Bowen Island Undercurrent March 25 2021

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A YEAR: Reflecting on how COVID-19 has affected local industries

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A1

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THURSDAY, MARCH 25 , 2021

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VOL. 47 NO. 12

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Were they always here? The Nature Club reports PAGE 7

Cidery proceeds

RILEYS’ ORCHARD CIDERY WEATHERS CONTROVERSIAL TUP

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO / UNDERCURRENT PHOTO

IMMUNIZED: Cartoonist Ron Woodall receives his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine from Dr. Susanne Schloegl March

19 at Bowen Island Community School. The next clinic is March 26.

Mass vaccinations start on Bowen BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

Most on Bowen are familiar with the plastic folding chairs that were set out in sets of two at the back of the community school gymnasium Friday.

They’ll have sat in the chairs to watch the West Coast Symphony Orchestra, a Kelly Konno Studios dance recital, a municipal election debate. But it was

an entirely different show Friday.

Mass COVID-19 vaccinations for Bowen Islanders 80 and over and Indigenous people 65 and over started March 19 at BICS. The clinic ran between 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

A volunteer greeted seniors in the gym’s antechamber and checked their names against the appointment list and handed them a blue disposable mask before ushering them through the double doors. Once inside, seniors were

directed to registration tables and then nurse or doctors’ stations, where dozens of islanders finally got the jab.

After a quick chat with the health professionals, jabees were directed to the back of the room with their aftercare handouts and ‘golden tickets’ (yellow immunization records showing the type of vaccine they received – seniors at BICS Friday got the Pfizer – and when).

Where

k n a YMaokeus aB Difference

The cider will flow in West Bowen.

Bowen Island Municipality Council unanimously voted to issue a temporary use permit allowing “cidery” as a permitted use at the corner of Laura and Westside Roads – “Rileys’ Orchard” at its regular council meeting March 22.

The Rural Residential 2 zoning of the five-acre property allows agriculture as a principal use, including the “processing and sale of products harvested, reared or produced on that lot” but the definition specifically excludes “intensive agriculture, horticulture and vineyard” while making no mention of cidery. This TUP introduces the cidery definition along the lines of winery and allows the use on the property. It also allows owners Rob Purdy and Christine Hardie to supplement the apples produced from their trees with other B.C. apples (up to 75 per cent).

Conditions imposed through the permit include limiting retail and patio space, requiring three parking spaces, restricting hours to 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and prohibiting a lounge endorsement.

The TUP, valid for three years, is to prove the viability of the business, indicated BIM staff. Should the cidery prove workable, Purdy and Hardie intend to apply for a rezoning.

Despite council’s unanimity, the permit was divisive.

As of Friday afternoon, BIM had received 110 letters about this application including 72 in favour and 33 opposed, said manager of planning and development Daniel Martin. From respondents living on properties within 300 metres of the orchard, there were seven letters in support and six in opposition, he said.

Opposition had a few themes. In a similar vein to the Island Discovery Learning Community TUP application in Deep Bay in early 2020, many took issue with using a “temporary” work around the land use bylaw for a use that’s apparently going to be long term.

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NOTICE OF AGM

FIRST CREDIT UNION

Annual General Meeting

MAY 6, 2021

*More about our virtual AGM at firstcu.ca.

106-996 Dorman Rd | 604.947.2022

A2 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

We’re hiring: Human Resources Coordinator

Events March 30, 2021 4:30 pm

BIM has a vacancy for a permanent part-time Human Resources Coordinator to join our team. This is a half-time (17.5 hours per week) position. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the HR Coordinator is responsible for developing, implementing and overseeing the organization’s human resources strategy. The ideal candidate is a competent leader with strong emotional intelligence, excellent communication skills and comfortable working with staff across all municipal departments.

Finance Advisory Committee

April 1, 2021 3:00 pm Community Centre Select Steering Committee

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/jobs

Seeking Public Comment For BOV-2021-0034

1180 Miller Road Board of Variance Meeting via Zoom 1:00 PM on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

A Board of Variance application has been submitted for 1180 Miller Rd (shown on figure) to reduce front setback. Variance will facilitate a storage shed by the parking area for items that do not need to be carried up the hill to the house.

All meetings are online via Zoom and

Help us build a sustainable, local economic development plan

open to the public, unless noted otherwise.

There are 14 concepts being discussed in a questionnaire open to all Bowen Islanders to help us build a Community Economic Development Plan. The concepts include health care, local food, arts and culture, the knowledge sector, construction, strategic tourism, industrial land, housing, environmental stewardship, youth employment and entrepreneurship, commuting, economic leakage, a showcase of sustainable initiatives and a unique economy for a unique island. What’s missing? Is this too little, too much or just right? We want to hear from you. Please head over to Citizenlab to share your thoughts, ideas and comments and to complete the questionnaire.

Help slow the spread of COVID-19:

Stay home if you’re sick

MORE INFORMATION:

www.bowenisland.citizenlab.co/en/projects/ced

Open call to Red Cross certified swim instructors The BIM Recreation Department is a training partner with the Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety program but is not able to offer swim classes to the Bowen community in 2021. As a result, BIM is making our Red Cross certification available to eligible Bowen Island applicants to offer lessons to the public.

Clean your hands frequently 2 m or 6 feet

Qualified applicants must agree to comply with all Red Cross requirements regarding operations, safety equipment, emergency equipment, pool requirements, and Instructor certifications.

Instructors must teach Red Cross programs according to the standards listed in the Swimming & Water Safety National Program Standards, the performance/evaluation criteria on worksheets, the candidate workbooks and the Instructor/Instructor Trainer course guides. Applicants must provide BIM with proof of current Red Cross instructor certification, completed Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check, commercial general liability insurance, and a Bowen Island business licence.

Keep a safe physical distance

Wear a mask in indoor public spaces

ADVERTISEMENT March 25, 2021

YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME: Written submissions are accepted up to April 2, 2021 and may be delivered to Municipal Hall (contact information below): • In person • By mail • By fax • By email to planning@bimbc.ca Verbal submissions may also be made to the Board at the meeting: 1:00 PM on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 Online via Zoom For instructions on how to participate, go to:

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/board-of-variance

Questions? Please contact Emma Chow, Island Community Planner, at 604-947-4255 ext 247 or by email at echow@bimbc.ca

Contact Bowen Island Municipality Phone: Fax: Email: Website:

Hall between 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday (excluding statutory holidays).

To apply, please contact Gillian Drake, Manager of Recreation and Community Services, at gdrake@bimbc.ca by April 30th, 2021

Register for a vaccine when it’s your turn

PAID

The application may be viewed online at

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/planning or at Municipal

604-947-4255 604-947-0193 bim@bimbc.ca

Bowen Island Municipal Hall 981 Artisan Lane Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G2

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday to Friday Closed statutory holidays

Find us on Facebook Bowen Island Municipality

Subscribe to our mailing list bowenislandmunicipality.ca/subscribe

One year later...

Everything changed for the Undercurrent with our March 19, 2020 edition. Group photos and Bowen Beat disappeared and in their places was as much pandemic information as we could fit into these pages. It’s difficult to measure the virus’s effect on this community – a year without gatherings in a community that loves festivals will take its toll – but we chatted with a few locals about what they’ve seen both on Bowen and regionally.

Louise McIntosh and Jan Seaman, Bowen Waste Solutions

While the effect on waste wasn’t immediate when COVID19 hit, Bowen Waste Solutions has seen a change in what islanders throw in their bins.

As folks started working from home, Bowen Waste started seeing people do more “spring cleaning,” getting into closets, pantries and downsizing what they had, said Jan Seaman. “Because now they’ve got the time to do it.”

The company has seen an increase in calls for curbside pickups as islanders dig into renovations, crawlspaces, new decks and gardening.

When it came to organics, Bowen Waste saw increases in green waste from gardening and food waste from those now doing more home cooking. “Along with baking bread in their kitchens, people were starting gardens in their yard,” said Bowen Waste owner Louise McIntosh.

“We’ve probably had an increase of almost 30 per cent in non-regular residential pickup things that align themselves with cleanups renovations from yards to homes,” said McIntosh. This was a discussion across the Metro Vancouver communities, she said, because within about three months, everybody was showing a large increase in household garbage because of people spending more time at home.

At the recycling depot, they’ve noticed more flattened cardboard from online shopping as well.

When the pandemic first hit, Bowen Island Recycling Depot closed. “If you want to freak out a community, close down their recycling depot for a couple of weeks,” said McIntosh. “We were getting calls that people didn’t know what to do with all this stuff on their porch.”

In the year since, COVID protocols have evolved. They’re now letting six people into the depot at a time and have also moved some things (like the refundables drop off ) outside.

