Fall 2010 Acorn Newsletter - Salt Spring Island Conservancy

8/8/2019 Fall 2010 Acorn Newsletter - Salt Spring Island Conservancy

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Acornthe

he Newsletter o the Salt Spring Island Conservancy Number 45, Fall 2010

http://saltspringconservancy.ca/events

Inside:Presidents Page .................. 2Directors Desk .................. 3Inside SSIC

School Program................4Events

Whats On........................5 Animal Voices......................6Book Review: Rifkin............6Stewardship Award ..............7Natural History:

Deer Talk Review.............8SSIC News..........................9Sharp-tailed Snakes............10SSIC Essentials...................11

Celebrating Our Accomplishments

Te SSI Conservancy was started in 1995 by a smallband o dedicated women who led an ambitious

campaign to raise the community unds needed topurchase the Mill Farm. Tis 160-acre property was thelargest unprotected stand o old-growth trees on SaltSpring Island.

We have become the leading local organizationprotecting the natural environment o Salt SpringIsland. We have:

raised $720,000 or seven land protection projects,put in countless volunteer hours researching and

negotiating agreements and partnerships, and thenraising those unds,

helped secure over 2600 acres o ecologically valuable land on Salt Spring.

Currently, we own 240 acres o nature reserves:the Andreas Vogt, Manzanita Ridge and North View reserves and the summit o Mt. Erskine (co-owned with partners). We were the rst conservancy in BCeligible to hold conservation covenants and we now hold 13 o them, protecting 754 acres. wo covenantsprotect watersheds or drinking water lakes.

We have grown rom a group o volunteers workingon one project to an organization with over 600 members,

hundreds o active volunteers and an o ce with a smpart-time sta . Last year, volunteers contributed ov

5300 hours o their time to SSI Conservancy projectOur public education program has expanded tinclude monthly talks on natural history topics an workshops or the public. Our award-winning Stewarin raining school program provides nature educatio

or 700 grade school children every year.Since 2004 we have received ederal Habi

Stewardship Programunds to work with

landowners to helpthem manage theirnatural habitats. OurStewardship programnow employs two part-time biologists. Tey have worked withhundreds o landowners,discovered 6 rare orendangered speciespreviously unknown onSalt Spring and oundnew populations o over30 other rare species.

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2/12The Acorn - Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

Presidents Page

Presidents Message

Dont it always seem to go Tat you dont know what youve got till its gone.

Snippets o songs o ten fit though my mind, and these

lyrics rom Joni Mitchells song Big Yellow axi seem tosur ace again and again. o me they refect a deep truthabout our nature as human beings. All too o ten, in many spheres o li e, we take things or granted. We obsessively

ocus on the uture and what we dont have (and think weneed). Meanwhile, we lose sight o the present and amiliarand how precious they are until one day, they are no longerthere, and we eel an eerie sense o loss and regret.

Tis truth is no more evident than in our attitudetowards the natural world. ake our beauti ul Salt SpringIsland landscape o orest, marshes, streams, lakes, and shore,scienti cally classi ed as the Coastal Douglas- r ecosystem.

Biologists tell us that it is the rarest and one o the most-endangered ecosystems in BC. We certainly appreciate itsbeauty. However, because we live here and experience it every day, we tend to lose sight o how wonder ul it is, and tend toassume that it will always be here until one day

Te article on the cover o this Acorn highlights theSalt Spring Conservancys wonder ully success ul 15 years.All these achievements have been made possible thoughthe support o you, our valued members and donors, andthe dedication o our many volunteers. Tanks to all o you.

The Natural Landscape Benefits ourCommunity

Protecting the natural landscape is a bene t to our whocommunity because it: protects standing orests, which are home to wildli e aplay a valuable role in slowing climate change by holdicarbon,

protects watersheds, vital on an island where many rely local lakes or drinking water, and provides recreation and preserves the beauty o the isla(appreciated by islanders and thousands o visitors ev

year).As a local conservancy, we have a skilled team o voluntand sta who know the island and are experienced in lanconservation issues. We work with conservation partners, negotiate legagreements and write grant applications or national undsources. We restore and manage the nature reserves entrusted tus. We work directly with landowners to help them managtheir own property. We sponsor public education and school programs abouour local environment and the importance o protecting

or uture generationsOur work is critical because the Coastal Douglas-

ecosystem covering Salt Spring Island is the rarest in thprovince. Over 45 species o rare or endangered plants aanimals live in the wild areas o Salt Spring.

