep that umbrella handy!
— Ashley Hilliard
Do You Know How
a Natural Landscape
Benefits our Community?
Protecting the natural landscape is a benefit
to our whole community because it:
• protects standing forests, which are home to
wildlife and play a valuable role in slowing
climate change by holding carbon,
• protects watersheds, vital on an island where
many rely on local lakes for drinking water, and
• provides recreation and preserves the beauty
of the island (appreciated by islanders
and thousands of visitors every year).
As your local land conservancy, we have a skilled
team of volunteers and staff who know the island
and are experienced in land conservation issues.
• We work with conservation partners,
negotiate legal agreements and write grant
applications for national funding sources.
• We restore and manage the nature
reserves entrusted to us.
• We work directly with landowners to help
them manage their own property.
• We sponsor public education and school
programs about our local environment and the
importance of protecting it for future generations
direCtor’S deSk
/
Fall 2011
FeatUre
Executive Director Report:
Signing off…
As most of you know I will
be leaving the Executive
Director position at the end
of December, which makes
this my last report for the
Acorn.
When I came into this job,
my intention was to give
a go for four years — and,
unbelievable as it may seem
(certainly to me) the 4 years is nearly gone. Sometime it
feels like I have just started, but when I look back on all the
SSI Conservancy has done over the years I have been honoured to be involved, I realize what an astounding amount
this organization gets done, year after year. I am particularly happy that the Alvin Indridson Nature Reserve was
acquired on my watch and will always be proud that it was
something I helped accomplish.
I remember when I moved to Salt Spring over a decade
ago that I kept hearing from people that thought the
move meant I had retired. Then, when I left a government job to work for the Conservancy at the end of 2007,
again, people assumed that meant I was retiring. Now
that I am moving on from this job, I am just letting you
know that I am still not retired—really! But I am looking
forward to devoting much more time to writing and giving gardening and pest management workshops, which
as many of you know, has been the other hat I have been
wearing over the years.
As we await the announcement of who the next ED will
be after the job search over the last few months, I know
that person will find an active, dedicated and resourceful
bunch of people to work with…and that they will find
there is never a dull moment.
As I sign off, I would like to thank the Board, staff and the
hundreds of volunteers who make this organization one to
be proud of—it was a great ride!
— Linda Gilkeson,
Your soon to be ex-Executive Director
FeatUre
|
3
ContInUeD FroM CoVer
Species at risk do not observe property lines, nor do the
threats that are affecting them. Managing these various
threats is extra challenging because a many parties own
property on Mt. Tuam, including federal, provincial and
regional governments and private individuals. In 2010,
we spearheaded a collaborative approach to maintain the
ecological integrity of the area. Thanks to collaboration
with Transport Canada and funding from the Government
of Canada’s Interdepartmental Recovery Fund, Mt. Tuam
landowners have come together to create the Mt. Tuam
Special Management Area (SMA). The total size of the
SMA is 305.6 hectares.
What exactly is a SMA? Botanist Carrina Maslovat, who
has been contracted by Transport Canada and SSIC to coordinate this project, describes it as “an area defined by
ecological boundaries rather than property lines to allow
efficient and appropriate ecologically based management.”
The working group aims to protect the unique ecological values of the site through appropriate restoration and
management. It aims to address threats to species at risk
and sensitive ecosystems and to work with users of Mt.
Tuam to limit unauthorized access and vandalism.
On October 5th, 2011, SSIC hosted a meeting of all the
parties at Stowel Lake Farm to celebrate our accomplishments and plan ongoing collaboration. We were happy to
welcome representatives from the Cowichan Tribes to the
process. To date, we have drafted a memorandum of understanding to express how we are working together to
reach our common goals. Carrina Maslovat has written a
management and restoration plan to outline what we will
do on the ground over the coming years.
The Mt. Tuam Special Management Area Resource Team is
a fantastic example of how multiple parties can work together on conservation actions that they otherwise could
not accomplish on their own.