When it comes to how the depot is set up, some changes – like the new refundables tent – will likely be permanent as they’ve proven efficient.

And through the pandemic, Bowen Waste didn’t have to lay off any staff. “We’re very proud…all staff kept working through from start to finish,” said Seaman.

Nancy Lee, Snug Cove General Store

Nearly overnight, Snug Cove General Store went from social hub to essential service last March. Islanders were urged to visit the store no more than once a day – or even better once a week – and only a few customers were allowed

bowenislandundercurrent.com inside at a time (as is still the case).

Week by week, staff figured out how to do pick-ups, deliveries, ordering and maintaining the business during the emergency.

“Personally, I think I feel a little bit safer since Bonnie Henry made it mandatory for the masks,” said general manager Nancy Lee. “At the beginning, masks weren’t mandatory and just some people were wearing them.”

The store is still doing the online ordering and Lee says they have probably about a dozen customers who are consistently ordering online. There are also now customers who weren’t necessarily regulars before who are now not going to town to buy groceries.

But when it comes to how often people are visiting the store, customers have reverted to pre-pandemic habits. “It was better at the beginning,” said Lee. “People were trying to do more of a big shop.

“Now we’re basically back to before – people coming in every day. Two, three times a day. Coming in to buy one item.”

Now with the lineup, masks, hand sanitizer, and limiting the number of people coming in, Lee has made peace with folks visiting more than once a day.

But, she reminds folks that they really must sanitize their hands using the foot pedal operated sanitizer dispenser at the entrance.

Also, reusable shopping bags are once again allowed (they weren’t for a while in the early to mid days). “We can’t forget about Mother Nature – we need to start getting back on to that,” said Lee.

Mayor Gary Ander, Bowen Island Municipality

Bowen Island Municipality activated its virtual emergency operations centre March 18 to coordinate its pandemic response. The day before, municipal hall closed to the public and the first virtual council meeting took place March 23 as BIM grappled with managing the pandemic.

The emergency operations centre demobilized June 26 as COVID-19 response was absorbed into “regular municipal operations.”

“Every day was a different scenario,” recalled Mayor Gary Ander of the early days. “Those were pretty scary times… before we got a handle on it and figured out how to find our way through.”

“As far as the municipality is concerned, we’ve been managing to operate, obviously, but under totally different circumstances.” BIM moved some services online and has forged ahead with several capital projects including the water treatment plant, multi use path, fire hall and community centre (the referendum for which was held entirely during the pandemic).

“I’ve got to credit the people on Bowen Island because they’ve done a really incredible job,” said Ander. “Not that it’s over by any stretch of the imagination, and we’ve still got days ahead of us, but the vaccinations are coming.”

“People looked after everybody, and I think we’re in a fairly good position coming out of this.

“We’ve been pretty fortunate on Bowen Island because we’re semi isolated,” said Ander. “We certainly didn’t have

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A3

the dramatic lifestyle change as far as the isolation and that sort of thing as you would have seen in Vancouver.

“Because we are very rural and we have a forest …we can get out into nature and do our walking and everything else.

“I don’t think it’s had the impact that it’s had in Vancouver,” said Ander. “Obviously, it’s been a lot of stress.

“I’m hoping that…we’re now into a transition period that we can start to get back to some kind of normalcy.”

Paul Rickett, Bowen Beer and Wine Cellar

There was a point early in the pandemic where a rumour spread that liquor stores would close and B.C.ers stocked up.

Though provincial health officer Bonnie Henry would later put in restrictions on alcohol serving hours in restaurants and bars, liquor retailers were deemed essential services.

Paul Rickett, manager of the Bowen Beer and Wine Cellar for the past 14 years and particularly a wine expert, spoke to some of the B.C.-wide COVID-19 alcohol trends.

“With restaurants locked down for two months and then on restricted capacity – people have drunk a lot more at home than they would have historically,” said Rickett. “So if you look at the B.C. market in general…what you see is a drop of about 50 per cent of alcohol sold to restaurants and a corresponding increase – so it becomes somewhat of a wash – between retail and manufacturers.

“It’s not that B.C. has drunk a lot more, it’s just drunk it in a different place.”

There were specific patterns among the alcohols.

In the wine industry, box wine sales shot up in the pandemic’s early days and have continued at a higher level than before, said Rickett.

B.C. wines, however, lost market share – sales went up but not as much as wine sales in general – because they didn’t have many wines in boxes. Instead, import wines took off, said Rickett.

“So B.C. Wine had a bit of a tough road to hoe over COVID and a lot of pivoting,” he said. Wineries also had to figure out how to do safe tastings.

Spirit sales were up for everyone, said Rickett and beer sales didn’t suffer from the loss of restaurants, pubs and bars.

Vodka coolers saw huge growth – drinks like White Claw, Nudes and Nutrls. “That trend was already happening…the last couple of years prior to COVID and didn’t slow down at all,” said Rickett. “It even accelerated.”

These macro trends were echoed across suburbs and rural locations, said Rickett, but downtown retailers saw a “very, very big” drop in sales. “Because people weren’t commuting to downtown, there were no tourists, cruise ships and so on,” he said. “It wasn’t just everyone in retail did well.

“If you were situated where people weren’t commuting away from, then you picked up all of that slack from the restaurants.

“On Bowen particularly, we’ve got more people working from home, we have more second homers come earlier and stay later,” he said. “So we saw the positive, if you will, impact of the pandemic.” (Despite the significant drop in day-tripping tourists.)

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A4 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

VIEWPOINTS EDITORIAL

Hope

It still feels like I’m trying to reach back just a week in my memory to remember how I felt the Thursday news broke that Sophie Gregoire Trudeau had COVID-19. That was my “oh @#$%” moment.

It was our March 19 edition where we listed island businesses that had shut down or pivoted to appointments or pick-up only. In the year since we’ve lost a few of those businesses (including Artisan Office, which was on the front page that edition for offering free delivery to those in isolation). We need to continue our efforts to buy local as the duelling effects of the third wave, which Dr. Henry confirmed Monday, and vaccines play out.

That March 19 edition Ron Woodall ran the cartoon of a man in a boat out in the sound staring at Bowen captioned “social distancing.”

How isolated we are from the virus has never been clear – we know that we’ve had cases but there’s never been a publicly released number of on-island cases, just rumours. Bowen’s case count is lumped in with West Vancouver.

Most of all, that edition told of a community jumping in to help one another. In the Flatten the Curve Facebook page (which Maureen Nicholson launched March 12), there were offers of help, connection and support. While the effusiveness tapered off, some, like Sharon Boone continue to reach out offering help.

Our energy has waned. The 7 p.m. cheers for health care workers have faded. Day-long work Zoom meetings followed by evening Zoom happy hours long ago lost their charm.

BookFest, Canada Day, BowFest, AppleFest, CSA Craft Fair, Light Up Bowen and the many, many other local events either didn’t happen or were severely limited.

We’ve lost parents, friends and family to the virus or have lost precious time with them.

Our mental health has suffered severely.

And we haven’t all suffered equally – our experiences with the pandemic are both intensely personal and a giant reckoning with our priviledge or amplification of our marginalization.

But, reading that first edition has brought me hope. We were scared and confused but doing our best to carry on. We know so much more now. We have a vaccine. Life will never be the same as before but we all appreciate a hug a whole lot more.

Bronwyn Beairsto, editor

CORRECTION TO LAST WEEK’S ‘WAR ON NATURE’ LETTER DEAR EDITOR: I made an error in my letter to the editor of last week in thinking that the new trail construction was on the south side of Grafton Road. My understanding now is that the road itself is being realigned and the trail will be on the north side. This

is more logical, but my other comments about the scale (three metres wide is a big trail) and the sheer brutality of the construction process still stand. Author Linda Hogan wrote a book Walk Gently Upon the Earth, whose title is a useful admonishment. So too is the joint Islands Trust/

Reader Mallory McMillan got in touch to let us and the island know of David MacFarlane’s death Feb. 27 at the South Granville Park Lodge at age 82. David and his wife Shirley built a cabin on Bowen and for many decades have had their second home here.

THE WRITE STUFF. The Undercurrent encourages reader participation in your community newspaper. You must include your full name and a daytime phone number (for verification only). The editor reserves the right to edit for clarity, legality, brevity and taste. Please limit to under 500 words. HERE’S HOW: To submit a letter to the editor, fax 604-947-0148 or mail it to #102, 495 Government Rd., PO Box 130, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0 or email editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com.

All Advertising and news copy content are copyright of the Undercurrent Newspaper. All editorial content submitted to the Undercurrent becomes the property of the publication.

