Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - In 2008, the city of Berkely had a problem. They wanted to hasten the adoption of solar technology, but the $20,000 to $30,000 bill was too steep for a lot of homeowners. Cisco DeVries, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, came up with what Scientific American would later call one of the top 20 “world-changing” ideas of the year. The capital would come from private investors, but homeowners could finance energy upgrades through their property taxes. Since then, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs have provided more than $13 billion for solar installations and energy saving improvements for homes and businesses in the United States. Cortes Island resident Brian Scott would like to see PACE made available to British Columbians.  

 “I represent two things, an idea and an organization. The idea is the PACE financing tool, which will not be ‘the magic bullet’ but is very close when it comes to our need to address climate change quickly.  PACE specifically addresses the fact that roughly a third of our greenhouse gas emissions come from residential and commercial buildings. I'm representing the concept and promoting it. I also represent PACE Alberta and PACE Canada,” he explained. 

“The key that makes PACE work is that the homeowner isn't borrowing the funds. Their house is borrowing the funds effectively. It doesn't impact their credit rating.  It shouldn't even impact their mortgage because essentially it's just like a  local improvement charge. The bottom line is when you borrow PACE money to upgrade your house, that borrowing effectively flows through the taxation authority and you repay the borrowing through your taxes.”

“PACE unlocks our motivation right across the board, whether it's personal, whether it's private, whether it's government, et cetera. It removes the barriers and it makes it easy to become a sustainable champion and to take action. The proof is that in the US: where those measures have been properly implemented, PACE is growing exponentially. In Canada,  it's a turtle. That's really the bottom line.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Tamara Dawn has been travelling to India for the past 15 years. On August second she brings her personal interpretation of Tibetan Thangka art to the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery in a watercolour collection called 'Buddha as a Principle.’ 

“I was 18 when I took my first trip to the east, I went to Nepal. I went to India when I was maybe 20.  I've been  back and forth several times, going to India and Nepal, and then coming back to Canada and integrating what I learned,” she began.  

Cortes Currents: What’s special about India?  

Tamarra Dawn: “In my childhood there was a real absence of spiritual teachings.  I was raised as a kind of pseudo-Christian. I have been  baptized, but there were not really any real teachings involved with it,  almost like a surface (Christianity).  I was drawn to the East because of the preservation of tradition and the way that they're alive in day to day life.”

“I think my favorite part is the embracing of the chaos and  the embracing of just life being not all clean or pure.  Life is full of the whole spectrum and an appreciation of that, the culture of worship and devotion being present.  I think that inspired me in my life, and then really came through in my art.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There’s a lot happening at Wild Cortes this summer. 

“Come to Wild Cortes because it's the coolest place on the island, literally and figuratively. Literally because we're in the basement and it's always cool here,” said co-curator Dawn Collins.

At 2 PM on Wednesday July 24, they are holding a bug hunt at Wild Cortes.

There will be a taxidermy display at an as yet to be determined time on Saturday July 27. 

Kristen Schofield-Sweet will lead a session on drawing wild critters at 12;30 on Sunday, August 4. 

 At 12:00 on Wednesday August 14, Ayamia Strike will offer a demonstration on crafting with nature.

Laurel will give a taxidermy demonstration, using study skins, at 1 PM on Friday August 24.

Wild Cortes will be holding a special Taxidermy showcase at 6:00 on Saturday September 14. 

These events are in addition to the current exhibits, which are on display five days a week through the summer.

Manda Aufochs Gillespie: On Friday, July 19, Rick Bockner performed a live + live-broadcast FolkU concert in the big Village Commons tent. Hosted by Manda Aufochs Gillespie and Greg Osoba, Rick Bockner is a guitarist, songwriter, teller of tales, and social commentator. He mixes a deep love of traditional music with contemporary influences and topics.

The Village Commons Music Series is put on every Friday by a partnership between Cortes Island Community Foundation, FolkU, and CKTZ Cortes Community Radio. The series is generously sponsored by Decoda Literacy and Coastal Community Credit Union.

This year, the series is also raising funds for the Cortes Foundation’s fundraising campaign Care for Cortes. Every week, the donations raised in the big tent go towards a different community project the campaign is highlighting. This week, the series highlighted the Cortes Housing Society.

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 p.m. and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Once or twice a year, visitors are given an opportunity to ‘gumboot’ into the natural and human history of Mansons Lagoon. This is a joint event put on by the Cortes Island Museum and Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI). Jane Newman provides the glimpse into the lagoon’s past. In the following article, Cortes Currents supplemented her account with materials from the Museum and additional genealogical records found on the web.