SPECIES ON MT. TUAM THAT ARE RECOGNIZED AS RARE,
EITHER FEDERALLY OR PROVINCIALLY, INCLUDE:
Band-tailed Pigeon
Scalepod
Common Nighthawk
Small-flowered Godetia
Olive-sided Flycatcher
White Meconella
Western Bluebird
Yellow Montane Violet
Peregrine Falcon
Zerene Fritillary
Sooty Grouse
Pacific Sideband
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Propertius Duskywing
Coastal Scouler’s Catchfly
Sharp-tailed Snake
4
The Acorn ~ Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy
iNSide SSiC
/
StewardShip
Meet the New Conservancy Directors Elected at the 2011 AGM
Michael Wall | Michael is an
industrial designer who has operated his own consultancy for the
last 25 years. He has lived on Salt
Spring since 1987. For the first nine
years he commuted to Vancouver
weekly for business, but with the
advent of the internet in 1996, he was able to telecommute and spend most of his time on island. He is a past
president of his professional organization (BC Industrial
Designers Association) and is currently on the board of
the Salt Spring Jazz and Blues Society. He was active over
several years in the fight to enact the current Soil Removal
Bylaw and worked on the campaign to save the Creekside
Rainforest land. He is a committed jazz musician, photographer and hiker.
Samantha Beare | Returning to
the Board after a couple of years off,
Samantha was the SSIC treasurer
for over a decade (1999-2009).
After thirty one years of teaching
in Ontario, Samantha and her husband Ian retired to Salt Spring in
1999 and never looked back. Their three sons live on the
coast along with Samantha’s mother. Recently the family
welcomed their 1st grandchild, a boy, named Sam. Along
with volunteering and being a friend, mother, daughter,
wife and nana, Samantha likes to cook, tend her tiny garden, travel all over, create in paper and is now learning to
play bridge.
Volunteering has been a real joy. I have met many wonderful people who have become great friends and have had
the opportunity to be active in protecting habitat for future generations. When we moved to Salt Spring I thought, if
you can’t do it here you can’t do it anywhere! Well the SSIC has done it and continues to make a significant differ—Samantha Beare
ence in environmental stewardship on our small piece of the earth. Carry on!
Adult bullfrogs can be up to 20 cm long and can jump
up to 2 meters. This is a great contrast in size to our native frog species, the threatened Red-legged Frog (5-7 cm
long) and the Pacific Chorus Frog (2-5 cm long), which
are much smaller in comparison, and thus fall prey to the
larger bullfrogs.
Male bullfrog found at Bullock Lake.
|
Photo: Laura Matthias
SteWarDSHIP
Bullfrogs on Bullock Lake
The Bullfrog is an invasive, exotic species in British
Columbia threatening native frog populations. Recently,
a landowner in the Bullock Lake area discovered a large
male bullfrog on their property. Bullfrogs had not been reported from this lake in the past, so this is a disappointing
discovery as this species appears to be expanding its range
on Salt Spring Island.
Bullfrogs are brownish green, with grey bellies. They have
very large and distinctive tympanic membranes (ear drum)
behind their eyes (in males, the membrane is larger than
the eye). They are voracious predators and have been documented eating insects, snakes, fish, birds, baby turtles,
native frogs, and even other bullfrogs. They can live up to
10 years in the wild, and are suspected in the transfer of
diseases to native frog species.
It is important to never move tadpoles, egg masses or frogs
between wetlands or ponds as this can inadvertently transfer invasive species and diseases between frog populations.
If you have seen or heard bullfrogs in Bullock Lake or in
your pond or wetland, the SSI Conservancy would be very
interested in hearing from you about your sightings. For
more information and to hear what the Bullfrogs sound
like, visit our web page:
www.saltspringconservancy.ca/invasive_species.html
— Laura Matthias
Fall 2011
StewardShip
Arbutus Seasons
SongS to a tree *
II
Sunburned beings gather,
long-limbed, acrobatic –
ecstatic dancers caught in amber air,
moving shadows tattoo their silky
skin –
entranced, they lift
glistening wreaths
to reaches of blue.
