Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Cortes Island will be holding its very own film festival in Mansons Hall on Sunday July 17, 2022.

George Sirk produced Cortes Cinema’s films, all but one of which was originally shown either at Mansons or Gorge Halls during the 1970s and early 80’s.

The exception is a video made of Ann Mortifee’s performance at Manson's Hall on October 23, 1981, which has never been shown in public.

Doug McCaffry came up with the idea of a film festival, when he was digitalizing Sirk’s films for the Cortes Island Museum.

“Once he saw the films, he was so tickled by them he said, ‘You gotta have a film festival,’” explained Sirk.

“I thought, ‘okay, that'd be interesting. A film festival with only one film producer: myself, right, one producer.’ So I thought, ‘Well, why not?’

We approached the museum and the museum were totally on board.”

Cortes Island Museum is hosting and promoting the festival.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Cortes Kayaks has a lot of bookings this season. 


In May, they took out groups from 'Adventures in Leadership' and 'Teen szene.’ Then there were three 5-day-long lodge based trips running from Hollyhock in June. 


"Two of those were kayak and yoga retreats, which I really enjoy facilitating with my co-guide and co-facilitator Jolen,” explained Kai Harvey. “Next week we are doing our first multi-day kayak expedition of the season. That's a kayaking expedition where we are camping and kayaking.” 


This is on top of the company’s regular daily tours, in a season that also brought the return of US and international tourists.


“It is a different demographic of people and a lot of the summer residents who have homes on Cortes are coming back now. It's nice to be connected to that community for sure,” said Harvey. 

 

She added, “We do have a 10% discount for locals. If you email [email protected], I'll send you a locals discount code because we really want to get more locals out on our tours.  So few people who live on Cortes actually get to go out on the water. It's sad, So I want to encourage as many people as possible to join us.”  


That said, Harvey did enjoy the downtimes during the pandemic. 


“I really loved having that opportunity to just go kayaking in my free time, or to just be out on the water, to spend more time with my family and friends. Now with everything ramping up again,  that time to spend time with family and friends is definitely dwindling. So I feel like it's a mixed bag, with everything changing back to normal,” she said.


“Also, with things changing back to normal, we have to remember that things aren't normal. We still have to be very aware of those around us who are immune compromised. It's easy to think that the pandemic is over because we're all so tired of it, but I think it's really important that we all continue to remember to take care of our neighbours and to remember that there's many different perspectives on all the issues that are presenting themselves nowadays.”


This coming fall, Kai and her brother Tosh will be teaching a high school kayak program with the Cortes Island Academy. They are in an ongoing discussion about the curriculum. 


“The bottom line is that we have so many ideas and it's gonna be hard to narrow it down, to find something that is concise and flows really well throughout the five weeks,” she chirped.


“I think that it's such an incredible opportunity for youth on the island to be able to attend this program,  through school basically, and get a lot of outdoor experience: a lot of guiding experience, a lot of skills and also just to acquaint themselves with our local ecology in a more intimate way. That often isn't facilitated in a lot of spaces. I feel so tremendously lucky to be able to offer that to the youth of Cortes  and to youth from elsewhere as well.”

She did not want to talk about specific trips, which are dependent on tides, weather, the group’s experience  level , etc.  

“Maybe ask me in September.”


For anyone else who simply wants to go kayaking , there are a variety of day tours, evening tours, and overnight adventures offered through CortesKayaks website. There are also single and double kayak rentals. 


“You can book those tours on our website corteskayaks.com. If you just push ‘Book Now’ you'll be able to see live availability.  Then for locals, you'll be able to put in your little coupon code and get a discount through there,” said Harvey. 

“I love our online booking system because you can actually sign your waivers on there and add your PFD sizes and all of that. It's very awesome. I've become nerd for our booking.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A group of Cortes Island residents want to make a documentary about the Cortes Children’s Forest Trust.

“It's going to be around five to seven minutes long. We want to capture the social and ecological spheres of the children's forest and present that in a film for people to know more about it and connect with the forest if they haven't been there. Then maybe more people will want to go and experience the beautiful trees and the beautiful ecosystems,” explained Kai Harvey.

She is one of the Children's Forest Alumni, who were all involved in the 2010 Forest Alphabet documentary film.

Harvey added, “It comes full circle. We have all either graduated from university or are working now, but our love for the children's forest and for the island here and the community here has not faded.”

The alumni are planning the film, but are hoping to interview a variety of community members: children, elders, scientists, and members of the Klahoose First Nation.