Tanks also to our talented and enthusiastic sta who aretruly marvelous.

I would be remiss, in this my rst message as yonew president, i I did not single out or acknowledgemMaureen Bendick, our immediate past president, and Bo

Weeden, president be ore her. Tey have given selfessly otheir time and great talents to this organization, and continuto do so. Tey provide an inspiring, i somewhat dauntingexample to ollow.

We have a year o great challenge and opportunity aheo us. Lets get on with it!~ Ashley Hilliard


3/12Fall 2010

Directors Desk Directors Desk

Living with Nature - A Guide or Newcomers to SaltSpring Island has been a huge success. I you knowsomeone new to the island or who is thinking o movinhere, please gi t them one o our guides. Tey are rebeauti ul and available at Salt Spring Books, SabineIsland rust Building Inspectors O ce (above the PostO ce) and the Conservancy o ce.

I dont want my donation wasted on administrationcosts. How o ten have you heard this sentiment expressed?O course, we all want to make sure the money we givegoes directly to the people who need it or health care, or

emergency or ood aid and many other worthy causes. Butoverhead or administration costs are the very expenses thatensure that the money you donate to a charity is spent wisely.A certain amount o administration is needed to make suremoney goes where it is intended, is spent as it should be andthat transactions are properly accounted or.

Te reason I bring this up is that our annual report(available on our web site) shows O ce and Administrationat 36% o our expenses. Some people might wonder i thisseems high, especially compared to charities that try to keeptheir administrative costs below 15%. But is it really too high

or what we do? Not at all! Unlike other kinds o charities,as a land conservancy we have a permanent obligation toadminister the land and conservation covenants we hold. I the land and covenants we administer had a dollar value thatcould show up as income in an annual budget, the proportiono our total income spent on administration would appearmuch smaller indeed. Our administration expenses go towardmaintaining an o ce (sta , rent, computers, utilities, o cesupplies), keeping permanent records and les, bookkeepingand nancial audits, liability insurance or public use o ournature reserve and other costs.

We depend entirely on donations to pay these expensesas well as or our education and other programs because suchadministration expenses are usually not eligible or project

unds received through grants. Despite the recent good newsthat we have once again received ederal unds or our speciesat risk work, that money does not und our administrationexpenses. It also doesnt und our other programs, suchas public education and our Stewards in raining schoolprogram. You can see where all this is going, I am sure ...

Annual appeal : By the time you read this you may havereceived an annual appeal letter rom me. I urge you to think about what it is worth to you to have a strong local landconservancy working to bene t our community long into

the uture. In the appeal letter, you will see more ways thanever to make donating as easy as possible, including donatingon-line or through monthly account withdrawals. I am very happy to see that more people are opting to make regularmonthly donations. I am sure they are nding it easier ontheir budget to give a smaller amount regularly than a largeramount once. We certainly nd it helps us to know what oursteady income will be each month.

Te Acorn Fund: Earlier this summer we began working in earnest on building an endowment und, calledthe Acorn Fund. Te point o this is to ensure long-term

nancial stability or the Conservancy by accumulatinsubstantial und . Te income rom the und would thgenerate unds to support administration and progracosts. Funds directed to an endowment must remain in tha

und, so they continue to earn income orever. Tis is a wto ensure a kind o immortality or your major donatibecause it remains as part o the capital that continues generate income long into the uture. Our goal eventuallyto have $2 million in such a und over the next 5 to 10 yeabut this year we are aiming to make a substantial start othis with a goal o $500,000. I you would like to support

work nancially, but cant manage it at this time, you mig want to consider leaving a bequest.

Our endowment fund is a wonderful way to leave a legacon Salt Spring.~ Linda Gilkeson

Robin Ferry, Nora Layard and Jean Gelwicks taking care of ourbooth at the fall fair.