In their dreams,
meandering snakes
ride yellow waves of sun –
In late summer heat the old skin splits –
they shimmer it off in ribbons of flame.
In tree-dreams they writhe free,
“Let the old skin go,
I am here golden-green,
Light, touch me anew.”
III
IV
Season of dust and snapping grasshoppers –
In winter darkness
pale trees lift toward
descending snow
Branches streak through breathless heat,
shed fiery bark,
swerve to meet the sky, and burst
in fireworks of glittering green.
Sit down in the litter of saffron light
cast by braids of leaves, and watch
the slow strip-tease
of the arbutus rees
as they peel off
their cinnamon curls,
flaunt citron trunks
smooth as the skin of inner thighs
Light drains,
trees gather themselves,
spring out from rocky edges,
finger the sky –
clutch red berries,
toss them sizzling
into rainy rock-hollows
5
Leaves gather flakes
carried by chrystalline wind
In morning stillness
whitened limbs float up,
offer to the reaching light
rising loaves of snow
In winter silence
they lift cool branches –
Venus twisting through white foam,
in every fold and delta
snow nestles like pale down.
Snow thins, liquifies
in expanding silence
Light slides along bare limbs
Trees stretch, raise
extravagant candelabra
for the sun to ignite
Again they catch my heart
off guard
melt it open
Photo: Wendy Hillard
pull me from my winter self
into the flowing instant
* We began Wendy Hilliard’s poem in the
previous ACORN, issue 47; we complete it
here, with deepest thanks to Wendy.
Stewards In Training Program Update
2011 was a busy year for the Stewards In Training program.
Our first program for the school year expanded a grades 2
and 3 program, to include Grade 1 students. That meant
10 classes from the local elementary schools joined us
at Burgoyne Bay to learn about the history of Salt Spring
Island, how to use compasses, and discover a forest by
using their senses.
The remaining programs rolled quickly through the spring
starting with the Grade 8 program in March in Ganges
Harbour learning about Dead Zones. In April, the Grade 6
and 7s visited Ford Lake to study wetlands. May brought
the Grade 4/5s to Burgoyne Bay to examine the intertidal
zones and First Nations’ technologies. In June, we conducted a new pilot program for Kindergarten /Grade 1s at
Ruckle Park. (For more information on this new program,
see page 8 in this edition of The Acorn)
We’d like to thank our generous funders, Ducks Unlimited,
The Province of British Columbia Gaming Commission,
The Hamber Foundation, BC Hydro, The Salt Spring
Island Foundation, and Thrifty Foods, for supporting this
program so that we may continue to take children into nature to explore through hands-on activities. The Stewards
in Training program is largely volunteer run so we would
also like to send a huge thank you to all our dedicated volunteers who willingly spend their day in the cold, drizzle,
or sun to share their enthusiasm and knowledge with the
youth on our island.
The 2011–2012 school year looks to be just as busy.
Look for more information on our upcoming programs:
Sept/Oct–Grades 4/5 at Cusheon Cove; March–Grade 8s
at Ganges Harbour; April–Grade 2/3s at Ford Lake;
May–Grade 6/7s to Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve; and
June another new program, Kindergarten/Grade 1s at
Duck Creek.
If you would like more information on the Stewards
in Training program, please contact Kris Fullbrook at
653-9870. We are always eager to have new volunteers
join us in sharing nature with kids!
6
The Acorn ~ Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy
eveNtS
Don’t Miss Planet
Remarkable: Amazing Life
in a Hostile Universe
| As planets go, the Earth is a small rock,
surrounded by a thin bubble of air and a thinner film of
water. It is also a place of abundant life—a remarkable
global ecosystem that seems, as far as we can tell so far, to
be unique in a hostile universe.
NoveMBer 13th
Sunday November 13, Bob McDonald, CBC radio’s host
of Quirks and Quarks and one of Canada’s best known
science journalists, will explore the cutting edge science
behind our remarkable planet through an exciting illustrated presentation. The event will be held at Artspring
and is the fall fundraiser for the SSI Conservancy. Activities
begin at 2:30 pm with a silent auction and refreshments.