“We want to represent a wide range of perspectives and show how many people love these forests and the ecological significance of them, especially considering that we are so vulnerable to the effects of climate change on such a rocky small island that we live on.”

They want to show the ecological significance of the old growth trees and mature second growth forests that are just starting to serve the ecosystem functions normally performed by old growth trees.

“So we can't be taking them away now,” said Harvey

“I think all of us are realizing that we don't have enough media that really tells the story of the children's forest and shows the community's connection to the place.”

"It is also very inspiring for other communities in this area to be able to look at what is happening here. This is a model that could be adopted by other communities. it is amazing really what the community has accomplished in the last decade and we really want this film to tell the story,” said Harvey.

“I think all of us are looking for a way to give back to that community and to this forest and continue our stewardship with the skills that we have now, compared to the skills that we had when we wrote our short poems for the Children's Forest Alphabet Book. We're just looking for a way to continue to be involved and to continue to give back and to steward this forest in the ways that we know how.”

The alumni are hoping the Children’s Forest Trust documentary will be finished by September and hope to have a Cortes Island community screening event.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Laura Balducci calls herself an artist supporting artists

“I still make my own art. I'm doing a solo show in February 2023, but I also have a little bit of extra energy and I'm not shy. I'm on a mission. The mission is to get as many artists out there, either in person or on the walls to share with the world. I really enjoy working with the artists and trying to get their work out there so that they can maybe spend more time in their studios and make more art to inspire more people,” she explained.

“I help curate, design and put together different art shows or websites. If they want me to curate their website for them, I do that for all their pictures. I'm also a host for the artist. I try to get events or programs where I'm hosting an artist for something on the island, or off the island.”

On June 24, Balducci helped put up Jane Newman’s exhibition ‘Ordinary Magic’ at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery.

Then she set off for Lund, where Balducci helped curate Judith William’s exhibition ‘Water/Colour’ at the Tidal Arts Centre.

Returning to Cortes Island, she helped install Lisa Gibbon’s artwork in the Floathouse Restaurant.

On Tuesday, July 5, she will be in the Cortes Island Museum, for the opening of Art in the Garden.

“‘Art in the Garden’ is at the museum in the heritage garden every Tuesday, starting July 5th to August 23rd, I have eight artists featured in the garden this summer season,” said Balducci.

“They'll be working on either a medium inspired by the heritage garden, or a piece that they're working on in their studio. They'll be working on that piece from 12 to 3 every Tuesday. Visitors and locals will come and they can interact with the artist. They can bring their sketchbook and work alongside the artist. They can bring their lunch for a picnic in the gardens while the artist is working. And the artist is there to answer any questions.”

Balducci talks about the three artists she most recently worked with in the podcast above:

Jane Newman is a relatively new resident of Cortes Island and worked at the museum for 4 of the 5 years she has been here. She just retired to work full time on her artwork. While she has shown some of her artwork at Hollyhock, this exhibition at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery is her first solo exhibit on Cortes.

Judith Willliams has been working on her current show for the past decade. She collected water samples from the Bute Inlet area prior to the recent landslide, and returned to gather more samples after the catastrophe. The resulting imagery, when this water was painted on paper, is striking. There was only room at the Tidal Art Centre for part of her collection, which will be unveiled in its totality at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery on August 26.

Lisa Gibbons has been an artist all of her life and has a studio in Mansons Landing. “A lot of her work is inspired by the environment. She works mostly, but not exclusively, in acrylic, collage, gold leaf, and sometimes oil paints.” There is a sample at the top of this page.

As regards her own art, Balducci said:

“Right now, I'm working on fiber art. I've been making yarn and I would consider my yarn art yarn. It's very texturized. It's thin, it's chunky, it's everything in between. I've been making a lot of yarn. I've been designing and kniting items to wear.”

“I've also been making buttons recently. I just got into making buttons made out of polymer clay. Each set of buttons is totally different. I have them for sale at the museum and also at the Townsite Public Market in Powell River.

She will be the artist in residence at the Tidal Arts Centre in February, 2023.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Campbell River’s bear problem is escalating. Reports of their raiding garbage cans doubled in number this year. Sergeant Mike Newton, a Conservation Officer with the Ministry of Environment, went to the June 27 city councill meeting with a couple of suggestions.

They hinge upon changing human behaviour.

He explained that North Vancouver Island is prime bear habitat. Many communities are bulit along the salmon baring streams where they naturally geo funnel.

