Local Listings

View More Ads

Latest Local News

Four Women, Four Generations, One Committee

Over the last few years, at the heart of Transition Salt Spring’s Lighter Living initiatives have been led by four women: Deborah Miller (77 yrs), Andria (57 yrs), Grace (27 yrs), and Melody (17 yrs) whose leadership spans generations and initiatives across the community. Together, they help guide a growing network of hands-on, people-powered programs, from Toy and Clothing Swaps to Lighter Living initiatives, green rebates as well as a range of student-led events at Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) including a school-wide recycling and compost initiative. Perhaps the most well known of these activities are the Repair Cafés. Their work is practical and grounded, but also quietly transformative, creating space for skills to be shared, waste to be reduced, and community connections to deepen. For Deborah, repair is simply how things were always done. You fixed what you had, you made things last, and you didn’t think twice about it. It wasn’t a moral issue, it just did…
Read more about Four Women, Four Generations, One Committee

Raising our Voices with Luke Wallace

It was a little more than a decade ago that a teenaged Luke Wallace first rolled onto Salt Spring. Who was this clean-cut kid with a guitar, singing songs that came straight down the lines laid by Woody Guthrie, Tracy Chapman and Bob Dylan? Turns out, he was a diamond in the rough. And ten years on, he’s just gotten more and more clear and bright. Were you there when he lit up Fulford Hall with his barn-burning rendition of “Ready for the Revolution”? Did you catch him singing “The Good Ol’ Petrol Game” at a pipeline protest? Or maybe you were elbowing your neighbour and grinning when he played his infamous “Permit Song,” all about building an off-grid tiny house on a hidden mountaintop. Luke’s songs are so catchy, they jingle around your head like loose change in a pocket. This summer, folks are invited to become part of his songwriting magic: first at a singing workshop, and then the very next day at a festival-vibe concert on Westcott Farm. From the front lines…
Read more about Raising our Voices with Luke Wallace

Welcoming MP Elizabeth May, Bringing Hope in Troubling Times

Eighteen came to this ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome MP Elizabeth May. After her Territorial Acknowledgement, a chance for each of us to introduce ourselves, and some kind words about ASK Salt Spring, Elizabeth told us about her delight with her baby granddaughter, Lily, born October 2024. Already a loving grandmother to 11 step-grandchildren, she has been totally blown away by the overwhelming love she has for little Lily. She spoke, also, of her recent visit to a secondary school in Ottawa. Aware of a general feeling of sadness and overwhelm among our youth, she discovered a way to convey a message of hope to these students: She shared the story of how Lily frequently wakes up by stretching one arm straight up, hand in a fist. Elizabeth encouraged her young audience to mimic this move, stretching and chanting ”The Babies United Will Never Be Defeated!” Despite troubling times, this chant rang through the young audience - and on Friday, at our SIMS classroom - giv…
Read more about Welcoming MP Elizabeth May, Bringing Hope in Troubling Times

Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre wins 100+ Women's Vote

On May 7th at the spring meeting of 100+ Women Who Care Salt Spring, the members voted to donate their funds to Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre. Three times a year 100+ Women Who Care convene to hear about the work being done by three local charities. Each member, whether present or not, commits to donating $100 three times a year. The winning charity receives approximately $14,000 for their deserving organization. At this latest meeting, members heard an impassioned presentation from volunteer Elaine Shaw, who has been a loyal supporter and volunteer at the Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre (WNCC) for the last 15 years. The charity rescues and rehabilitates sick, injured and orphaned indigenous species from the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island. Last year alone staff and volunteers responded to 570 animal rescues and answered over 1000 calls for wildlife advice. In addition to raptors, woodpeckers and hummingbirds, the WNCC rescued harbour seal pups, raccoons and e…
Read more about Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre wins 100+ Women's Vote

Turning Parking Pressure Into Community Funding on Salt Spring Island

As Salt Spring Island heads into the busy summer season, parking in and around Ganges becomes increasingly challenging — particularly on Saturday Market days, when roadsides and nearby neighbourhoods often fill with parked vehicles. Now, a creative new community partnership is transforming that challenge into an opportunity. Ganges Village Marketplace (“GVM”) — home to Country Grocer and other local businesses — has partnered with the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce to introduce a new designated paid parking area on Fulford-Ganges Road, across from Drake Road, at the former construction staging site. The initiative will help provide much-needed additional parking for busy Saturday Market days, helping reduce roadside and illegal parking while improving safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike. The project is an important step toward easing long-standing traffic pressures during the height of the summer season. But beyond solving a practical community issu…
Read more about Turning Parking Pressure Into Community Funding on Salt Spring Island