The presentation begins at 3:00 pm.
In addition to hosting the award-winning Quirks and
Quarks since 1992, McDonald is a popular TV personality,
science author and journalist, and has been recognized with
six honorary degrees, and recently, the Order of Canada.
McDonald’s presentation will take a look at our unique
planet in its full context, against the backdrop of a hostile
universe filled with thousands of other worlds that will all
kill you. We will see the scarcity of air to breath, the rarity
and uneven distribution of water to drink and consider
the most fundamental reasons why this rare gem needs
to be protected. In McDonalds own words, “We live in
the Garden of Eden and there is nothing like it anywhere
within reach.”
Don’t miss this fascinating opportunity to meet Bob,
ask your science questions, bid on some fantastic offerings donated to the silent auction and support the SSI
Conservancy’s good work.
— Jean Gelwicks
A Preview Of Coming
Events – 2012
| Wade Davis, world renowned
ethnobotanist and photographer. Artspring.
MarCH 9tH
| Karen Barry, Bird Studies
Canada. Community Gospel Hall.
aPrIL 6tH
Linda Gilkeson and Brian Hayward chat
with Mike Walsh at the SSIC Fall Fair booth.
Photo: Donna Martin
Volunteer Corner:
Appreciation and Thanks
After almost 4 years of being the layout editor for our
ACORN newsletter, Elizabeth Nolan is stepping down. On
behalf of the Board, staff and volunteers, I would like to
thank her for doing such a great job. We really appreciated
her time and skill in turning out a good-looking newsletter
that we have been proud to send to our members. We welcome our new layout editor, Harry Bardal, who has already
started with this current issue.
Two long-running community partners deserve special
recognition:
• Thrifty Foods, for their Smile Card Fundraising
Program, which provides funds for buses to transport students for our Stewards in Training school
program. If you don’t have a SSIC Thrifty Foods card,
just call us or drop by the office and we will be happy
to give you one. When you load up the card we receive 5% of the total from the Smile card program.
• Country Grocer, which brings in much appreciated
monthly income through their community support
based on sales receipts you deposit in our box at the
store. Under this heading, I also want to thank Alan
Thomson, the volunteer that has taken on the task of
adding up all of those sales tapes on our behalf and
submitting the tally sheets.
We had a lovely surprise when Tom Vergalen (T&T Signs)
showed up this summer with a beautiful new sign to hang
above the SSIC office door. Many thanks to Pat Walker for
donating the design time, Tom for the printing and materials and Terry Ridings for installing it.
And last, but not least, thank you very much to all of
the volunteers that helped out with our booth at the Fall
Fair: Brian Hayward, Nora Layard, Maria Dammel, Paul
Burke, Jean Gelwicks, John de Haan, Kris Fullbrook, Brian
Holgate, Vera Algoet, Donna Martin, Tony McLeod, Bob
Weeden, Susan Hannon and Nigel Denyer.
Fall 2011
eveNtS
7
Annual appeal 2012
Linda Gilkeson
As this fall’s annual appeal letter
is arriving in mailboxes, I urge you
to think about the value of having
a financially secure, local land
conservancy working to benefit our
island community. Once again we
are promoting monthly donation
as a way to spread your gift over
time in small, easy-on-the-wallet,
installments. Such contributions
really add up to significant support
and also give us a good idea of
what income we can expect each
month for planning purposes.
(or how to win a guided nature walk and picnic lunch for four!)
Building our Endowment Fund
Last year we began work in earnest
to build our endowment fund, which
we call our Acorn Fund, as a way to
ensure long-term financial stability.
Funds directed to an endowment
must remain in that fund, so they
continue to earn income forever.
A substantial endowment would
provide income from the fund
that we could use to support
administration and program costs.
If you are considering a major
donation, making a gift to the
endowment fund is a way to
ensure your gift continues to
generate income long into the
future.
See the ad below for a special
opportunity to increase our
endowment through the Victoria
Foundation (which is where our
Acorn Fund is held). They are
marking their 75-year anniversary
by giving away a total of $75,000
divided among the endowment
funds of participating organizations.