“Our zone looks after all the communities north from Fannie Bay up to Bella Bella. We see the wide swath of bigger centres like Campbell River, Courtney, Comox and smaller towns like Tahsis, Gold River. It's the same issue, in all community sizes,” said Newton.

Hopefully Cortes Island will continue to be an exception. It has been two years since there was bear problem. While the ‘Whaletown Bear’ had to be put down, his Squirrel Cove counterpart appears to have eluded conservation officers and what seemed like certain execution. The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) has been educating islanders about bear proofing their yards. There were no reports of bears raiding garbage cans, compost or fruit trees on Cortes in 2021. A bear was spotted in Squirrel Cove a little over a week ago, but there have been many sightings on Cortes over the years. They normally do not become problems.

Newton told Campbell River’s city council, “Whether the bears are seen or not, they are there in every area of Campbell River. You can bet on that for sure. The dogs will quite often keep them more sneaky and nocturnal. People think, oh, you can use a bear banger to chase a bear off of your garbage and it won't come back. You cannot haze a bear off of an attractant once it's getting into that food source.”

He explained that because of the mild weather this year, the bear’s natural food (grass, dandlions, etc.) is still abundant. They have had no reason to leave for higher elevations. The bears are still in town.

“We play a role in trying to keep the bears safe from people, people damaging the bears by leaving attractions available and causing the bears behaviour to change. Then we try and keep people safe from the bears,” explained Newton.

“We get called to the worst cases. When bears are breaching houses, breaking into cars, acting in the threatening aggressive behaviour towards people and in the worst of all, when they actually do attack people and cause personal injury.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - One of the winners in NexStream 3.0 comes from Cortes Island.

The Gathering Place was awarded $10,000 “For running an exceptionally community-minded business, that never compromises ethics for gain. Their ethically imported spices and regionally grown herbs are of exceptional quality. They are the epitome of what a local business can be.”

This is the third year that Campbell River has held a NexStream Competition.

According to Mayor Andy Adams, “NexStream 3.0 highlighted the innovation that’s happening right here in Campbell River and throughout British Columbia. In addition to its core challenges, this year’s competition also offered a community stream to showcase local, community-focused businesses. We’re proud to have a competition of this calibre to shine a spotlight on our incredible community and enrich the growing innovation economy. 

The competition is funded and administered by the Campbell River Area Angel Group (CRAAG), with support from the city of Campbell River.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Sandy MacKay, of M’akola Development Services, presented the Electoral Areas Housing needs Report to the SRD Board on Wednesday.

“Collectively working with federal provincial entities and advocating for more non-market housing, will be key to reducing the gap between what people can afford and what is available in your markets. Non-market housing tends to be dedicated, affordable, and appropriate. It usually takes on the form of something called secured affordable housing, which is secured at an affordable rate in perpetuity, typically funded by senior government and operated by a non-profit,” he explained.

“There's not a ton you can do to support those uses at a local level, but what you can do is make it easier to develop them when the opportunities do come.”

- He pointed to the need to educate communities, to lessen the stigma that is often connected to affordable housing.

- Partnerships need to be forged between the various levels of government and First Nations.

- Priority should be given to development by non-profits when land becomes available.

Director Claire Moglove responded, “In Campbell River we had a report from our planning department about a month ago, indicating that based on our housing needs reports, we're building way more housing than theoretically we need. It's because we're not building the right kind of housing! The housing needs report identifies the kind of housing that is required or needed in the community based on the demographics, based on the research. so the question is how do you get developers to build the kind of housing we need? ”

This was the second time that the four Regional Directors heard Mackay’s presentation, which was also given at their June 15 committee meeting.

Regional Director Jim Abram said, “Thank you Sandy, for your presentation a second time. I enjoyed it both times and you did a wonderful job, I think, of presenting everything that we needed to hear, except for one thing.”

He began, “I’ve always been a supporter of reducing the number of Airbnbs and increasing the number of stand alone rental housing to take care of all of these issues you're talking about. Workers coming from off island, small families, and aging in place, et cetera, et cetera.”

Some of the landlords and homeowners in his district had been phoning Abram.

“(Renters) have a lot of rights, more than the people that own the house. (Landlords) can't raise the rents. They can't evict people for certain reasons, et cetera, et cetera. Anyway, it's just another piece that I think maybe needs to be looked at here. Rental housing is being discouraged at the level where people are most willing to do it. They're actually willing to set aside rental housing on their property, but yet they see these other models where it didn't work and they're withdrawing their support for it.”