The Undercurrent is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, art work and photographs.

#102–495 Bowen Trunk Road, PO Box 130, Bowen Island BC, V0N 1G0 Phone: 604.947.2442 Fax: 604.947.0148 bowenislandundercurrent.com DEADLINE for advertising Monday, 4 p.m. DEADLINE for editorial Tuesday 5 p.m.

Bowen Island Undercurrent Subscription Rates: Mailed 1 year subscription on Bowen Island: $55, including GST. Within Canada: $85 including GST Newsstand (Single Copy) $1.50 per copy, including GST

ISSN 7819-5040

San Juan Preservation Trust publication‘A Place in the Islands’: islandstrust.bc.ca/ islands/island-ecosystems/a-place-inthe-islands/.

Peter Frinton Retired Local/Regional politician V.P.- Society for Atmosphere Solutions

National NewsMedia Council.

EDITOR Bronwyn Beairsto editor@bowenisland undercurrent.com

ADVERTISING Tracey Wait ads@bowenisland undercurrent.com

CARTOONIST Ron Woodall

PUBLISHER Peter Kvarnstrom publisher@bowenisland undercurrent.com 2011 CCNA

CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2011

SPECIAL THANK-YOU Audrey Grescoe

The Undercurrent is a member of the National NewsMedia Council of Canada, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please email editor@bowenislandundercurrent. com or call 604-947-2442.

If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Trust offers protection and other benefits DEAR EDITOR: As one of the two municipal trustees elected on Bowen, I wish to bring readers up to date with the Islands Trust and the extra layer of nature protection and sustainability it continues to provide.

Bowen has been a municipality within the Islands Trust for 20 years now and for many, the Trust is far less visible.

However, it continues to provide direct benefits to Bowen Islanders, including: • Managing three nature reserves: Fairy Fen, David Otter, and Singing Woods.

• Two conservation covenants on privately held land, to guarantee no disturbance, monitored annually.

• Detailed ecosystem mapping: from old forest, rare wetlands, dry open woodlands and fragile wildflowers on rocky outcrops and coastlines; to forage fish beach spawning habitat; to eelgrass below low tide.

• Technical resources (digital mapping); GIS software licenses for municipal staff and updated LIDAR and Orthophoto data products every few years.

• Nature check-ups to measure how well we are meeting the Trust’s preserve and protect mandate.

• Many resources to assist municipal council and staff in preserving and protecting.

• Review of OCP updates and amendments for consistency with Trust mandate and Policy Statement.

• Assurance that our municipality will have regard for the preserve and protect mandate and Policy Statement when adopting zoning bylaws.

• Lower risk of oil spills, other marine shipping impacts, abandoned and derelict vessels, and more as we speak with one voice on regionally significant issues.

• Support at the request of municipal council, such as help stopping BC Timber Sales logging, becoming eligible for rural grant funding, and prohibiting motorized vehicles on Mount Gardner.

Current Trust-wide projects include: • Acting on climate change, from measuring and protecting carbon storage in natural ecosystems, to advocating for electric ferries, to planning how to avoid water shortages.

• Species at risk protection, with a grant from the federal government.

• Implementing Reconciliation Action Plan, including heritage overlay mapping.

• Promoting regional collaboration, e.g. support to Howe Sound Community Forum.

• Freshwater strategy: mapping, integrating water management into land use.

• Updating the Islands Trust Policy Statement (Islands 2050).

Ongoing programs that Bowen citizens can participate in include:

•

Protect nature on your private land by donating a nature reserve or through a conservation covenant with the Trust’s charitable arm, the Islands Trust Conservancy.

• Tax reduction on your land for those interested in protecting nature while saving money.

• Stewardship resources to help you care for plants and wildlife on your land and shorelines.

• Wellwater and other workshops and webinars.

• Community Stewardship Awards, which encourage and recognize leadership; many Bowen recipients and nominees.

• Support for local groups wishing to preserve and protect, including grants, e.g. a $5,000 Opportunity Fund grant to the Bowen Island Conservancy in late 2020 towards acquiring property for nature at Cape Roger Curtis.

Addressing some myths: Bowen pays more than any other island: false.

Salt Spring and Gabriola local trust areas each paid more in 2019/2020 for the same trust-wide-federation aspects that Bowen contributes to.

We can rely on MetroVancouver resources and mapping only: false.

These are not usually detailed enough. A couple of examples: the meadow in Crippen Park doesn’t show up on MetroVancouver’s ecosystem mapping due to the scale they use but it does on Islands Trust’s. Climate projections reports by MetroVancouver don’t consider the limited water available and other unique island conditions, while Islands Trust’s do.

Duplication of BIM services: false.

Islands Trust is not a local government and does not duplicate services that are the sole responsibility of Bowen Island Municipality. It provides a regional federation of islands and a collaboration function in meeting the object set out in the Islands Trust Act. The province established the Islands Trust nearly 50 years ago “to preserve and protect the trust area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of residents of the trust area and of the province generally, in cooperation with municipalities, regional districts, improvement districts, other persons and organizations and the Government of British Columbia.”

It’s a ‘greenbelt’ roughly the size of Prince Edward Island between Metro Vancouver and southern Vancouver Island where the federation staves off the unbridled development pressures of its metropolitan neighbours.

Islanders elect other islanders to serve in the singular federation in the Salish Sea. It’s part of our local government system, legislated through the provincial Islands Trust Act. Want links or more details? Please get in touch: sefast@ bimbc.ca.

Sue Ellen Fast Islands Trustee, Bowen Island Councillor, Bowen Island Municipality

‘It is urgent that we hear the cries of our fellow humans’: Twelve genocide warnings in place around the world

DEAR EDITOR: What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says the word “genocide”?

For most people, it will be “the Holocaust” or something related to that topic, such as “Hitler” or “Second World War.” And the Holocaust was an atrocity beyond comprehension: between 1941 and 1945, 11 million people were murdered, 6 million of whom were Jewish men, women and children.

It is tempting to believe that the Holocaust was the single large-scale atrocity of the 20th century. It was not. Many people are unaware that there were eight major genocides in the 20th century (as outlined in Samantha Power’s Pulitzer Prize winning book “A Problem From Hell”: America and the Age of Genocide), of which the Holocaust was only one.

The first genocide of the 20th century took place from 1915 to 1917, during the First World War. It was perpetrated by the Turks, who systematically killed two million Armenians. The first genocide after the Holocaust took place in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, where the Khmer Rouge regime systematically murdered an estimated two million of its citizens, nearly one-quarter of Cambodia’s population. This was followed by genocides in northern Iraq (1986 – 1989, 100,000 Kurds dead; 5,000 during a single chemical gas attack), Rwanda (1994, 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead in 100 days), and the intertwined genocides of Bosnia, Srebrenica and Kosovo in the 1990s, perpetrated by the Serb government against non-Serb citizens, mostly Muslims and ethnic Albanians, causing the deaths of about 100,000 people.

The hate that leads to mass killings did not end with the turn of the century. In fact, you could argue that it has worsened.

There are 12 genocide emergency alerts currently declared

by Genocide Watch, an international watchdog. These alerts include perpetrations by the Chinese government against the Uyghur, by the Kachin Independence Army in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims, and by Boko Haram in Nigeria against those seeking a secular education, especially women and girls.

It is vital that when the topic of genocide is raised we do not blindly declare “never again.” Atrocities keep happening “again” and “again” while our ignorance or indifference continues. It is urgent that we hear the cries of our fellow humans and act to protect members of our global community.

You can learn about the 12 genocide warnings currently taking place on our watch by visiting www.genocidewatch. com/countries-at-risk. To help end these atrocities, write our Minister of Foreign Affairs (Francois-Philippe.Champagne@ parl.gc.ca) and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (https://pm.gc. ca/en/connect/contact), stating that Canada must actively participate in international efforts to counter the threat of genocide, wherever it is found.

Twyla Frid

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Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A5

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A6 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Are you planting a pandemic garden in 2021?

Let us know!

Send in photos or stories to editor@ bowenislandundercurrent.com.

Planting Tiny Victory Gardens BOOK SALES SUPPORT FOODRESILIENCE SOCIETY

MERIBETH DEEN

Bowen Island FoodResilience Society

GALLERY CURATOR Part-time Permanent role – up to 80 hours per month (some weekends/evenings) Are you interested in building your professional experience in the world of arts & culture? Do you enjoy working with volunteer teams, thinking outside the box and stretching your creative mind? Do you have experience working with a non-profit arts organization?

Are you energetic, independent and resourceful?

Working with the Executive Director, the Program & Membership Coordinator and the volunteer team, this role will continue with the branding of our Gallery as the cultural hub of Bowen Island by overseeing the coordination of the Hearth Gallery’s curatorial program.