This year, I especially want to thank
our annual appeal community
partner, Mouat’s Clothing Company.
They are generously matching new
monthly donations until the end
of the year, which makes it a great
reason to sign up today!
In January, the names of all of our
monthly donors (including everyone
who signed up in previous years)
will be entered into a draw to win
a guided nature walk and picnic
lunch for 4 to our newest nature
reserve. The draw will be held in
early January, with the walk to be
held whenever it is convenient for
the winner and their accompanying
friends.
Salt Spring Island’s Newest Conservation Stewards
Landowners Maria and Rolf
Dammel are our newest signatories to a Salt Spring Island
Stewardship Agreement. The
Dammels own the Bed and
Breakfast “Suncrest”, one of
the first green certified accommodations on the island.
I walked the 28 acres of land
in the Walker’s Hook area with
Maria who shared her passion about organic gardening
and leaving most of the land in its natural state. It’s a wonderfully diverse property with moss covered rocky cliffs,
meadows, a pond and creek and hectares of cedar and fir
forest and is home to a plethora of amphibians, reptiles,
birds, mammals and butterflies. Maria is a “boom buster”
par excellence, and has been pulling and cutting broom
on her property for many years. For decades she shared
her little piece of nature with busloads of school children
and she currently volunteers with the Salt Spring Island
Conservancy’s Stewards in Training program. Since 90% of
Salt Spring is privately owned, conservation by landowners is extremely important in the long-term health of the
natural ecosystem.
—Susan Hannon
Maria Dammel on her property with her
Conservation Stewards plaque. | Photo: Susan Hannon
8
The Acorn ~ Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy
SCHooL PrograMS
Kindergarten & Grade 1 pilot program at Ruckle Park in 2011.
|
Photo: Simon Henson
A day in the life of the K/1 Pilot Program at Ruckle Park
Kiel, a curly blonde boy from Fulford’s Kindergarten class,
jumps through the air like an orca, while his friend scurries along the ground slapping an imaginary beaver tail on
the ground. Kiel makes his way over to his group leader,
also acting like an orca and holding a picture of one. A
small pod of three kindergartners gather around their leader
ready for the activities to continue. The animal game opens
the Stewards In Training pilot Kindergarten/Grade 1 program at Ruckle Park and helps students find their groups
for the day.
After snacks and songs, the ‘Orca Pod’ heads off to explore
the beach with a treasure hunt. Bright green plastic buckets in hand, students collect sea glass, sea weed, goose
feathers, and crab shells, along with other items from a
list of treasures found on Grandma’s Beach. Sea anemones attract particular attention as Kiel and the other ‘orcas’
gently touch the soft bodied creatures and compare them
with the rough texture on the sea stars. Once the students’
buckets are filled, they gather around blue mats to dump
the contents for sorting. Kiel sorts his by size, while one
of the other ‘orcas’, Baal, decides to sort his by living and
non-living things.
For lunch, the ‘Orca pod’ gathers with the rest of the class
for a puppet show, along with some free time scouring the
rocky shoreline.
After lunch, students return to their animal groups eager
for more activities. The ‘Orcas’ aim for the forest where
they examine life on a Maple tree. Kiel finds wood beetles
and studies them with a magnifying lens.
The ‘Orcas’ move to the Mystery Bag station where they
used their sense of touch to describe parts a tree hidden
inside the bag. Trying to describe it without shouting out
what it is, is particularly challenging. Kiel finds the fir
cone prickly, and Baal says that it is pointed.
Soon the Orca pod is racing to the Tree Discovery station and investigating the differences in Douglas Firs,
Red Cedars, and Arbutus. Kiel likes how the Arbutus are
angled while the other two are tall. Baal knows this is because the Arbutus is shorter and is reaching for the sun
below the other trees.
At the Leaf Anatomy station, the Orcas survey leaf structure with magnifying lenses, finding the veins and skin of
the leaf. They learn that the little green dots on the underside is called chlorophyll and is how the plant makes its
own food. Kiel enjoys using a stick to separate the chlorophyll from the leaf onto the paper of his journal.