Jane’s account started with a description of Mansons Spit during the precolonial era.

Louis Belcourt/CKTZ News - The Cortes Island Community Foundation announced its funded projects for the 2024 Microgrants for Neighbors Program.

There were thirty-two applications, which was more than last year, and fourteen projects were funded that used up their entire budget of around six thousand dollars, says Isabelle Mcknight, Executive Administrator at the Foundation.

Within in the successful applicants are multiple Indigenous projects supporting the Klahoose Nation, including a Helping Elders Heal program, design work being done for a group of Namqam Singers, and a project working on Klahoose Regalia and a workshop to go along with it.

“We’re super excited that we have had lots of engagement from the Klahoose peoples throughout this program. One of the really big things that the foundation is trying to work on is increased accessibility for all different sectors of our community,” added McKnight.

Louis Belcourt/ CKTZ News - Construction has officially begun on the first two of the four new battery-electric hybrid Island Class vessels at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania.

“Today, the first steel plates were cut, marking the official start of production for our newest Hybrid Island Class ships,” said Ed Hooper, Executive Director of Shipbuilding at BC Ferries. “Their innovative design will also improve the overall efficiency and sustainability of our operations.”

These ships have multiple improvements including increased capacity and better environmental sustainability by incorporating a battery system powered by BC hydro electric, according to BC ferries.

The new vessels will enter service “around 2026 to 2027”, BC Senior Communications Advisor Colin Zak told CKTZ. They will travel the Nanaimo – Gabriola route and the Campbell River – Quadra route and “that’s going to help give us a little bit more capacity to ease some of the capacity issues we’re having on some of the other routes,” added Zak.

Louis Belcourt/ CKTZ News - July 18, 2024 - Cortes Island was included in the third annual Oceanwise Conservation Association’s 2024 Whale Blitz, which included events all over the Vancouver coast, educating people on whale information and how to spot whales and report on their sightings.

A booth hosted by the coordinator of the Oceanwise Conservation Association provided information on whales in our area and encouraged people to report their whale sightings to the Whale Report App.

The Oceanwise Conservation Association was made aware of the reports of the supposed three year old whale named Vector that is entangled in fishing line, but hasn’t heard of any follow up sightings.

Another potentially entangled humpback was reported to Oceanwise off of Hornby Island on Monday night and locals are encouraged to keep an eye out and report it to Oceanwise, the D

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Elevenses is coming to the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery.

“A lot of people are like, ‘Elevenses? What is Elevenses?’ Well, Elevenses is the time of day.  I believe it's a Harry Potter thing, but it's not really why I like it. I like it because it's a great name for the time of day. We're going to meet at 11 and really the whole intent of doing this is to spark imagination. It really is not so much about creative writing and preparing something that's going to come to completion. It's about a process. So we're going to enter this evocative  experiential  installation space at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery at 11 o'clock Wednesday, July 24th as a group,” explained Jane Newman, who will lead this creative writing workshop. 

“I will have crafted a number of different prompts and questions for people to respond to in sort of timed writing segments.”

“It isn't a traditional exhibition where there's paintings all around the room with labels on them and their price and the name and everything. It's called an installation and an installation has a different sort of form in the gallery.” 

“It's a little bit more interactive experiential. It may hit you on an emotional level just as far as the mood of the space. It may be misunderstood. It may be confusing.  It may be that our responses are ephemeral and we don't really know what we're feeling, but we're going to  capture it. We're going to stop, reflect, write, share, move forward, another prompt,  stop, reflect, write, share, move forward another prompt“.

“We'll be in that space. We'll interact with each other just in that we're in the room together, but really interacting with the installation by Ebony Rose. That's the intent. That's the process. This installation will be a little bit of a mystery to begin with for many, and we will meet the muses.” 

“There will be an opportunity to share back too, because that's always really interesting. If people don't want to share back, they don't have to share back.”

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - On Friday, July 12, Michael Keith performed a live + live-broadcast FolkU concert in the big Village Commons tent. Hosted by Manda Aufochs Gillespie, Michael Keith is a guitarist from Toronto, now living on Cortes, who plays globally-informed, original music.

The Village Commons music series is put on every Friday by a partnership between Cortes Island Community Foundation, FolkU, and CKTZ Cortes Community Radio. The series is generously sponsored by Decoda Literacy and Coastal Community Credit Union.

This year, the series is also raising funds for the Cortes Foundation’s fundraising campaign Care for Cortes. Every week, the donations raised in the big tent go towards a different community project the campaign is highlighting.

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 p.m. and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.