What's on This Week on CHIR-Fm

Lots of great talk and music coming your way this week on CHIR-FM, including interviews with Peri Lavender of the Salt Spring Apple Company, The Geezers comedy duo, Thetis Island author/activist Ann Erickson, and Galliano skipper George Harris, as well as recorded highlights from the recent Ladies of Jazz concerts. Tune in to 107.9 FM (or 102.1 FM in the South End) or stream the station online to hear more than 20 unique local programs on the Voice of the Gulf Islands. 
Sunday (May 17) 3-4 p.m: Harmonic Expeditions with Mike Chin will air excerpts of the Ladies of Jazz concerts recorded at the Harbour House over Mother's Day weekend. If you missed it, this is your chance to catch some of the best tunes from this fun celebratory event featuring singers Sue Neumann, Wanda Nowicki, Sima Rehn, Nomi Lyons, Hannah Brown, Tonya Horoky-Cooper, Suzanne Gay and Rose McGuire. Tuesday (May 19) 10-11 a.m: On TRUpreneur, host David Crouch will be in conversation with Peri Lavender …
Read more about What's on This Week on CHIR-Fm

Lessons From Ground Zero

Salt Spring has decisions ahead that will reverberate for years to come: the Trust Policy Statement, the Official Community Plan review, housing, and climate adaptation. These are not abstract policy debates. They will shape what kinds of homes, services and neighbourhoods we make room for, whether teachers, nurses, tradespeople, young families and service workers can keep living here, and how we respond to drought, fire risk, water security and shoreline change. These are not small matters. They are choices our children will live with. They deserve more than another Facebook argument and another meeting where many of the people most affected cannot be there. I do not say that to dismiss the people who show up. Many care deeply about Salt Spring and have given years of volunteer time and civic attention to local governance. That matters. But attendance is not the same thing as representation. A democracy cannot be reduced to who has the most flexible Tuesday morning calen…
Read more about Lessons From Ground Zero

Eat My Dust: Dirt Roads on Salt Spring

Hey, good Salt Springers driving on dirt roads, please slow down in sight of people on foot and bicycles. Otherwise, you create dust clouds that are hazardous to their health. The dust also lands on nearby greenery, which gets choked with it, often metres into property beyond the road right-away. Speed Matters You'll know when you're going the right speed, because out the rear-view mirror, you'll see what you've stirred up. On windless days, your gritty storm can persist for long minutes over long stretches of road. You're long gone, and people walking and cycling are left with fine grit in their eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs. When first spotting people who will eat your dust, please slow down and keep going a slow, steady speed until well past them. Imagine that you're the one left in the choking cloud, and drive accordingly. Grading, Then Dust Suppression Emcon, which maintains our "highways"—all Ministry of Transportation & Transit (MoTT) roads are officially …
Read more about Eat My Dust: Dirt Roads on Salt Spring

Update on Reno-Eviction of Salt Spring Gallery, Artist Cooperative

Dear cherished supporters and art lovers in our beautiful community, As many of you may be aware, our landlord, Glenbrook Estates, ordered us to leave our beloved home at 135 McPhillips Ave by June 1st, so that they can completely renovate the property. Well, we have good news — Glenbrook has thrown us a lifeline! We are so pleased to report that we can stay at our treasured location of 17 years until November 30. The lifeline, however, comes with some unanticipated conditions. Stay tuned for various events throughout the summer as we try to fundraise to cover a rental increase backdated to January and a new damage deposit to secure our 6 month extension. A bit about Salt Spring Gallery, Artist Cooperative: Born in the wake of the 2008 financial crash, the Salt Spring Gallery of Fine Art Cooperative was a visionary act of community resilience. Founded by the late Sheila Hoen and a small collective of artists, the gallery transformed a modest space with a…
Read more about Update on Reno-Eviction of Salt Spring Gallery, Artist Cooperative

Will our Long-Planned Salish Sea Trail Finally Be Built?

Fifteen joined this ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome Island Pathways’ Robin Jenkinson to talk about Salt Spring’s proposed Salish Sea Trail. During her Land Acknowledgement, she reminded us that our trails today often follow age-old First Nations routes. We also learned that many of our roadbeds are artifact-rich as they were first constructed using crushed shells from local middens. When we introduced ourselves, we learned that participants at this gathering were a mixture of avid cyclists and those who do not feel safe enough cycling on Salt Spring. In addition to locals, we were pleased to welcome participants from Gabriola and Pender Islands to share their trail advocacy successes and challenges. Robin shared her “excitement and delight” with her recent visits to other islands, both to learn from them as well as to gain what she characterized as an archipelagic perspective. One outgrowth of this pan-island perspective is her recent acceptance of the coordination of…
Read more about Will our Long-Planned Salish Sea Trail Finally Be Built?

View More Articles