School program

We got some incredibly wonder ul news early this summer.Unbeknownst to us, Je Hopkins (Superintendent o SchoolDistrict 64) submitted our name, the Stewards in rainingSchool Program, or the BC School SuperintendentsAssociations Award o Recognition. Tis award is presentedeach year to an individual or organizations or theircontribution to enhance public education. We won! Tis came as a complete surprise to us, as we did not know the award existed. In their letter to us they say:Te BCSSA would like to publicly acknowledge theSalt Spring Island Conservancys dedication to providing

programs and support to hundreds o school-aged learnerseach year through the Stewards in raining ecologicalimmersion program, exposing children in a positive way to our natural world. We commend Salt Spring IslandConservancy in your unending support o public educationin this regard.Mr. Hopkins says every superintendent in the province cansubmit names and the competition is sti . Only one or twoare awarded each year, so this is a big deal! A big thank yougoes to Mr. Hopkins or thinking about us and taking thetime to nominate us. Tis award truly goes to each one o our volunteers or helpingmake this possible. We also cannot thank Sarah Bateman andCate McEwen enough or all their work towards makingthis program truly an award-winning program. Well doneeveryone! Tis is the good news. Te sad news is that we are losingboth Sarah Bateman and Cate McEwen as our brilliantcoordinators. Tey are moving on to new challenges. In theirown words:Sarah: I would like to take this opportunity to let everyoneknow that in the all I will be starting a ull time teaching

position with the Middle Years Shared Ecological EducatioCentre Program (MY SEEC). I will be working with 42students and Steve Dunsmuir - who started the SEECprogram on Saturna Island. Tis means that I will no longerbe able to coordinate the Stewards in raining program. have enjoyed every aspect o this program, especially get

to know all o the enthusiastic and interesting voluntee who so generously give their time to mentor kids in natureCate and I will both remain on the Stewards in rainincommittee and we would welcome anyone else who woulike to play a role in the planning o this program. We hopthat it will always be expanding and evolving in ways thencourage children to develop a sense o wonder and curiosabout the natural world.Cate: I would like to use this opportunity to thank a

volunteers whom I have had the pleasure o working wover the past 3 years or achieving together some abulmoments and days out in the eld with the students.Collectively, the program has gained support, volunteer e oextraordinaire and awards o excellence. A winning ormI am also stepping down rom the post o coordinator

will continue to work in other avenues o environmeneducation, as well as a volunteer with the school programSee you out there - where the birds sing, the mud oozes, anthe kids run reely.

We have been truly blessed to have Sarah and Cate our coordinators. Te program has thrived under theircoordination. Tey have been brilliant. We are so pleasedthat they are both staying on the School Committee so w

can continue to work with them.Luckily or us, Kris Fullbrook has agreed to take on the roas coordinator o the Schools Program. Kris has been a stel

volunteer or the program or a number o years and tover or Cate when she took a medical leave. Kris knothe programs, volunteers, the sites and teachers and has beea valued member o the School Committee. So we sadly Sarah and Cate go and happily welcome Kris.

Tere will be a party or all 2010 school program voluntee with Cate and Sarah in attendance, Nov. 5th rom 4 to 6 p.mat 164 Wilkie Way. We hope all volunteers who have eve

worked with Cate and Sarah will attend to celebrate anothesuccess ul year, thank both our out going coordinators a

welcome Kris. It will be a great party and we promise a o great photos!

Te all program is or grades 1-3 at Burgoyne Bay ProvincPark. Look on our web site www.saltspringconservancy.

or more in ormation. I you would like to volunteer plcontact the o ce at 538-0318. We would love to have you~ Jean Gelwicks

School Program Chair

Superintendent Jeff Hopkins (right) receives the award on behalf of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

inside ssic


5/12Fall 2010

Conservancy Events

Upcoming EventsOct. 22 (Friday) - Climate Change and the Futureof our Garry Oak Forests. Dr. Marlow Pellatt, coastalecologist or Parks Canada. He will talk about hisresearch using ossils and records in the layers o lakesediments to trace back through time the prevalenceo Garry Oak and Douglas r in this region. Climatemodels predict that global climate change will causeecosystems to migrate northward and higher inelevation. Dr. Pellatt will talk about how this willa ect Garry Oak ecosystems and how to plan orprotected areas to conserve them. Community GospelHall, 7:00 pm at the Community Gospel Chapel, 147Vesuvius Bay Road. Admission is by donation.

