This is from the Bowen Island Undercurrent: Bowen’s newest nature reserve is in danger. Some days ago, members of the Bowen Island Conservancy and a representative of the Islands Trust Fund, the two parties which will manage the new nature reserve for Bowen, noticed that the use of ATVs and other four-by-four vehicles has resulted [...]
Filed in environment,trails One Response so far
From the Daily News: Snuneymuxw chief worried about effect of Enbridge Gateway pipeline. Snuneymuxw First Nation chief Doug White fears for the First Nations and other people along B.C.’s coast if the proposed Enbridge Gateway pipeline proceeds.(…) White said the possibility of a dramatic increase of an activity in the area that could have devastating [...]
Filed in environment,First Nations,Gabriola Island 5 Comments so far
For those who enjoyed the green curtain, what about a green wall? We spent a mini-vacation in Vancouver on the August long weekend, and visited the Vancouver Aquarium for the first time in far too long. The green wall outside the Aquarium entrance is not new, so perhaps some of you have already seen it, [...]
Filed in environment,gardening,native plants 2 Comments so far
Helping pollinators seems like a good idea, so some of us keep bees, and some of us have misadventures with mason bees. We’ve read about how cattle might help bees, we’ve bought Gabriola honey, and have become a bit obsessed with bees and pollination in recent years. We read bee news. But this, this is [...]
Filed in environment One Response so far
You haven’t seen any bullfrogs on Gabriola, have you? I’m hoping we’re still free of them. UVIC’s Bullfrog Project explains the problem: Introduced Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) have replaced native amphibians from large areas of southeastern Vancouver Island and the lower Fraser Valley. Bullfrogs are voracious predators that can easily eat our native frogs – the [...]
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You all know That Guy who apparently hasn’t washed his clothes in years. Yuck, right? But maybe his habits are better for the environment than yours, you laundry-doing human. From Science Daily: Home Washing Machines: Source of Potentially Harmful Ocean ‘Microplastic’ Pollution. Scientists are reporting that household washing machines seem to be a major source [...]
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From the Nanaimo News Bulletin: Tidal energy proponent hosts public meeting. Residents with questions about a proposed tidal energy project at Dodd Narrows will have an opportunity to ask them Friday (Sept. 9) from 2-4 p.m. at Silva Bay Pub on Gabriola Island. [continue] Did you see anything about this meeting in the Flying Shingle [...]
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From the Nanaimo News Bulletin: Dodd Narrows scouted for tidal power project. Sitting on a park bench overlooking Dodd Narrows waiting for a call to come through on his iPhone, Tony Irwin noticed considerable tidal energy was moving through the narrow channel. Not far from where he was sitting, he looked up to see 138 [...]
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Gabriola’s brickyard was quite the industry in its day. Here’s a fragment of what’s left: a piece of Gabriola brick, soon to be swamped by the rising tide.
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I’m talking about people who come over on the Quinsam in the morning, pick a huge amount of salal in the Gabriola forest, load it all into a truck, and take it back to Nanaimo at the end of the day. They’re after the money, because they can sell salal to the floral industry. How [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 14 Comments so far
Oh my, Gabriola. Did you see this? From canada.com: From cows to plastic car parts. Using steam and pressure, a U of A research lab is extracting protein material from waste animal carcasses that is eventually converted into a variety of plastics. While a mooving car may sound like science fiction, David Bressler and his [...]
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Wouldn’t it be great if Gabriola didn’t need power lines, power poles, or BC Hydro? If we could all generate our own power or use some techno-magic to obviate the need for power lines, I’d be a happy camper. So I do like articles like this one from MIT: Sun-free photovoltaics. A new photovoltaic energy-conversion [...]
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Do you remember the boat that washed up on the rocks at Drumbeg a few winters ago? It was near the Stalker Road end of the park, and it came in after a storm. It stayed right where it landed for a very long time, because apparently we lack the legislation to get rid of [...]
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Some time ago I blogged about soap nuts, which is what we use instead of laundry soap. Back then no Gabriola stores were selling soapnuts, although there were sachets of soapnut powder for sale at Village Foods. The other day in Village Foods I noticed these packages. Soapnuts! Well, at last. I order these in [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
It’s been years since coal mining stopped in Nanaimo, but now there’s a proposal for a coal mine at Fanny Bay in the Comox Valley. (Info at NoCoalMine.net, Coal Watch Comox Valley, and in this newspaper article.) Of course this is a serious matter. Those who work to prevent coal mines and related industries could [...]
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From the Victoria Times Colonist: Talks gear up to protect southern Georgia Strait. A protected area for southern Georgia Strait could be on the fast track to reality, after almost a decade of talks. Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent said in an interview he discussed the Southern Strait of Georgia project with provincial Environment Minister [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
Huge numbers of things have been dumped in the Gabriola woods over the years. Other than the grow-op trash, I’d thought we were mostly past that. Apparently not. Somebody’s taken rather a lot of broken glass and left it smashed at the side of the road, where it’s spilling into the forest. Rats.
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Residents of Gabriola Island have a reputation for generosity in supporting a good cause, but have you ever wondered why? There are probably many reasons, but here’s one you might not have considered: looking at nature can make you a more caring, community-oriented, and generous person. A study published in 2009 by researchers at the [...]
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