Soon, all the students gather in the field near the barns.
They play a game of True and False and reflect on the activities of the day. The bus arrives, and kids race to gather
Fall 2011
SCHooL PrograMS
their things. Kiel lines up waiting his turn to get on the
bus. He takes a look back at his group leader, then whispers to Baal in line next to him. Kiel drops his pack to save
his place, darts toward his group leader, gives her a hug
and tells her what fun he had in her orca pod. As he runs
back to his place in line, Kiel jumps through the air, arcing
like an orca, before giving one last wave over his shoulder.
We were excited to have the support and funding from
The Salt Spring Island Foundation to develop this area
of The Stewards In Training program. The Stewards In
Training program has wanted a curriculum appropriate
program aimed directly at this age group for some time.
Four Kindergarten / Grade 1 classes took part in this pilot
program at Ruckle Park. A separate Kindergarten / Grade 1
program is in development for next June. This will be the
rotating program and will be held at Duck Creek on the
north end of the island.
If you are interested in joining us or learning more
about the Stewards In Training program, please contact
Kris Fullbrook at 653-9870 or [email protected]
9
A Decade of Scholarships
The SSI Conservancy has offered scholarships to qualifying
GISS students for ten consecutive years. There were winners in six years (in the rest, no clearly deserving applicants
came forward), all of whom are either still studying for
professional degrees or are already working environmental
professionals. That strikes us as a pretty good record.
Early scholarships were funded from donations made by SSIC
member Marilyn Thadden-Dexter in recognition of her late
husband’s passionate idealism for environmental protection.
Hence the original name of our scholarship, the W. David and
Marilyn Thadden-Dexter Conservancy Scholarship. Awards
now come from our general operating account, and we simplified the title to the SSI Conservancy Scholarship.
For the entire decade Maggie Allison of GISS Career
Counselling has been the one who found the students
whose applications we evaluated. Her help has been crucial. For the SSI Conservancy, volunteers in the Education
Committee (in chronological order, Bob Weeden, Jean
Gelwicks, and Deborah Miller) have studied student
submissions and records. It has been a joy to present the
scholarship cheques ($1000) to beaming young women
and men at graduation day.
Here is a quick check on the winners, year by year.
(No awards in 2002, 2004, 2006, or 2008.)
Top: Grades 6 & 7 experience Ford Lake.
Bottom: Grades 4 & 5 at Burgoyne Bay. | Photos: Simon Henson
2001
Jessica Courtier finished her B.Sc. in Natural
Resources and Biology. She tackles contract work for
environmental agencies, including fishery surveys near
Prince George for the Ministry of Environment.
2003
Cory Marshall finished his B.Sc., too, but we haven’t
been able to find out where he is now.
2005
Hannah Munro (see issue #43 of the ACORN for an
article on her studies) completed B.Sc. and M.Sc. work
on seabird ecology and diseases at Queen’s University,
and has extended her work into a Ph.D. program at the
same university.
2007
Fiona and Heather Munro shared this award,
completing a sweep of the scholarship by all three
Munro sisters. Heather has a B.Sc. in civil engineering
and environment at Queen’s (Kingston, Ontario) and
will pursue a M.Sc. in Resource and Environmental
Management at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby.
Fiona completed her B.Sc. (Environmental Science and
Geography) at Queen’s. This fall she begins a M.Sc.
in Resource and Environmental Management at
Simon Fraser.
2009
Kelsey Mech is studying ecology at the University of
Victoria. She worked for GreenPeace for two summers.
2010
Ali Jones has begun a B.Sc. to pursue studies in biology
and environment at University of Victoria.
2011
Kya Dalton is pursuing studies at Capilano
University’s Wilderness Leadership Program.
— Deborah Miller and Bob Weeden
10
The Acorn ~ Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy
Book review / iN MeMory
Break Through: Why We Can’t Leave Saving The Planet To Environmentalists.
Nordhaus and Shellenberger, Mariner Books, 2009.