School Program Images Te Stewards in raining School Program received a grant

rom Mountain Equipment Coop this year to help us collect,categorize and organize the thousands o photographs wehad been collecting in various coordinators, volunteers,teachers and School Committee members computers, over

the last seven years. With the grant we purchased the Light Room so twareprogram or organizing these photos which has worked likea dream. We have now collected all these photographs intoone place and given each photograph a number o keywordsto sort them by e.g. photographer, date, place, grade level,and activity, etc.

Te most un, a ter organizing all the photos into categories, was making a number o slide shows that we could useright away: Best o Burgoyne Bay 1-2-3 program

- Cultural and Natural Stewardship Best o Ford Lake 1-2-3 program

- Wetlands Stewardship Best o Burgoyne Bay 4-5 program

- Marine Stewardship Best o Cusheon Cove 4-5 program

- History and Forest Best o Ford Lake 6-7

- program Water Stewardship Best o Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve 6-7 program

- Garry Oak Ecosystem Stewardship Best o Ganges Harbour grade 8 program

- Planet Ocean We also created Power Point shows that we can use in a variety o di erent situations, including a short 6 minute show onthe Stewards in raining Program; pre-trip presentations toshow in the classroom; the best o the best o all our picturesin one show; and a great comprehensive overview o our

Our new Stewards in Training coordinator Kris Fullbrook and students atBurgoyne Bay.

program. Te last step was to placed all the best o phot

o each program, as well as one about the program as whole (comprehensive overview) on our web page wwsaltspringconservancy.ca, so that teachers, parents anstudents can access them. We are hoping that parents anstudents will visit the Conservancy web site be ore comout on a eld trip, to get an idea o the good time they argoing to have and how to dress properly and come prepare

We also hope to use our shows in undraising, voluntrecruitment and celebrating our one o a kind award-winniprogram.

We are making the collection o photos a part o coordinators annual responsibilities, so that our images wstay current and organized.

Tanks to Sarah Bateman and David Denning or all their work on this project and or Mountain Equipment Coop making this project a reality by giving us the unding. Plego to our web page and have a look or yoursel at our nshows. We hope you will be impressed.~ Jean Gelwicks



THE INSIDE SOLUTION

Review: Jeremy Ri kin, Te Empathic Civilization. archer/Penguin 2009.

Ri kin sees that the human story can be told as a successiono discoveries o new energy sources. Fire. Grain crops. Wind and water. Fossil carbon. Atoms. Each produces aninitial surplus (you reap more energy than you sow) whichis converted to more people and material wealth. Te ever-present dark side o this growth is increasing destruction o nature. Te surplus disappears and the countryside is less ablethan be ore to support people. Te society depending on the

surplus collapses or gives way to a new structure.Big changes in the way people communicate accompany each exploitive surge. Oral exchanges among huntingcultures gave way to abstract symbols, standing or numbers,things and ideas, in the rst grain-based cities. Tese wereenormously elaborated as readable language in the heyday o Rome which also invented the postal system. Te printingpress and early stages o popular literacy accompaniedemergence rom the Dark Ages into the so t industrialsocieties exploiting wood, water power and horse power. Ten electricity, and now electrons.

Tese changes in the means, speed and geographic reacho communication challenge our capacity as individualsto understand what others experience. Natures answeris empathy, a power ul endowment appearing early inchildhood. I nurtured at its start empathy is capable o amazing extension ar beyond people met ace to ace, beyondpeople known only at a distance, and beyond humankind toother li e, to abstractions such as nations, ecosystems andthe biosphere. Genetically, empathy begins as a generalizedpossibility. Its eventual mature expression depends on needand exercise. You cant empathize with the unknown. As

well, and crucially, empathy doesnt seem to have had tstrength to slow the careening train o population growtconsumption, waste production, and destruction o thbiosphere. Individually we may empathize with a biospheout o kilter, but that doesnt automatically make us behabetter toward it.

Enter a new phenomenon, the apparent satiation othe human appetite. Te modern industrial era has brought

wealth to a bigger proportion o society than ever be ore, ahas brought so much wealth to some that they cant possibuse it. Tree decades o study throughout the West show thabeyond a buying power o about $25,000 in todays dollaa persons satis action with li e the level o elt happ does not increase with more. It may even decrease. Wanthen take a so ter orm, or example the desire or brelationships, more esthetic surroundings, better health, et

Tis suggests a tipping point at which the desire to consumematerial goods wanes but the capacity to empathize is kephigh by the challenges o instant, universal, multi- acecommunications. We can hope this post-modern empathyis muscular, because empathy without subsequent action mere sentiment.