The Gallery Manager is responsible for the management of the Hearth Gallery, including curating shows, managing the gift shop and promotion and publicity.

Please visit our website for the full job posting at www.thehearth.ca To apply, please send a cover letter explaining what you could bring to this role, along with a resume and references - as a single PDF document to: hello@thehearthartsonbowen.ca Deadline for applications is Thursday April 15th at 5 pm.

Hours: Open Daily from 11 to 4 pm (Closed Tue. & Wed.) Snug Cove - on Cardena Road

It was roughly a year ago that grocery stores started struggling to keep toilet paper on shelves. We hadn’t yet been told not to leave the house but when we were, resilience and self-reliance seemed to be at the top of everyone’s mind. Maybe, deep in our lizard brains we knew that when faced with a worstcase scenario type situation we’d need more than toilet paper to survive, so we stocked our pantries, ordered seeds and started planting “pandemic gardens.”

A study published in October by Dalhousie University and Angus Reid concluded that last spring, one in five Canadians started to grow food at home. Sixty-seven percent of poll respondents were new to gardening.

A study by Kwantlen University, published in December, shows that consumers in this province continue to be concerned about how variables such as trade policies and natural disasters will affect their ability to access foods in the future. They’re also worried about increasing prices. People might be onto something, so… how ’bout we keep those gardens going?

The timing couldn’t be better for the release of Acadia Tucker’s new book, Tiny Victory Gardens. Tucker is a graduate of the UBC Department of Land and Food Systems, a regenerative farmer (currently based in Maine), and a prolific writer. Last winter, Bowen Island FoodResilience Society (BIFS) sold copies of her second book, Growing Good Food: A Citizen’s Guide to Backyard Carbon Farming. The title

thehearthartsonbowen.ca 604.947.2454 hello@thehearthartsonbowen.ca

fits BIFS’ mission perfectly, as members are united by a sense of urgency about climate change, and by the belief that agriculture can help us adapt to it and mitigate the damage.

Tucker’s first two books (the first is called Growing Perennial Foods: A Field Guide to Raising Resilient Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables) have since become favourites of mine and critical tools in my garden planning process.

Her newest work adds an extra dose of creativity and joy into the art of growing food. Tiny Victory Gardens recognizes that potted plants and raised beds are unlikely to be effective tools for carbon sucking. Rather, it is inspired by the belief that anyone with access to a small patch of light can become more resilient.

While her day job is growing ingredients for beer on a regenerative farm, it seems Tucker’s side gig (and obsession) is her “mini-farm.”

“I experience February a little differently than most New Englanders,” she writes and then goes on to describe her house mid-winter: herbs in the kitchen; root crops and kale (brought in from the outdoors) in the living room; avocado tree in the bedroom; fig, lime, banana and cherry tomatoes growing under lights in the dining room.

Tiny Victory Gardens provides all the tips and tools you need to start your own indoor, or indoor/outdoor mini farm.

If you don’t trust the potting soil purchased in bags (Tucker doesn’t particularly seem to), Tiny Victory Gardens includes recipes for you to make your own. There’s a section on raised beds.

There are planting charts so you can

keep the fresh food ready for picking for as long a season as possible. There’s information on indoor composting, and DIY pollination, what plants to put under lights, and how to make really pretty pots of edibles.

There is truly something for everyone in this book. If you are a longtime gardener and deep into your own method, you will want this book to swap tips and compare notes with this master-grower. If you’re looking to take the pandemic garden into year two (or year one, for that matter) you will undoubtedly find answers to your questions, and tips to make your garden, whatever size it may be, more abundant.

So I’ll just conclude on this note: you need this book. Head down to Branch on Bowen to pick up a copy of Tiny Victory Gardens. Branch is also carrying copies of Acadia Tucker’s other two books. Until April 6, proceeds from all three go to support BIFS. For more information about BIFS, drop us an email at hellobifs@gmail. com. We’d love to hear from you.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A7

BOWEN NATURE CLUB

A brief history of beavers on Bowen?

ALAN WHITEHEAD

Bowen Nature Club

There were no beavers on Bowen Island / Nex̱ wlélex̱ m when my young family and I moved here in the early spring of 1988.

Beavers first appeared, if memory serves me, in the early 1990s in the Lagoon and soon moved upstream all the way to Killarney Lake. Longtime residents told me there had been muskrats, which had been trapped out in the first half of the 20th century, but told no similar stories of beaver. Fast-forward a few decades and beavers, their dams, lodges and cut vegetation can be found in many places, especially though not exclusively in the Killarney-Terminal watershed.

There is a ton of fascinating information on beavers, on the internet and in libraries. What interests me here, though, is their history on Bowen Island. Were they present before the early 1990s? Where did they come from? How did they get here? Are they here to stay?

My hypothetical answers below,

which admittedly may be incorrect, are based on the stories I’ve heard, reviews of beaver ecology, and personal observations on- and off-Bowen over the years, not to mention a liberal dose of speculation.

The beavers’ arrival in the 1990s was on the east side of Bowen via Deep Bay. It is, therefore, very likely that they must have come from the Fraser valley lowlands, where beaver populations have been increasing over the past century as a result of the decline in trapping, construction of drainage canals, and other changing land uses.

Beavers are strong swimmers.

Although they live in fresh and brackish water, they are known to cross significant spans of saltwater; this happens particularly when the young adults are dispersing away from their birth habitat after their second year. Beavers have no trouble navigating the waters between the mouth of the Fraser River and Bowen Island and beyond.

Initially, based on the old-timers’ accounts, I thought that beavers may never have been present

Snow on one of Killarney Lake’s well-observed beaver lodges in January 2021. on Bowen until the last decade of the 20th century. Mature coniferous forest in a mountainous setting with few permanent streams does not normally provide ideal beaver habitat. Once I started to explore the island, however, I discovered what appeared to be the remains of three ‘ancient’ beaver dams at the marsh known as Mud Lake, above Killarney Lake on the west side of Collins Mountain.

The uppermost dam retains water in Mud Lake itself; the next two create the ponds at the headwaters of upper Honeymoon Creek that flows into Honeymoon Lake.

Growing along the crest of each dam is a line of several large red cedar trees. Their large diameter, up to about 18 inches, suggests that the dams have been there since well before the early 1990s. Currently, descendants

of the latest wave of immigrant beavers have again taken up residence at Mud Lake, where a lodge and beaver-cut trees can also be seen. Other ancient beaver dams, or their remains, may also have been present elsewhere on Bowen.

However, all of the island’s main lakes, which are the obvious places to look for beaver history, have been dammed for human water supply; the higher water levels and natural decomposition would have erased any traces of dams or lodges or beaver-cut stumps.

Are the beavers now here to stay? Yes, but only in the best habitats. Judging from the large girth of some of the cedars that have been gnawed as a source of bark for food, I suspect that life is not easy for the young beavers that, during their dispersal, try out the more remote locations. In these

ALAN WHITEHEAD PHOTO

areas, the preferred forage plants are scarce, and streams and wetlands tend to go dry during the late summer and early fall, leaving beaver dams temporarily useless. In the prime habitats, however, such as Crippen Regional Park, the new municipal park at Grafton Lake, and possibly other existing and future protected areas, beavers will likely endure thanks to the continuing abundance of year-round food and shelter habitat and a connection to Howe Sound for dispersal and recruitment of mates to maintain genetic diversity.

Please feel free to help us fill the gaps in Bowen Island’s natural history. To contribute any additional information that you may have on the history of beavers and their present distribution on Bowen Island, you can contact us at BowenNatureClub@gmail.com.

Patient of the Week MITZI Meet Mitzi! This beautiful girl visited us recently for her wellness exam. She received a few vaccinations and went home with Revolution Plus which is used for the prevention of fleas, ticks and intestinal parasites in our feline friends. Fleas and Ticks are most common in the spring time, so make sure to get your animals on prevention just like Mitzi’s owner did.

REGULAR HOURS Tuesday to Friday 9- 5 Saturday 9- 1 Closed Sunday and Monday

To schedule appointments, please call

604.947.9247

or email reception@bowenvet.com

A8 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Breaking ground for the new fire hall BRONWYN BEAIRSTO / UNDERCURRENT PHOTO

Bill Hayes, Coun. Alison Morse, BIM corporate officer Hope Dallas, BIM fire chief Aaron Hanen, BIM Mayor Gary Ander, BIM deputy fire chief Ian Thompson, Cro Lucas, and former fire chief Brian Biddlecombe break ground on the new fire hall on Miller Road the afternoon of March 22.

