Island Pathways is receiving a much-needed boost of $4100 to support its interpretive panels program, which will highlight the history of heritage locations and building along the Ganges Village Pathway Network. The funding comes through the Heritage Legacy Fund, the only provincial grant program that supports heritage conservation, awareness, planning and Indigenous partnership projects. Island […]
Would you be surprised to know that it now costs more for a family to live on Salt Spring than in Metro Vancouver? This is the bottom line of a new report just released by the Salt Spring Island Foundation. A Living Wage for Salt Spring Island, 2018, calculates the living wage required for a […]
Community People Profiles on the Salt Spring Exchange feature local personalities on our island home. These profiles are short interviews to tell us a little about what each of these folks are thinking about as they go about their lives and work on Salt Spring Island. Dr. Bob Richmond, affectionately known by many as Dr. […]
You’re Invited! – 2018 June 24, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Farmers’ Institute and on the Ganges Pathways Hard to believe Island Pathways has been going for 30 years. Here’s some of what we’ve accomplished: Our Partners Creating Pathways group has built nearly $1-million in Ganges Village pathways, complete with benches and map kiosks, costing local taxpayers […]
The 32’ foot-long snuhwulh (big canoe), carved from a single 710 year old X’pey (western red cedar tree) downed in a river valley windstorm will be finished over the next month or so for the Xwaaqw’um Project (aka Burgoyne Bay). “The Hul’q’umi’num word for canoe is snuhwulh, which means to transport people,” says Joe Akerman, local community organizer for the Xwaaqw’um Project […]
Nominate someone in B.C.’s education system who has made a positive, long-lasting impact on your school community. The Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education were created to recognize the enormous contributions of B.C.’s exceptional teachers, administrators and support staff that are vital to the cultural, economic and social well-being of the province. The Premier’s Awards provide students, […]
The students and staff of Fernwood School once again be walked in support of SOPAR’s village well projects in India. SOPAR is a non-profit, non-governmental, Canadian/Indian organization that supports community-driven development throughout the state of Andhra Pradesh. Classes walked to St Mary’s Lake to collect water and carry it back to Fernwood, experiencing what millions […]
The Tour des Iles Festival (TDIF) is big and getting bigger – and we want you to be a part of it! Our Fourth Annual Festival is taking place June 22, 23, and 24, 2018. All day inter-island small boat service will connect you to Pender, Saturna, Salt Spring, Galiano and Mayne Islands. Courtesy shuttles, […]
May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada. One of the very few Asian heritage sites on Salt Spring are the two charcoal kilns built by Isaburo Tasaka in the early 1900s in Mouat Park. Besides the two on our island, we have identified thirteen others in the Southern Gulf Islands. A new 68-page booklet published […]
A new nature reserve—a forested 62-acre area near Ford Lake, including small streams flowing into the headwaters of Fulford Creek—is now in the hands of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy. The Howard Horel Nature Reserve has been created largely thanks to a generous anonymous donor, with some grant support from Environment and Climate Change Canada […]
Birds are nesting, evenings are longer, buds are budding. Hints of summer’s imminent arrival are everywhere, including – of all places – a parking lot. Country Grocer is busy scheduling this season’s array of fundraisers and awareness campaigns. Rob Lowrie, a member of the Community Relations team, says, “it’s a community space as well as […]
Old Boys end season on a winning note – The pouring rain on Saturday April 7th complemented the Old Boys mood as only 9 hardy souls arrived at Finlayson Park, Victoria for their opening game in the Annual Bill Drew end of season tournament. Included in the 9 was a return after a 2-season absence of […]
A community open house for the proposed Salt Spring Lions Commemorative Bike Park in Mouat Park took place on Sunday, March 25 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Salt Spring Island Lions Hall. The event was hosted by the Salt Spring Island Parks and Recreation Commission (PARC) to share information about the project and […]
As was recently announced, Salt Spring Island Parks and Recreation Commission (PARC) has received a donation of $150,000 from the Salt Spring Island Lions Club towards the construction of a family bike park. The donation is made to the Salt Spring community in celebration of the club’s 60th anniversary. The Salt Spring Island Lions Club […]
The following article was written by Jennifer Cikaluk as part of a series of articles about filmmakers coming to the Salt Spring Film Festival on March 2-4, 2018. Filmmaker Tai Uhlmann along with Co-Director Theo Angell will be attending the festival and leading a discussion about the film following the screening. The Filmmaker series is […]
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Valentines photo contest sponsored by Country Grocer. The winning prize this year was for a $150 gift certificate for dinner at Auntie Pestos. Winners were selected by random draw. And! There were so many great pictures submitted this year that we’re giving away even more prizes. […]
The following article was written by Jennifer Cikaluk as part of a series of articles about filmmakers coming to the Salt Spring Film Festival on March 2-4, 2018. Filmmaker Natalie Boll will be attending the festival and leading a discussion about the film following the screening. The Filmmaker series is sponsored by: Stonehouse B&B, Harbour […]
Follow the adventures of traveller and filmmaker Erica Hargreave in her series ‘Connect with Nature, Here on Salt Spring Island’ as she explores the island and profiles some of our unique local citizens. Explore the Canadian wilderness, as she rediscovers Canadian parks, highlighting the wonderful parks and people of Salt Spring Island in this documentary […]