What we can hope or, Ri kin says, is to experiethrough consciously nurtured empathy, a rising o cooperataspects o modernity and a waning o competitive procesmore communalism, less individualism. Or, more desirabla growing-up process that ocuses rst on individuality, is now the case, then gives way to learning the values ameans o living in community.~ Bob Weeden

book review


7/12Fall 2010http://saltspringconservancy.ca/events

stewardship

Dorothy Cutting: Steward Tis years nominee rom the SSI Conservancy or the Islands rust Community Stewardship climate change ActionAward was Dorothy Cutting. We are proud to announcethat she won! I think you will agree, she well deserves thisrecognition.

At a particularly di cult time in Dorothys li e, she traded inthe amily car or a used Volkswagen Van, piled in her threekids and set o on a camping trip rom Florida to Disneylandin Cali ornia. She decided to visit all the National Parksshe could on the way. As she and her amily sat, night a ternight, listening to the Park Rangers explaining the natural wonders o each park, her li e changed. She ell in love withthe natural world. A terDisneyland, she headed the

amily up to Seattle and ellin love again, this time withthe Paci c North West.As soon as she could, shemoved her amily to theSeattle area.

Here, as a single mum with two years o collegeunder her belt, she raisedher amily, took up kayaking(especially on the westcoast o Vancouver Island)and eventually became apower ul political orce

or the environment. It isa long story, as she knew nothing about politics when she began, but inthe end she was a hugesupporter o parks andone o the major moversto getting the WashingtonState Shoreline Management Act passed into legislation, which still stands today.

In 1992, her kids grown up, Dorothy decided to moveto Salt Spring Island. On a plane trip back east, she pickedup a copy o Robert Hunters book 2030: Con ronting Termageddon in Our Li etime and her li e changed again.At an age when most people are sitting back in a rockingchair and baking cookies, she is devoted to raising awarenessabout climate change. Dorothy eels it is her responsibility, asa person who loves the natural world, to do what ever she canto make a di erence on this issue and she de nitely has.

At the age o 71, with the sponsorship o the CanadianSierra Club, Dorothy departed rom Mile Zero o the rans-Canada Highway in Victoria, bound or the ParliamentBuildings in Ottawa in her new Honda Civic Hybrid. Her

goal was to deliver to each Member o Parliament a coo Hunters book. As success ul as this trip was, (she ghundreds o interviews about climate change across tcountry and in Ottawa was met by David Anderson, BoHunter and a team o National media), it did not make th

change Dorothy hoped it would. But it did give Dorothy reputation on SSI as a will do lady.In 2006, she set o again on another Climate Crisi

trip in her Honda Hybrid. Tis time her destination wasInuvik. I want our neighbours in the north to know that wcare about what is happening to their homeland and thei

way o li e, said Dorothy, re erring to the many e ecArctic warming.

Meanwhile, backhome on Salt SpringIsland, Dorothy hacome to be known athe climate change ladyShe never rests. She hadesigned and nanceposters, bumper stickerand postcards to sendto politicians. She hastarted many petitionsand personally writte(and persuaded mano us to write) hundredo letters and emails t

policy makers.She has becoma permanent xture athe Saturday Markeover the last eight yeartalking to thousando people abouclimate change. Sh

has worked with the SSI Energy Strategy group, Instituto Sustainability Education and Action, SSI ConservancIsland Pathways, the Fritz theatre, the local secondary schoand other groups, to bring in guest speakers, movies ansupport special events around climate change, too numeroto mention. During all this time, she continues to read anto keep up with the latest in ormation coming rom the lescientists on climate change. Slowly, this grandmother hbecome a wealth o sound in ormation on the topic. Whshe had a question, she asked the experts. Eventually thlikes o Pro essor William Calvin, Bill McKibben, Dr. JamHansen, Pro essor Andrew Weaver and Guy Dauncey all gto know Dorothy well.

wo years ago, Dorothy decided the best thing shContinued on page 10



natural history

Island-born ara Martin, PhD ecologist with Australiasamous Commonwealth Science and Industry Research

Organization, told a ascinating story at a Conservancy publicevent this August. It is a plot played out with a thousand variants every year around the world, but ara set it rmly inplace right here, right now.