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor

SHED WORKS Handy Couple PAUL LIESKE CARPENTRY- Home & Retail Furnishings, Outdoor Furniture & Garden Boxes, Decks, Sheds, Cottages INSTALLATIONS

BASIA LIESKE Design - Furniture, Interior Decor Painting - Interior & Colour Consultation

Furniture Refinishing Home Organization Event Planning

More than 60 years after an unused wood shed at what’s now Bowen Court became Bowen Island’s first fire hall, ground broke (ceremonially) on the new fire hall and emergency operations centre not a kilometre away March 22.

A selection of councillors, members of the Fire Hall Facilities Steering Committee and Liberty Contract Management attended the brief photo op at the Miller Road site.

“It is a bit unbelievable,” said Cro Lucas afterward. He’s been on the fire hall committee since 2009. “You reach a point where you say to yourself it’s just never going to happen.

“But it has to happen because it’s such a critical thing.

“This is an awesome thing,” said Mayor Gary Ander. “Considering the amount of time that’s been spent getting this to where it’s at.

“It’ll be nice to have a new home for the volunteer firefighters – they have some pride in their operation here,” said Ander.

“And the building won’t fall down if

OCCUPANCY ANTICIPATED IN LATE 2021

there’s an earthquake,” added BIM Coun.

Alison Morse – she was there when the fire hall committee was struck in the early 2000s.

After a 2001 seismic study found that the Grafton Road fire hall, built in 1969 on land the Davies family donated and expanded from two to four bays in 1977, would likely fail during a moderate earthquake, the search was on for solutions. In 2011, BIM built the Adams Road satellite fire hall and in 2017, Bowen Islanders agreed 81 per cent in favour of borrowing up to $3 million for a new fire hall.

A fire hall design proposed in 2018 came in millions over budget during the bidding process but BIM awarded the contract for a much simpler but still post-disaster building last year.

The $3.7 million project has seen local controversy over cost and location of the building (on the desirably flat Lot 3 of the Community Lands).

The building drawings for the site are now available at bowenislandmunicipality. ca/fire-hall.

Anticipated occupancy is late this year, says the BIM website.

BITS bids folks to go outside for new April challenge

NO JOB TOO SMALL 604-947-0640 basialieske@gmail.com

It’s simple. We’re challenging you to get outside for a minimum of 30 minutes every day in April.

You can run, walk, hike, bike, golf, paddle, swim heck you can rollerskate or chop firewood if you want.

Sign up by emailing: bowenislandtrailsociety@

gmail.com to get your April 30 X 30 Outside Challenge tracking sheet.

Weekly random prize draws can be won by anyone, any speed, any pace, any activity - no preferential prizes here! Once you’ve joined the challenge, join our online communities @

bowenislandtrailsociety and tag us #getoutsidebowen to share your adventures and to be inspired by others!

Favourite photos will be featured on the BITS social media accounts: Instagram and Facebook.

Lisa Brougham, Bowen Island Trail Society

Mini Excavation Quality Earthworks Services Licensed Contractor on Bowen

updynamic

604-366-9386 | info@updynamic.ca | updynamic.ca

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A9

• SPRING 2021 •

BOWEN ISLAND REAL ESTATE GUIDE • WHAT SOLD WHAT’S NEXT

949 Arbutus Lane 949 ARBUTUS BAY LANE

FRAZER ELLIOTT Realtor®

604.910.3401

$3,990,000

Specializing in BOWEN ISLAND and HOWE SOUND

felliottbowen@gmail.com | bowenhomes.ca Top 10% of Realtors in the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

2020

A10 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

1681 Whitesails • $1,650,000

202 Highland Trail • $929,000

Five acres of stunning property overlooking Tunstall Bay. This spectacular property features two established build sites, each with world class sunsetside views looking towards the Pasley Islands and the Sunshine Coast. Offering complete privacy. Power and communication conduits, and water line, installed part way to build sites.

This is a one-of-a-kind and very special Bowen home. Featuring a unique I-beam construction, and situated to take advantage of the sunny southern views stretching out across the water to UBC. Enter into an open plan main floor, with access to a partially-covered deck off the living room. Bedrooms upstairs, and storage/office space below - complete with its own, additional covered deck space. Outside features a private and sunny fenced yard and multiple spaces to garden or put up a greenhouse.

891 Hummingbird Lane • $1,300,000

Remainder DL 3042 • $3,500,000

One of the few remaining undeveloped waterfront properties left in Queen Charlotte Heights. Looking out across Howe Sound towards Black Mountain, Whytecliff, Lighthouse Park, and beyond.

Featuring a cleared build site, and close to Snug Cove and the park at Dorman Point.

47 acres of bare land in Bluewater. Subdivision/ development potential, or could be an exceptional private forest estate. Features view points and trails, and close to Clipper and Crayola Beaches, as well as trails up and around Mount Gardner.

1531 Eaglecliff Road • $1,998,000

207 - 726A Belterra Road • $449,000 Small but smartly conceived, this bright studio apartment is thoughtfully appointed throughout, with high ceilings, infloor radiant heat, and a landscaped patio with views of the North Shore Mountains. Includes access to the Common Building - which features guest accommodation, a workshop, communal kitchen/rec areas and kids play rooms – as well as gardens, parking and storage.

Enticing south/southeast Eaglecliff waterfront estate on 1.75 acres. The main home features three bedrooms, den, family room opening on to the kitchen and a sun-drenched deck with a sunken pool. The property has a stunning panoramic outlook towards Horseshoe Bay and Passage Island.

Also included is a detached one bedroom cottage - which is set away from the main house for total privacy.

279 Jason Road • $499,000

Frazer’s March Sales:

This 1/3rd acre building lot is largely flat, close to the Cove, very private, and within quick walking distance of Miller’s Landing Beach. Views of the North Shore Mountains to the east, and a filtered view of the ocean to the south. Plenty of room for gardens, and in a great family neighbourhood.

FRAZER ELLIOTT Realtor®

604.910.3401

1134 Miller Road Lot 3 Foxglove Lane Lot 4 Foxglove Lane Lot 5 Foxglove Lane Specializing in BOWEN ISLAND and HOWE SOUND

felliottbowen@gmail.com | bowenhomes.ca Top 10% of Realtors in the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

2020

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Enthusiastic.

Responsive.

Personable.

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A11

Knowledgeable.

“When the time came to sell our house on Bowen, we approached Mary Lynn as she had recently sold a couple of houses in our neighbourhood and came highly recommended.

We were impressed by Mary Lynn’s visually stunning marketing materials.

604.220.7085

We found her to be diligent and hard-working. She was good at keeping us

buyonbowen.com

abreast of developments and she made the whole process quite painless, even during a pandemic.

Mary Lynn is outstanding! We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.”

2020 AWARD of EXCELLENCE in sales

-Paul & Molly

202 Highland Trail

$929,000

1313 Oceanview Road

$879,000

Lot 4 Foxglove Lane

$326,000

SOLD

SOLD As Buyer’s Agent

7 days on the market Multiple Offers

1134 Miller Road

$749,000

207-726A Belterra Road

$449,000

SOLD As Buyer’s Agent Multiple Offers

ACCEPTED OFFER Buyer’s Agent

ACCEPTED OFFER Buyer’s Agent

Lot 10 Foxglove Lane

$395,000

SOLD As Buyer’s Agent

A12 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

“Barry is an exceptional guide and advisor ....He’s the most professional and thorough REALTOR® we’ve worked with, and his calm, friendly style helps take the stress out of the situation.”

- T&K, 2020

“Throughout the offer and purchase process, Barry was incredibly responsive, detail oriented, thorough, professional, and always friendly..... I would strongly recommend Barry as a REALTOR®!”

- M&A, 2020

“ Barry is the consummate professional who

was at our side every step of the way. He really goes the extra mile to set you up for the best outcome! We highly recommend Barry to anyone currently looking to sell on Bowen Island as well as to those considering making Bowen Island their new home.”

IT’S A SELLERS MARKET. A PERFECT TIME TO LIST YOUR HOME! CALL ME TODAY!

604-947-9738

- T&A, 2020

Personal Real Estate Corporation

For Sale by Owner

Belterra Cohousing on Bowen Island

2 Bed / 2 Bath $725,000

wner O y b r Sale 0,000 o 0 f 7 e $ m H Ho /2 BAT 1 2 M 2 BDR

Belterra Cohousing Bowen Island

Enjoy community and

island living in your cer fied BuiltGreen® energy efficient home.

Cohousing is a great way to live sustainably. Built in 2015, this 2-storey, 1036 sf home boasts breathtaking views, modern appliances, in-floor heat, 9 ceilings, landscaped pa o, and plenty of storage. Residents share gardens and the 3700 sq. � Common House with guest rooms and a wood working shop.

