Our own survival depends on the survival of our forests. All of Salt Spring’s water comes from rain. Without forests, wetlands and watersheds will not work, and potable water sources are negatively affected. Salt Spring is at greater risk to wildfire with fragmented, dried out, unhealthy forests that lack biodiversity. BC has had 111 forest fires already this year. Healthy forests also mitigate the effects of climate change, which islanders will feel more and more in the coming decades. For all of these reasons and more, a dedicated group of islanders have been working hard to protect what remains of the Larmour Lands on Beddis Rd. — and what remains to be protected is the mature coastal Douglas fir, Western redcedar, and Bigleaf maple forest on Lot F. Located on the upland portion of Lot F of the Larmour Lands on Beddis Rd., this healthy, mixed forest is threatened with being clear-cut or developed. This portion of Lot F has two significant forested wetlands…

It’s no secret that we are living in strange times. Much of the economy has been stumbling because of the pandemic, and, sadly, many community members are either unemployed or working from home. What these people almost invariably have in common is more time to spend as they wish, often with their families. And what a great number of islanders are opting to do is to go for walks/hikes on Salt Spring’s wonderful trails. Most of us try to focus on the positive, and I think we would all agree that the most positive thing about living on Salt Spring is the natural beauty all around us. In the past few months we’re seeing more people on our trails than ever before. There isn’t a park or nature reserve on the island that isn’t being visited by all kinds of people eager to enjoy what nature has to offer. And on Salt Spring, nature has a lot to offer—lovely shoreline and beaches, varied forest, beautiful views, clean air, more birds than we’ve seen for years—and all of this can be e…

When I arrived on Salt Spring as a super awkward 12 year old I was homesick and lonely. Luckily, I had been promised more horse time and even my own horse one day to help sooth the sting of immigrating. I immediately began riding lessons with Jacky Cooper and joined the local Pony Club. At that time there was a booming community of “horsey” kids and we were a very active club. When we went to regional and provincial competitions, the SSI Pony Club was known for its outstanding horsemanship and we almost always won the horsemanship award! We were asked by other clubs how we managed to create such a cohesive and co-operative group and I believe our biggest asset was having a central barn where we all had our horses together. As a club we moved several times to different facilities until we most recently lost our beloved stables on St Mary’s lake, a blow we have not been able to recover from. Since the loss of our last home, the equine community has scattered and many have…

Each week Country Grocer will give a Community Kudos $50 Gift Card to a nominee submitted to the Salt Spring Exchange. Our first Kudos goes to Charles Gosset. Amidst  busy construction days in response to COVID prepping, Charlie donated his time to source free giant boulders, transport them and bring machines to construct a boulder meeting circle at Salt Spring Elementary in April. This stone circle is proving perfect for outdoor, social distance learning for students as they begin to return to school. For years, Charlie's Excavating employees have been super generous with time, materials, and machines to create outdoor learning spaces at Salt Spring Elementary. Congratulations Charlie! Next Thursday May 28th We’ll be announcing next week’s Community Kudos winner, please get your nominations in. If you’ve already sent in a nomination, it’s still in the running. Kudos to you! Together we’ll get through this.