I you read publicity write-ups or were among theaudience listening to the live per ormance, youll rememberthe gist o it. Deer are abundant on Salt Spring Islandbecause nothing kills enough o them to o set awn crops. oo ew drop-in predators, which we kill as soon as we can. oo ew cars driven uriously and inattentively. Result? Tedeer strip much o the island o its ground-covering plants,including all but a ew cowering remnants o our natural lily diversity. Birds o ground-hugging and understory habitatsare reduced. ara dressed this up with understandable scienceand with beauti ul - sometimes stark - images and soundtracks o bird calls that ranged rom lonely solitudes in thedeer-beaten patches to ull choruses where deer are absent.All o us who live with legs moving and eyes open couldrelate her story to remembered experience, but Dr. Martinput it all together with compelling conviction.

From here on this is me talking, not ara, not theConservancy.

Flowers and birds: now that hits me where I live. I admiredeer as much as the next guy or gal, but enough already. (Illregret saying this, but there is an odd parallel here with my

eelings about people.) So what to do? wo choices: something or nothing. Letting come what

comes isnt part o our basic Conservancy character, though. We ormed to take action to secure natural communitiesby whatever means are easible and hold promise. Now weknow that deer, unchecked by e ective predation, warp andpauperize wild communities. And we know that inevitably

- and it is never long - deer will be the architects o theown ruin. We can predict the not-so-distant uture undegood old lazy are. Te roughly 4000 deer now on the islansubsidized by access to gardens and recent cut-overs, wcontinue to skin o orest undergrowth. Tey might evenget more numerous: Im amazed at the number o twand triplet awns each spring, indicating does in decehealth. Te spring bouquet o wild lily blooms will becoma thing o grandmother memory. Cars will maim and k

more deer, sometimes at cost to driver and car. Gardener will build bigger ences and have more roaming guard do Waning winter months will bring more wedge-thin awand yearlings into open sheds where they die in the nighVultures will hang by the dozens in April skies.

Does this compel us to act? Not necessarily. Maybrealistically, we cant take up such an energy-exhausting, loterm cause as an add-on to everything else we do. Mayb

we sense that we dont know what to do, or that anythin with a hope o being e ective will also be divisive within beyond the Conservancy.

My own eeling is that the whole community needs consider the situation and decide what to do. Te Conservancyisnt the ount o all wisdom any more than it is whereresponsibility rests or all action starts. Maybe we do have

ner sense o ecological persective than most; i so, we shuse it to encourage real discourse and become midwi eaction strategies the whole island can adopt. One thing sure: well know enough not to promote the idea that theris a magical balance point where nature stops, satis ed, rest. You cant nd such a point in the remotest wilds, and certainly isnt to be ound anywhere around people.~ Bob Weeden

Where Have all the Flowers Gone?

Ecosystem at Manzanita Ridge


9/12Fall 2010

SSIC NEWS

Salt Spring Island is rich in biodiversity, home to over 45 rareand endangered species. As 2010 is named the International Year o Biodiversity by the United Nations, our work atthe Salt Spring Island Conservancy, protecting sensitiveecosystems and biodiversity, is more important than ever.

As over 90% o the island is privately owned, theConservancys Stewardship Program works directly withnumerous landowners to educate them about Speciesat Risk on their lands, encourage their participation inmonitoring, and provide guidance and assistance with long-term conservation options or those wishing to protecttheir property in perpetuity. Protecting ecosystems helps tosa eguard biodiversity and maintain the ecosystem unctionsthat humans rely on, such as clean air and water.

In August, the Honourable Gary Lunn (Minister o

State or Sport) made a trip to Salt Spring to announceederal unding o several projects in the coastal regionthrough the Habitat Stewardship Program, including theSalt Spring Island Conservancys Stewardship Program.Project manager, Robin Annschild, as well as ExecutiveDirector, Linda Gilkeson, both spoke at the event thankingthe Minister or recognizing the importance o and need orongoing unding o conservation organizations in this 2010 Year o Biodiversity.

Te unding received rom the Government o Canadas Habitat Stewardship Program enables sta to continueour valuable work with landowners on the island, protectingsensitive ecosystems and restoring habitat. It also allowsus to discover new populations o species on the island,some that have never been ound be ore on Salt Spring.For example, this year biologists working with the SSIConservancy discovered two new species, (the endangered White Meconella and a rare snail called Treaded Vertigo) which were previously unrecorded on the island.