Built in 2015, this 867 sf home

Zoom Open House

Sunday, March 28, 2021, 3:00pm For detailed brochure or to request a COVID-safe viewing of #314 email: info@belterracohousing.ca

belterracohousing.ca

with fantas c views of the North Shore Mountains and Howe Sound has many custom features including: propane fireplace, modern kitchen with quartz countertops and Kitchen Aid stainless appliances, 9 ceilings, and a private deck. Enjoy community and island living in your cer fied BuiltGreen® energy efficient home. Cohousing is a great way to live sustainably. Residents co-own the gardens, 3700 sq. � Common House with guest rooms, and a complete workshop.

For detailed brochure or to request a COVID-safe viewing of #423 email: info@belterracohousing.ca

belterracohousing.ca

Delivered to your mailbox every week for $55 per year ($85 to off island addresses) 604-947-2442 ads@bowenislandundercurrent.com Thank you for your support of local journalism now and always.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A13

carmendives@gmail.com

Carmen Dives

www.bowenislandproperties.com

604-802-8267

340 CREEK ROAD $1,225,000 UNDER OFFER Craftsman style retreat on an eagles bluff with ocean views. Mature garden with updated irrigation system.

2 bdr with ensuites. office or 3 bdr. Large kitchen with dining area, loft style family room, and formal dining room. Close to Snug Cove.

SELLERS MARKET - LOW INVENTORY AND HIGH DEMAND Carmen’s sales January and February 2021.

Thinking about selling your home? I will be happy to talk with you about your property and how you can make the most of a busy marketplace. If you are ready to make the most of this hot real estate market, I will help you every step of the way to ensure you get the best return on your investment.

Even if you are just thinking about selling, give me a call for your no-obligation complimentary home evaluation today. Carmen

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

1156 SENATOR RD.

1096 FOXGLOVE LANE

1218 MILLER RD.

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

SAWMILL CRESCENT

1604 WHITESAILS ROAD

360 CREEK ROAD

WELCOME TO BOWEN! Marina, Dusty, Noah and Taco are getting ready to move to Bowen in a few weeks. Originally from Brazil and California, respectively, Marina and Dusty have called Vancouver home for many years, where they run a coffee roasting business. The idea of moving to Bowen seemed almost too idealistic until it became a reality!

They are dreaming of summer days on the beach, storm watching from their living room, and finding community in this magical place.

Peter Dives 604-802-8559

TESTIMONIAL “Carmen Dives has been an absolute pleasure to work with. Her caring attitude and professional demeanour have made us feel safe and comfortable with our transactions, and welcomed on a new island and home.

We really felt like she had our backs and not once felt pressured to take any steps we were not ready for. Buying and selling with her have been the best estate experiences we’ve ever had.” Marina and Dusty

www.bowenislandproperties.com

peterpdives@gmail.com If you are thinking of selling or buying a home Call Peter for a Complimentary Market Analysis and friendly knowledgeable advice.

A14 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Q2 and Q3 will continue to reward sellers

Most predictions are of continued growth through 2021 TIMOTHY RHODES Contributor

Where is the real estate market going in Q2 and Q3 of 2021 and beyond? Well not to infinity, but in the short term most predictions are of continued growth through 2021 and slowing through 2022.

The mid-March Canadian Real Estate Association quarterly forecast predicts national home sales to “fall by 12.6% [...] in 2022. This easing trend is expected to play out across Canada as higher prices and a lack of available supply impacts all areas of the country, as previously pent-up demand in exhausted, and as the urgency to purchase a home base to ride out the pandemic fades along with the virus itself. [...] On a monthly and quarterly basis, sales are forecast to begin trending down towards more typical levels through the latter half of 2021 and into 2022. Limited supply and higher prices are expected to tap the brakes on activity in 2022 compared to 2021.”

Robert Hogue of the Royal Bank of Canada, believes the Canadian housing market could see a record-breaking year in 2021 that sees a cool down in 2022 [and] estimates that sellers could continue dominating housing markets due to the low supply.

Murtaza Haider and Stephen Moranis, writing for the Financial Post, reported that “The rapid escalation of housing prices during a pandemic-induced recession is fueling debate about what’s behind the surge and whether regulators can or should

do something about it.”

Forecasters seem in agreement that the housing market looks good for sellers through Q2 and Q3 but the economic outlook coming out of COVID will have an impact on real estate, especially if mortgage rates begin to creep up. On March 11, the Financial Post reported that Moody’s Senior Vice President David Beattie “does not anticipate a persistent move higher in long-term bond yields or mortgage rates.

While rising yields indicate an improving economic outlook, the recovery is expected to remain “uneven and fragile,” he said in a note. ‘Will a 25-basis-point increase in the five-year rate dampen mortgage demand significantly? No,’ he told Reuters. ‘But a 100-basis-point increase would.’”

On Bowen, the lack of inventory has already begun to flatten the growth curve.

After a sharp increase in Average Sale Price from June through November 2020 (+39.2 per cent), the curve not only flattened, it declined slightly (-1.5 per cent) December through February. Even with this flattening, statistics show the market well ahead year-over-year. The Average Sale Price was up +35.8 per cent over February 2020, and while this was the largest YoY increase recorded across the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, including the Sunshine Coast and Whistler, Bowen is the only municipality which has shown a flattening trend in Average Sale Price since December 2021. MLS® Home Price Index, Median and Average Sold Price, Median Price per Square Foot, and Annual Dollar Volume of Sales set new record highs.

This is largely attributable to low

inventory. There are many reasons why sellers may be sitting back: They may have concerns about selling and moving during a pandemic; they may be waiting for prices to peak; or they themselves may be waiting to see more inventory. Historically, monthly levels are at their lowest at the end of January and rebound in February; this year they have continued to decline, matching the 10 year low recorded in January 2018.

Like other more rural areas, Bowen remains attractive to buyers, record high prices do not seem to be a barrier and, with Bowen’s low inventory, there is increased competition for desirable properties. If the changes from March 2020 have taught us anything, it’s that forecasting can fall well short of reality. This said Q2 and Q3 will continue to reward sellers.

1

YoY: Year-over-Year represents previous 12 months activity.

Timothy Rhodes, REALTOR® rhodesonbowen.com Angell Hasman & Associates Realty Ltd.

YoY Dollar Volume

6 Month Price Comparison 1500k 1250k 1000k Sep '20 Oct '20 Nov '20

MLS® detached home data only at 10 January 2021. Data source © 2021 Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. All rights reserved. Data deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

YoY Percentage Change

100

No. of Sales / Total Inventory / $ Per Square Foot

Dec '20 Jan'21

Feb '21

 MLS® HPI  Median Sale  Average Sale

YoY Percentage Change

50

Median Price / Average Price / MLS® HPI

50 0

0 2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

 Total Inventory  $ Per SF  No. of Sales

Timo othy Rhodes REALTO OR®

60 04-341--9488

tii m@rho o desonb b owen.com rhodesonbowen.com

Captivating views of Queen Charlotte Channel, city, and mountains—a view from every room. Lovingly maintained 3-storey home with 4 bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths, 2-car garage, and artist’s studio. Immaculate 3,311 sq.ft. with suite potential. $2,213,000.

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

 Med Price/SF  MLS® HPI  Average Sale

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A15

Everything you need this Spring and if we don't have it, we'll get it!

Framing Lumber & Plywood Finish Lumber & Flooring Doors, Windows, & Skylights Treated Lumber & Decking Cedar Lumber, Decking & Fencing Concrete Products, Bricks & Pavers Engineered Wood Products Roofing & Gutters Air Liquide Gases & Supplies

BOWEN BUILDING CENTRE 1013 GRAFTON ROAD • 604 - 947- 9622

Gardening Tools & Supplies Heating-Electric, Propane, Wood, Pellet Plumbing and Electrical Supplies Hand & Power Tools Household, Automotive Cleaning Items Paint Department Drainage Materials Water Tanks & Storage Septic Tanks

Helping islanders since 1972 Open Mon- Fri 7:30- 5 pm Saturday 8 -5 pm Closed Sunday

A16 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

ROTARY CLUB’S MARCH UPDATE

Do you have an idea to help connect people on Bowen in these challenging times?

Small grants. Beautiful ideas.

$50 to $500 grants to bring your project to life.

Lavender Love at Artisan Square PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Matzen

The Great Bowen Bunny Search PHOTO CREDIT: Emmett Sparling

Bowen’s Squamish Nation Name: Unveiling Ceremony PHOTO CREDIT: Len Gilday

Outdoor Exploration with Emily PHOTO CREDIT: Taliesen van Lidthe de Jeude Roemer

King Edward Bay Invasive Plant Removal PHOTO CREDIT: Heather Prittie

FAST TURNAROUND ON DECISIONS SO YOU CAN START YOUR PROJECT RIGHT AWAY.

APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW bowenfoundation.com/responsive-neighbourhood-small-grants/ Have any questions? Contact Lisa at the Bowen Island Community Foundation: lisa.wrinch@bowenfoundation.com

First Class is Your First Choice for Reliable & Proven Property Management & Maintenance

Gutter Guard Installations

Zinc Strip Installations No more roof moss

FIRST CLASS

PROPERTY SERVICES

No more gutter cleaning

Call or text 778-998-7873

FULLY INSURED WORK SAFE BC COVERAGE STRICT COVID19 SAFETY

High Access Cleaning Experts

Windows, Roofs, & • Selling this Spring? Get Skylights More top dollar for your property

- Pre-book our "Curb Appeal" Exterior Staging Service to show off your well maintained home!

•Invest in your home's value and have year round peace BEFORE of mind with our Annual AFTER Maintenance Plans We clean •Maximize the life of your Professional roof and gutter systems driveways, docks, Pressure Washing with our worry-free decks and more! solutions!

Your Bowen Island Property Professionals since 2010

HILARY BUTLER

Bowen Rotary

With vaccines on the horizon for many of us on Bowen Island, we at our local Rotary club, are not alone in looking forward to being able to enjoy our socials and in-person meetings.

Despite the lack of personal contact, we have been busy on various projects. Bowen Island Recycling Depot now boasts a tent for the bottle and cans depot with the Rotary logo on it, after a Rotary donation to the project, thanks to the funds we raised by working at the depot last summer. We also have been helping the Bowen Island Fish and Wildlife Club on their herring net project and have installed nets in various island bays and are enjoying our expeditions to monitor them. No luck in finding herring in the nets so far but we live in hope! Our AED and house number projects are both going great guns, and now we have a new project to work on. One of our newer members, Matthew Harrison, is raising funds for a project at an orphanage in Lesotho, one of the most poverty-stricken countries in Africa. Matthew recently went to Lesotho to fetch his younger son, Pokani, from this orphanage, and is presenting his project to other Rotary clubs and groups of interested supporters.

MOVING TO BOWEN DURING A PANDEMIC:

The ‘pie-and-run’

For this edition we asked folks to send in some of their exceptional COVID experiences. Harmonie Roesch-West’s family moved to Bowen this past New Year’s Eve: “We were welcomed with ‘distanced’ neighbourly hospitality including a pie-andrun... We opened the door to find the pie but not the baker and yelled into the darkness in pursuit of identifying the dessert donor.

This was one lovely welcome amongst several. We look forward to getting to know our neighbours better and participating in community endeavours more, once normal life returns.”

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Kids get artistic in first Hearth Gallery Primary Colours show

excellence from the ground up PAVING:

RUNS MARCH 25-APRIL 12

interlock block, flagstone, slate, concrete products.

JAMI SCHEFFER

The Hearth

Everyone has a little bit (or a lot) of creativity to share. And learning art at school includes exploring a variety of mediums, from crayons to clay, from paint to photography as part of learning visual communication and as a way to creatively express and explore their curiosity.

The Hearth Gallery is providing their gallery space for these budding artists to display their refreshing artwork., and to share their original, quirky, out-of-box pieces for all to see.

This is the first year for the new Primary Colours Art Show, a collaboration between Bowen Island Community School and the Hearth Gallery. Many, many, many original art pieces from the students from BICS will fill the walls at the Hearth for all to enjoy from March 25 to April 12 (we are open Thursday to Monday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The show is also hosted virtually on our website. And if you are up for a small covid-friendly Artist pARTy, join us outside on our cultural corner patio on Saturday April 3 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for an afternoon

Spring Clean-Up will continue to follow our new format.

Decals will be available for sale at the Snug Cove General Store from April 4 to April 13 ONLY.

Drop off will be done by appointment ONLY. Once you have picked up your decal, you can call Bowen Waste Solutions @ 604-947-2255 to book an appointment.

The final day for booking appointments will be Friday, April 16 at 3:00 PM. A limited number of appointments will be made available.

STONEWORK:

retaining walls, steps, stone cladding, pillars.

CONCRETE:

PHOTO SUBMITTED

retaining walls, walkways, steps, driveways.

This photo of Trey was taken on a class walking field trip and shows that students are looking at things in new ways: including upside down! Students went to the Killarney Meadows to draw inspiration from the past and present to create artworks for the Primary Colours exhibit at the Hearth Gallery.

The artworks and art cards that are sold as part of this exhibit will overall go towards creating more creative opportunities for Bowen Island youth in the classroom and in the community!

CARPENTRY:

decks, steps, fences, retaining walls, pergolas, sheds & outbuildings.

WATER FEATURES: ponds, waterfalls, fountains.

** CERTIFIED LIVE ROOF INSTALLATION ** ** SMALL LOADS DELIVERED **

of music by DJ Yeshe and the art from our Kids From the Rock.

If you’d like to support all the great work the Hearth (Bowen Island Arts) does, please consider purchasing an annual family membership by visiting www.thehearth.ca.

778.899.0720 www.creative-landscapes.ca

SPRING CLEAN-UP 2O21 Fees Small Load: $25

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous Waste and Paint Recycling

Spring Clean-up Days

NOT Accepted:

May 1, 2021 • 9:30 am - 3:00 pm @Bowen Island Recycling Depot No fees to drop off hazardous waste or paint.

Limit for all products is 10 containers per visit.

Paints and stains Approximately 5 garbage bags

Medium Load: $50

Flammable Liquids Or container says Keep Away From Open Flame or Spark

Approximately 10 garbage bags

• •

Large LEVEL Load: $100

Drop off of materials will be inside the BIRD yard from Monday, April 19 to Saturday, April 24 ONLY.

Liquids only Paint thinners, other solvents, camp fuels or liquid adhesives with the flammable symbol Max container size: Kerosene 9L Other liquids 10L

Pesticides

The contents of a level pick-up truck load

Mattress or Appliance: $35

•

Consumer pesticides with the poisonous (skull & crossbones) symbol AND “Pest Control Product” registration number (REG #12345 PCP ACT) Max container size: 10L

Gasoline

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca

Wastte Solluttions www.bowenwastesolutions.com

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A17

•

Products that cannot be identified

•

Products that are leaking or improperly sealed

•

Empty containers

•

Commercial, industrial, or agricultural products

•

Cosmetics, health and beauty aids

•

Insect repellants, disinfectants, and pet products

•

Diesel, propane, and butane fuels

•

Caulking tubes

•

Fertilizer

Used oil & automotive products Burnaby Ecco Center 4855 Still Creek Drive 604-294-7972 For items not found on this list, please call BC Recycling Hotline 604-732-925

Per mattress or appliance

• In approved ULC containers only Max container size: 20L

PLEASE NOTE: • 1 Decal per household only • Non-complying loads are subject to refusal

Questions?

Please call Bowen Waste Solutions

604-947-2255

A18 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Get to know your neighbour

NEXT UP IN OUR NEW Q&A SERIES: BAWN CAMPBELL At the beginning of the year we started these Q&As as a way of getting to know Bowen Islanders while our other ways of connecting (running into one another at the grocery store, Bowfest, BookFest, craft fairs and so on) are unavailable. Thank you to everyone who has participated so far! What would you like to ask your neighbours? Send us a note at editor@bowenisalndundercurrent.com.

And now: Bawn Campbell When did you come to Bowen?

We bought our home in late 1985 after viewing several homes. It was the first of four homes we viewed.

What brought you to Bowen Island?

PHOTO COURTESY OF BAWN CAMPBELL

We were living in Pemberton Heights at the time so checked out North Vancouver, Gibsons, and the Sunshine coast on the recommendation of a co-worker. The former was out of our price range and the Sunshine Coast was too far for us.

I remember on our tour with Peter Dives (our realtor) seeing how kid-friendly Bowen seemed to be. We were pregnant with Jason at that time.

Where on Bowen do you live?

Where the stars remind me that I am so small, travelling on a ball travelling 67,000 mph or around 107,000 kmp, around our sun and spinning at approximately 1,000 mph. Never a dull moment.

We still live in Bluewater and still think we will be here for some time yet, god willing.

Fill the ferry lineup gap or don’t fill the gap?

Now this is controversial but I will answer truthfully.

If I’m 30 minutes early I will fill in the gaps so I can go to my old departed friend’s family business (The Snug) and get breakfast.

If I arrive and the line is filled up past or near the crosswalk I fill in there.

Sorry to disappoint.