If you were in downtown Ganges on the afternoon of Saturday, January 22, you may have seen a lot of pink hats. People in cities and towns across Canada and the United States and around the globe came together in solidarity with women who demonstrated in Washington on the same date. In Canada alone, tens […]
Salt Spring Island Parks and Recreation Commission (PARC) has received a donation of $150,000 from the Salt Spring Island Lions Club towards the construction of a family bike park. The donation is made to the Salt Spring community in celebration of the club’s 60th anniversary. The Salt Spring Island Lions Club has a history of […]
This is our story and why I need your help. Heather and I took our son in to the hospital with the intention of signing our son in for mental health issues chest pain, lack of sleep and hearing multiple voices in his head. It got really bad so we took him to the hospital. […]
Devin Milner’s video of music in Ganges harbour. Could this be the most Salt Spring thing we’ve seen all year? music in Ganges this afternoon….. Posted by Devin Milner on Sunday, December 10, 2017
Watch this. It’s beautiful and it was inspired by a visit to Salt Spring Island by its creator Robin Joseph who now lives in Toronto. The short film was just nominated for an Oscar and is one step closer to being a short-listed as a finalist. Those of us that live here know how inspiring […]
Island Savings, a division of First West Credit Union, has announced the winners of the 2017 Fan Choice Awards. Of the hundreds of nominations received between Sept. 11 – Oct. 8, top spots were awarded to the local and independent small businesses that received the most votes from loyal community members and supporters. “We were so […]
The Board of Education for School District No. 64 (Gulf Islands) wishes to announce that they have accepted the resignation of Superintendent of Schools Lisa Halstead effective August 1, 2018. In her letter of resignation, Ms. Halstead indicated that it is an honour to serve the students, staff, and communities of the Gulf Islands School […]
Volunteer and Community Resources invites VCR members and others in the community to join them at their AGM with keynote speaker, Peter Elson. Peter Elson who is a PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor with UVic’s School of Public Administration will present “Tacking Against the Wind: Nonprofits in a Climate of Uncertainty.” His 20-minute talk on the […]
The Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce took a fresh approach to the Business Awards this year. The awards were broken into 2 categories, Community and Business Awards. Voting was done entirely by the community online rather then by closed vote. Winners received a ‘Salty Award’ and over 50 awards were given out in the two […]
Whether travelling 3,000 or 70,000km, migratory birds of the Pacific Flyway perform an amazing annual feat and encounter many threats along the way. Climate change, deforestation, and oil spills are among these threats. As most residents of southwest British Columbia are aware, an oil pipeline expansion to the lower mainland is under consideration. If the […]
Our family welcomes you all to attend a Celebration of Life in honour of Alistair Hayne. The celebration will be held on Sunday October 15, 2017 at 2 pm in the gymnasium at Gulf Islands Secondary School on Salt Spring Island. Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be served after the celebration. Please feel welcome […]
Salt Spring Island, July 12, 2018 – This week the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust begins construction of the new local food centre The Root at 189 Beddis Road, and officially kicks off The Root community fundraising campaign. “If you love eating produce and foods from Salt Spring Island and would like to see even […]
Many vegetables for harvest over the winter and early next spring should be planted at this time of year. So take advantage of the somewhat cooler weather forecast for the next few days to sow seeds of beets, chard and leaf beet, rutabaga, radicchio, kohlrabi and the small, quick growing, cabbage varieties (e.g., ‘Caraflex F1’, […]
My wife and I and our four children moved to Salt Spring from the lower mainland in 2016. We wanted to raise our kids in a smaller community and were attracted by the beauty and pace of life here. The opportunity we needed to realize our dream came when my wife, Erin, a Registered Midwife, […]
Well Salt Spring Island families and kids are in for a real treat. The amazing local team behind the creation of the Salt Spring Lions Memorial Bike Park appears to making something really special that fits in with our community values of preserve and protect. We went and had a little tour of the land shaping […]
The Friends of Ruckle Park Heritage Society is delighted to announce that it is receiving its first and most generous grant to guide future improvements to Ruckle Park heritage. The Heritage Legacy Fund has provided $10,000 to help with the creation of a “Ruckle Park Heritage Conservation Management Plan”, which will not only serve Ruckle […]
During the month of May 2018, the Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue (SSIFR) responded to 62 incidents. These included: 21 medical incidents, 16 open burn incidents, 7 motor vehicle incidents (MVI), 3 brush fires and 2 reports of a suspected brush fire, 4 calls for assistance, 1 structure fire, 1 reported structure fire, 2 alarms […]
Salt Spring has a new medical resource – a specialized paramedic who does home visits. Chris Griffiths is a rural advanced care paramedic and part of the provincial Community Paramedic Program. The program, started in 2015, is now in close to 100 rural and remote communities in the province, but only six communities have been […]
Kipp Nash, Captain Fantastic Gymnastics, pulled together a cycling rally for his birthday on Tuesday, July 3rd. The aim is to help get the Fulford-Ganges Road improved for cycling. This great video by Bill Warriner shows the Happy Birthday ride and some realities of cycling on Salt Spring. Stay tuned for a concerted push by […]
Island Pathways is receiving a much-needed boost of $4100 to support its interpretive panels program, which will highlight the history of heritage locations and building along the Ganges Village Pathway Network. The funding comes through the Heritage Legacy Fund, the only provincial grant program that supports heritage conservation, awareness, planning and Indigenous partnership projects. Island […]