Additional generous unding or the StewardshipProgram has been con rmed rom Habitat Conservation rust Foundation, Canadian Wildli e Federation,Public Conservation Assistance Fund, British Columbia

ransmission Corporation, Salt Spring Island FoundationIslands rust Fund, and CRD Grants In Aid.

For more in ormation on our Stewardship Programor in ormation about Species At Risk ound on the islanplease visit our website at www.saltspringconservancy.ca.~ Laura Mathias

The Honourable Gary Lunn announces funding for the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

SSICs Robin Annschild and Linda Gilkeson listen to theHonourable Gary Lunn

Te Salt Spring Island Conservancy awards a $100scholarship annually to recognize local students or excellein environmental studies and action. Tis years winner is A

Jones, who graduated rom Gul Island Secondary Schin June.

Ali was an active participant in the Salt Sprincommunity, even though she lived in Duncan and ha

to commute to the Island. While Ali joined several othestudents in the category o excellent grades, her commitmeto conservation singled her out as the best candidate or thaward.

Ali was a member o the environmental club GISS called EAGER (the Environmental Action GroupEncouraging Responsibility) and o the Streamkeepegroup in Cowichan Bay. Her outstanding volunteer work the Nature Conservancy o Canada in Duncan developeinto a job at the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve to removinvasive species and to maintain a native plant nursery. Ahas become extremely knowledgeable about the native ainvasive plants and also likes art and drawing, so its surprise that she specializes in drawing wildfowers.

Ali is putting the scholarship to good use. Tis all shstarted her studies toward a Bachelor o Science degrand major in Biology and Environmental Studies at thUniversity o Victoria. Congratulations Ali!

Funds or SSIC scholarships were originally donated Marilyn Taden-Dexter in honour o William David Dexterand we are hoping to continue this scholarship award in th

years to come. I you would like to contribute, contact oo ce.

Ali Jones Wins 2010 Conservancy Scholarship


10/1210 The Acorn - Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

could do was to start a climate change web page o her own.It is called West Coast Climate Equity. She has a board o directors o eight and an advisory board that reads like aclimate change Whos Who. Tey believe it is essential toprovide current, honest and accurate in ormation on climatechange to help people act in time to prevent immeasurableharm to humanity and our Earths biosphere. Te web sitehad 12,000 hits the rst year and 127,000 the second. As o this month it is getting about 6000 hits a week. Please check out www.WestCoastClimateEquity.org and have a look ather website or yoursel . It is one o the best sources o up-to-date, accurate and understandable in ormation on climatechange you will nd.

Tis website takes up to 40 hours a week o Dorothystime, during which she researches and posts new stories andstudies about climate change. None o Dorothys work ispaid. In act, she gives generously to many environmentalorganizations on and o the island that she eels are making

Dorothy Cutting, Continued from page 7

Tis September the Salt Spring Island Conservancy hostedthe Sharp-tailed Snake Recovery eam meeting to talk with researchers and team members about the endangeredSharp-tailed Snake. A Recovery eam consists o members

rom a number o agencies, organizations, and independentscientists that are involved in the management o a speciesat risk. Members collaborate on research and planning, and work towards protecting a species rom urther declines orextinction.

Sharp-tailed snakes are ound on southern VancouverIsland and a ew Gul Islands, including Salt Spring.Conservancy biologists have worked with many landowners

or several years to identi y new locations o the snake,educate the public about this species, and assist landownersin enhancing habitat on their properties. We work closely

with the Sharp-tailed Snake Recovery eam to determine where our uture e orts should be ocused or the protectiono this endangered species.

At the meeting, Conservancy biologist Robin Annschildgave a presentation about the extensive work we have doneover the years on Salt Spring, how important the role o locallandowners has been in discovering new populations o thissnake, and what weve learned about the distribution andhabitat needs o this species.