When the essay on which this book is based was published
in 2007, an IED exploded among environmentalists. We
had been thinking we were doing good, when in fact our
efforts over the last half century have been a waste of
time—worse, actually, because we have earnestly tried to
thwart the only thing that will save the planet: economic
development. (The good news, I guess, is that we failed.
Never in the history of the world have we been so thoroughly developed.)
The authors’ basic premise is that people won’t care for
the planet until they first care for themselves. Get food
and shelter, build security within family and community,
assure conditions for personal growth and achievement;
then clean up the mess, save whales, hug trees. There is
a lot of support for that idea. As survey after survey show
(the authors are professional surveyors), the average environmentalist is better educated and better paid than
most folks, the kind of guy or gal who adopts causes and
is politically active. The poor rarely join the Sierra Club.
(Neither do the very rich, a fact the authors neglect to mention.) Hence, if you want the majority to help save “the
environment,” then make the majority well off. Promote
development.
There are some complications to consider. If economic development is what we’ve had so far in the “luckier” parts of
the world, we really can’t take more of it. Without question
it has created a class of newly comfortable people, a few of
whom join the environmental cause. However, the earthdamage caused in the process has far outpaced the restorative efforts of the few. Just look around: the world has
never been wealthier—all the economists say so—or in
direr straits. Orthodox development that boosts the world
population to 10 billion and raises per capita consumption and waste proportionately would be a fatal boon. And
what would stop us there? I have yet to hear a corporate or
agency developer say “enough.”
Wes Jackson (2010, Consulting The Genius of the Place)
notes that the truly marvellous gains in literature, philosophy, art, music, and architecture humanity has made
in 10,000 years have been possible only because we drew
down nature’s carbon capital. Agriculture depleted enormous soil carbon reserves, and industrial development has
depleted, in turn, wood, coal, oil and natural gas reserves.
If human development requires resources in excess of minimum survival needs, and if drawing down further carbon
capital is intolerable, what are the alternatives?
One is the nuclear option, getting energy from non-organic elements like uranium. That’s a whole other issue.
Another is to reduce human demand for carbon to levels
below sustainable yields from photosynthesis. Live from
interest, not principle. Demand, of course, is the multiple
of population times per capita consumption, which focuses
us on two strategies: reducing population and reducing
per capita consumption. (I use “and,” not “or,” because to
do one of the two alone would be disastrous.) Although
Break Through almost ignores the population issue (rather
casually accepting as a “given” the unproven notion that
as people get richer they automatically have fewer kids),
it does us a real service with respect to the consumption
side of things. Its new vision of prosperity is “not the
vision of economic growth held by those who worship at
the altar of the market. It will define wealth not in gross
economic terms but as over-all well being...that which
provides us the freedom to become unique individuals.” If
such a postmodern economic development were to flourish, postmodern environmentalists would/should be eager
co-developers.
— Bob Weeden
In Memory of Dr. Robert Makaroff
Dr. Robert Makaroff, land owner and island conservationist recently good neighbour of mine in the Musgrave area,
passed away, and I would like to acknowledge Dr. Robert
Makaroff and his impact on those of us who knew him and
some of his exemplary deeds in our area. This is particularly relevant to the SSI Land Conservancy and its efforts
in Musgrave.
Dr. Bob as he was known, was a resident of Vancouver,
but along with his wife Shawna, spent a good deal of his
time and energy on some 600 acres of waterfront and upland forest in Musgrave. In the 70’s he was instrumental in
successfully petitioning the NDP government of the day,
to make the 96-acre meadow and beach at the end of the
Musgrave Rd. a greenbelt reserve. He felt it was too ecologically significant and waterfront access-situated to become subdivided. The Musgrave Greenbelt remains today
as a legacy of the Makaroff’s conservationist values.
In the 80’s a portion of the nearby Kellog estate was sold
and logging had commenced. Dr. Bob bought some 60
acres bordering the Musgrave Road and Arnold Creek.
This land from the Mill Farm Reserve down towards the
Fall 2011
iN MeMorial / eSSeNtialS
aforementioned Greenbelt is arguably the finest portion of
mature rainforest with open forest floor on our island. Dr.