Some key points gleaned from Mackay’s presentation:

- 40% of the population are seniors and that number is increasing. There is a need to house them.

- Some seniors are supporting family; others are concerned that their children will not be able to find an affordable home.

- 45% of the renters who responded to the survey said they were paying higher rents than they could really afford.

- This is especially true on Cortes and Quadra Islands, where there are large seasonal populations.

- The number of short term rentals has increased from153 to 625 since 2016. 70% of them are in rural areas.

- The gap between house prices and what people can afford is greatest on Cortes Island. It is almost as bad on Quadra Island. Area A is the most affordable Electoral Area.

- Many homes within the SRD are reaching the end of their lifespan.

- The cost of replacing them is highest on Cortes and Quadra Islands.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Many of you have probably seen the real estate adds in the Tideline. Two significant parcels of land are being sold as part of a much lager vision. Cortes Community Housing intends to have the Rainbow Ridge project ‘shovel ready’ for funding by 2023.

They have previously applied for funding from BC Housing three times.

“Twice for Rainbow Ridge and once for the Senior Society expansion. What we're doing now is getting ready for our third attempt to win funding from BC Housing for Rainbow Ridge,” explained Sandra Wood, Executive Director of the Cortes Community Housing Society. “We're also working with Vancity credit union. They are helping right now with preconstruction expense.

“So we have an opportunity to partner with Vancity credit union. We have an opportunity to partner with BC housing. Once one of them says, ‘Yes, your business case for Rainbow Ridge makes sense based on what it's going to cost to build and the income that's going to come in once it's fully occupied,’ then we can also get CMHC, which is the federal government Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation to be a co-investment partner. They will only join the project once we've been select buy a bank or by BC housing.”

She explained that all of the communities on Vancouver Island and the surrounding islands are competing for the same pool of funding from BC Housing.

“The next intake from BC housing has not been announced, as far as when they will accept grant applications, but we believe it will be sometime in 2023. We hope it will be the spring of 2023,” said Wood.

“What we're trying to do right now is make Rainbow Ridge a shovel ready project, so that it's a really easy decision for BC Housing to choose Cortes island.”

Rainbow Ridge is currently in the Design Development phase and hired Iredale Architects to find less expensive way to build 24 townhomes.

They are awaiting approval from the Ministry of Transportation for the 6 acre subdivision’s road design.

The project contractor is preparing an up to date budget, which will be costed in the autumn.

The new plans will be shared with the community at a Town Hall meeting in October.

“In addition to coming to BC Housing with those plans, we also need to come to the table with some cash. I know it's gonna be a big, expensive project and the more money that we can bring to the table, the more attractive it will be to BC Housing or any other funder,” said Wood.

This is where the real estate sales come in.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A new study UBC study found that the endangered southern resident killer whale population isn’t getting enough to eat.

As lead author Fanny Couture explained, “The study goes from 1979 to 2020. We were trying to understand whether the Southern Resident Killer Whale population had enough food to eat to sustain their energy needs. So a human needs 2000 calories a day, a killer whale will need about 170,000 calories a day. What we found is that they were in energetic deficit for six of the last 40 years. Some of them are spread out throughout the study period, but three of the last year, so 2018 to 2020, they were in full energy deficits. So did not have enough food in the spring, the summer and the fall.”

This study is important to the Discovery Islands because we are close to the boundry between Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales, which is just south of Cortes Island. Many Southern resident killer whales swim through our area, as does one of the major Chinook salmon runs they feed on.

Couture added that it would be good to apply the same study methods they would like to apply the same methodology to the Northern Resident Killer Whale population.

“There are evidences that they are also getting skinnier, that they are also potentially lacking food. It's possible that the different population trends that we observe for the Northern Residents and Southern Residents come from other seasons that we know less about, such as the winter,” said Couture.

“We need to understand the causes for the decline of those food resources. There are several hypothesis, several factors that might impact those food resources and the salmon population. One of which could be predation from other marine mammals, including Stellar Sea Lions, but there are other factors to look at as well, such as climate change, prevalence to diseases for those salmon populations. More research is needed and there is an urgency to try to understand what's happening to those Chinook populations.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - It has been twelve months since billions of marine animals along the West Coast of British Columbia perished during a record breaking heat wave. Temperatures of between 35°C and 40°C were recorded at the Cortes Island School during the last five days of June.