Conservancy hosts Sharp-tailedSnake Recovery Team meeting

Te Conservancy plans to continue surveying or thsnakes in suitable habitat, update our habitat mapping, wor

with landowners to promote stewardship and awareneo the snakes, and continue to o er support to landowne

interested in long-term conservation options or theproperties.It is re reshing to know that there are many dedicate

and knowledgeable pro essionals and landowners workto protect the numerous species at risk that are ound oSalt Spring. Teir commitment and determination arean imperative, and o ten undervalued, component o recovery o rare species.~ Laura Matthias

a di erence.Dorothy is devoting the remainder o her li e to clim

change because, this planet is unique and beauti ul. Dorothy says, Our civilization is headed ull steam towacatastrophe, so we need to make turning it around our topriority. Tis is my way o contributing to the turn-around.Her motto is: Do what you can and you can do more tha

you think you can. I everyone would contribute a raco what Dorothy is doing, we will be success ul in the tuaround.

Te Salt Spring Island Conservancy is proud to havenominated Dorothy Cutting or the Islands rust CommunitStewardship Award. She has done more to educate SaSpring Islanders and all Canadians about climate changthan anyone else on our island.~ Jean Gelwicks


11/1211Fall 2010

Membership Application Youth (Under 16) 1 yr @ $15 __Senior or Low-Income: 1 yr @ $20 __ 3 yr @ $60 __Regular Single 1 yr @ $25 __ 3 yr @ $75 __Regular Family 1 yr @ $35 __ 3 yr @ $105 __Group/School 1 yr @ $35 __ 3 yr @ $105 __Business 1 yr @ $55 __ 3 yr @ $165 __

Name: ______________________________________ Address: _____________________________________

____________________________________________Postal Code: __________________________________Phone: _______________________________________Email: _______________________________________

This is a renewal for an existing membership

Please send me the Acorn via email. (We NEVER give out members email addresses to anyone!)

DonationsIn addition to my membership feeabove, I have enclosed my donation inthe amount of:$50 _ $100 _ $250 _ $500 _ $1000_$2500 _ $5000 _

Other ___________

Become a Conservation Friend with a donation of $250.

Tax receipts will be provided fordonations of $20 or more.

Salt Spring Island Conservancy #201 Upper Ganges Centre,338 Lower Ganges Rd.Mail: PO Box 722,Salt Spring Island BCV8K 2W3O ce hours: ues/Wed/Turs10 am - 3 pmPhone: 250-538-0318Fax: [email protected]

www.saltspringconservancy.ca

Executive Director: Linda GilkesonBoard o Directors:Maureen Bendick (Past President)Paul BurkeRobin Ferry

Jean Gelwicks John de Haan ( reasurer)Susan Hannon (Secretary)Ashley Hilliard (President)Donna MartinMaureen MilburnDeborah Miller

John SpragueBob Weeden (Vice President)Doug Wilkins

Acorn Editor: Bob WeedenLayout: Elizabeth Nolan

Te Acorn is the newsletter o the Salt Spring Island Conservancy, a local non-pro t society supporting and enablin voluntary preservation and restoration o the natural environment o Salt Spring Island and surrounding waters. We welc your eedback and contributions, by email to [email protected] or by regular mail. Opinions expressed hethe authors, not subject to Conservancy approval.

essentials

Special Event SponsorsRobert BatemanGo Wild Zodiac oursHarbour HouseVolume IIGul Island Picture FramingMarks Work WarehouseSSI Monetary Foundation

Business MembershipsDerek Craw ord ArchitectMark DuncanInstitute or Sustainability, Education and ActionDavid LeavittMichael Levy

Te Pinch Group, Raymond James Ltd.Salt Spring BooksSalt Spring Cheese Co.Stowel Lake Farm

Jill Louise Campbell Art Gallery NAV Canada

Stewards in TrainingRotary Club o Salt Spring Island D Friends o the Environment FoundationNature Canada (Parks & People Program) Tri ty Foods Smile Card ProgramMountain Equipment Coop

Stewardship and Species at Risk Te Government o Canada Habitat Stewardship

Program or Species at Risk Habitat Conservation rust FundIslands rust FundGarry Oak Ecosystem Recovery eamBC ransmission CorporationCapital Regional DistrictCanadian Wildli e Federation

Of ce and Education

John Le ebvreSalt Spring Island FoundationCountry Grocer

The Conservancy thanks our funders:


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Ganges PO Box 722Salt Spring Island BC

V8K 2W340026325

Publications Mail Poste-publications

Fall 2010 Acorn Newsletter - Salt Spring Island Conservancy

Documents

Transcript of Fall 2010 Acorn Newsletter - Salt Spring Island Conservancy