Bob and Shawna Makaroff purchased the old Smith farm
on the Musgrave side of Mt Bruce in 1971. Legend has it
that they camped out in the orchard meadow for the first
summer, waiting for the hippies to leave the old cabin—
rather than evict them. Dr. Bob was an engaging intellectual and self reliant individual as well as being a conservationist. I recall many nights walking up to his cabin carrying a kerosene hurricane lamp and only finding the way
in the tall, dark forest by looking up at the gap between
the trees that defined the roadways. Bob would offer his
homemade wine from the heritage trees in the orchard and
honeycomb bits from his bee hives.
In the 70’s, there were not many of us on the west side of
Mt Bruce and Dr. Bob led by example with his off grid lifestyle. He created power by turbine from Arnold Creek. He
was the first of us to build a composting toilet and a gravity water system that included a swimming pool. The UBC
Architecture School held a retreat on his land and they
learned to split cedar shakes and of course Bob had them
set up a row of composting outhouses to save their waste.
Bob wouldn’t let anything go to waste—even in later years
THE CONSERVANCY THANKS OUR FUNDERS
Community Support
Country Grocer
Mouat’s Home Hardware
Mouat’s Clothing Company
RBC Foundation
Salt Spring Island Foundation
Many wonderful private donors
Stewards-in-Training School Program
Ducks Unlimited
The Hamber Foundation
The Province of British Columbia
Salt Spring Island Foundation
Thrifty Foods Smile Card Program
Stewardship, Land Acquisition
and Species at Risk:
BC Hydro
BC Ministry of Environment
Bullitt Foundation
Canadian Wildlife Federation
The Government of Canada Habitat
Stewardship Program for Species at Risk
he would be out cutting windfalls and using a portable
mill to make lumber.
Dr. Bob was always ready to speak his mind on politics
[he once ran for mayor in Vancouver], philosophy and
the ethos of 60’s countercultural values he held dear. Dr.
Robert Makaroff grew up in Saskatchewan of Doukabour
heritage. He was a pacifist and was a conscientious objector
in WW2. As a very successful family doctor in Vancouver,
he was a firm believer in pro choice and risked his reputation and profession to provide safe abortions when such
were illegal.
On May 8, Dr. Makaroff passed away at his home in
Vancouver with his family. He was probably cantankerous
and non sentimental right to the end. But a part of him
and his legacy rests in Musgrave imbued with his spirit
and energy and care for the land. As his neighbour, I will
miss him. When I pass by I think I will continue to hoot
or caw my greeting, that he knew and would stop his work
for just a short while.
—Neil Morie, Musgrave Landing
Habitat Conservation Trust Fund
Islands Trust Fund
Nature Conservancy of Canada
(Natural Areas Conservation Program)
Public Conservation Assistance Fund
Shaw Communications
Vancouver Foundation
Victoria Foundation
Wildlife Habitat Canada
Membership Application
Salt Spring Island Conservancy
#201 Upper Ganges Centre,
338 Lower Ganges Rd.
Mail: PO Box 722,
Salt Spring Island BC
V8K 2W3
Office hours: Tues/Wed/Thurs
10 am - 3 pm
Phone: 250-538-0318
Fax: 250-538-0319
[email protected]
www.saltspringconservancy.ca
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
Linda Gilkeson
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Maureen Bendick (Past President)
Paul Burke
Robin Ferry
Jean Gelwicks
John de Haan (Treasurer)
Susan Hannon (Secretary)
Ashley Hilliard (President)
Donna Martin
Maureen Milburn
Deborah Miller
John Sprague
Bob Weeden (Vice President)
Doug Wilkins
Acorn Editor: Bob Weeden
Layout: Harry Bardal
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11
The Acorn is the newsletter of the Salt
Spring Island Conservancy, a local nonprofit society supporting and enabling
voluntary preservation and restoration
of the natural environment of Salt Spring
Island and surrounding waters. We
welcome your feedback and contributions,
by email to ssic@saltspringconservancy.
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