What’s your favourite Bowen fact?

The fact that this community for the most

part genuinely cares about the people in this community. My life is made better from those people. I try to remember to say that as often as I can.

There are so many kind-hearted individuals. I observe how caring the people who serve us in all the businesses and services I use are.

Also there are 25 and counting AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) courtesy of the work being done by the Rotary Club of Bowen Island and others.

What’s something Bowen Islanders have in common?

See the above answer.

What’s your favourite COVID-19 balm or activity?

Remembering that life is short. It has taken me a long time to recognize that fact.

That saying that you can’t take anything with you is so true. We have a chance to create a little bit of heaven right here on earth; why waste the opportunity.

Words to live by: Peace will be mankind’s greatest achievement.

COVID-19 VACCINE INFORMATION FOR SENIORS

SENIORS, IT’S TIME TO BOOK YOUR COVID-19 VACCINATION. Visit vch.ca for age groups now eligible or scan the QR code for more information.

APPOINTMENT BOOKINGS Call the VCH vaccine appointment booking line at 1-877-587-5767 based on your age group.

The phone line will be open daily from 7 am – 7 pm.

VCH Vaccine Clinic Information: Visit vch.ca

Clinical questions: Please speak with your family doctor, nurse practitioner, or call 8-1-1

Questions about COVID-19: Call 1-888-COVID19 or visit gov.bc.ca/covid19

bowenislandundercurrent.com

12 SPRING THINGS

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A19

WE LOVE ON BOWEN

1

1

2

3

4

3

5

6

9

10

Hop back to it !

7

11

3. BOWEN PUB Patio season is upon us! Join 1. FLORA SHAMANA BLOOMS 2.

Ice cream at the us on our heated lower patio, A Bowen Island Flower Farm UNION STEAMSHIP is with the return of live music offering Seasonal Fresh Flower here again!

Window open outside and the launch of our subscriptions,Individual am to 5 pm daily. Enjoy new summer cocktails!…

Bouquets, and Arrangements. 10 all your favourite flavours Open seven days a week for Visit fsblooms.com or find my in Sunshine or Spring lunch, dinner and weekend flowers at Ruddy Potato starting Showers. brunch. www.bowenpub.com in mid April, and the Bowen Farmer's Market in mid May. 8. BRANCH on BOWEN 9. MOVEMENT GLOBAL 7.ARTISAN EATS For gifters who gift good Welcome Spring with ecoHead up to Artisan Eats gifts. Our beautiful shop is fashion vegetable cashmere for a freshly baked filled with unique wares designed on Bowen. croissant and late or a from all over with a focus Shop online at mimosa under the sun, www.movementglobal.com on artists and makers umbrellas are up on the or book an appointment to from British Columbia. patio! www.branchonbowen.com shop in store. 778-863-7770

support local

8

12

4.BOWEN ISLAND SEA 5. UNION STEAMSHIP 6. DOC MORGAN'S KAYAKING COTTAGES Fresh Oysters Thursday Opening day is Saturday - Cottage Rentals great Sunday! Also, check out April 3. Join us for new for when you have guests new menu items for adventures plus 2-for-1 visiting! Call 604-947Spring! www.

Tuesdays are back. Save 0707 x 2 docmorgans.ca on kayak and paddle for reservations board rentals Tuesdays WWW.USSC.CA until June 30. Visit bowenislandkayaking.com 12. THE SNUG 11. UNION STEAMSHIP down to The Snug COMPANY STORE Enjoy Head 10. SALON CALYPSO and bask in the joy of AND SHIATSU BY VICKY Spring with fresh new Spring with the happy Nothing feels more special scents from the Union planted live tables or more rejuvanating than Steamship Company wherever you look. a new look for Spring or a Store. 35% off on select scents to June 21st, 2021.

Shiatsu massage. At Michel Design’s Nest & Artisan Square.

Eggs and Seashell, Inis and Oceanfront all included in our special promotion!

A20 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Ron and Heather Woodall at BICS March 19.

Lauretta Milsted, 96, and her son Nelson.

Erwen Smith.

Paul Tennant.

Vaccine clinic continues Friday as seniors 70+ eligible CONTINUED FROM P. 1

DEPARTS SUN to THURS FRI & SA. ed SNUG COVE 11:15PM ns suspend5AM r ru HORSESHOE BAY 12:30AM m mu t e o c d n a t h ig S Afternoon Commuter Runs Late n

Mon - Fri Horseshoe Bay - Snug Cove

We’re still here for essential services such as ambulance transport and we’re here for your private charter needs. Please feel free to call us with your questions as we chart these waters together.

Proudly Celebrating 42 Years of Trusted Transport for Bowen Island & Howe Sound Telephone: 604-947-2243 Cellular: 604-250-2630 Tug & Barge services Special Event Cruises

PRIVATE CHARTERS AVAILABLE ANYTIME email: cormorantmarine@telus.net web: cormorantwatertaxi.com

604-947-2243

Since 1978

The seniors waited in the plastic folding chairs for 15 minutes – health staff monitoring in case any of the newly immunized Boweners had an adverse reaction to the vaccine – and then went on their way, through the back door.

“It was so organized,” said Paul Tennant, Belterra’s oldest resident (“So they take good care of me,” he laughs) and one of the earliest jabees on Bowen Friday. “I got here early and got right in and shot through.”

Mount Gardner resident Lauretta Milsted, 96, too came in for the jab with her son Nelson. “So far so good,” she said, sitting at the back after the vaccination. “It’s good that I’ve had it.”

Erwen Smith’s wife had to cancel her appointment the morning of the immunizations, but she managed to rebook for the second island clinic, scheduled to take place March 26. He got to get his vaccination though. “It’s

Places of Worship Welcome You BOWEN ISLAND UNITED CHURCH Now offering a youtube channel of reflections and hymn/songs with Reverend Lorraine Ashdown and Lynn Williams. youtubewatch?v=tejV7Y6jo

FOOD BANK DROP-OFF

Masses are live streamed everyday.

Times posted at holyrosarycathedral.org Contact Angela Powell 604-947-2515

www.cateshillchapel.com 604-947-4260 (661 Carter Rd.)

Now offering worship services via Zoom.

A link available on website.

Pastor: Phil Adkins

Bowen Islanders born in 1951 or ear-

lier or Indigenous people born in 1966 or earlier are eligible to book a COVID19 vaccination appointment.

Because of travel constraints and Bowen’s smaller population, vaccination eligibility follows a different schedule than the mainland Metro regions.

Eligible islanders are to call VCH’s appointment booking phone line at 1-877-587-5767 to register for an appointment and are to have on hand, a pen and paper, personal health number, full name, date of birth, postal code and phone number.

The phone line is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The next Bowen Island vaccination clinic is March 26 between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. though it’s best to check the VCH website for the latest information (vch.ca/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine).

Bowen is listed under the “Sea to Sky” section of the ‘Where you can get vaccinated’ heading.

Queen of Capilano Ferry Schedule October 13 to May 15 2021 DEPART BOWEN ISLAND DEPART HORSESHOE BAY

ST. GERARD’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

CATES HILL CHAPEL

nice to know that one of us is over it and the other one’s to come.”

And Ron and Heather Woodall.

Nearly every week I call up Ron (ostensibly to talk about the cartoon but we usually wind up discussing obscure Bowenia or celebrities from his pre-island life). But this was my first time seeing the cartoonist in more than a year, despite living a few kilometres away. Heather clapped after getting her vaccine. Ron gave a thumbs up and cracked a few (deadpan) jokes with Dr. Susanne Schloegl (who was administering his vaccine).

Schloegl instructed Ron not to congregate with the other Bowen Islanders at the back of the room – to instead sit in the plastic folding chairs – as he, Heather, Paul, Lauretta and Erwen waited their 15 minutes after the vaccine and then went on their way, back to (relative) isolation.

5:20 am except Sundays 6:20 am 7:30 am 8:35 am 9:40 am 10:50 am 12:00 pm 1:10 pm 2:55 pm 4:00 pm except Wednesdays 5:10 pm 6:15 pm 7:25 pm Mon Wed Th Fri 7:26 pm Tue Sun 8:30 pm 9:30 pm 10:30 pm

5:50 am 6:50 am 8:00 am 9:05 am except Wednesdays 10:15 am 11:25 am 12:35 pm 2:20 pm 3:30 pm 4:35 pm 5:45 pm 6:50 pm 8:00 pm except Saturdays 9:00 pm 10:00 pm

Note: Schedules subject to change without notice: Please check BCFERRIES.COM Schedule changes on statutory holidays

bowenislandundercurrent.com

MUNI NOTSO MORSELS

Visual Effects Artists

Cidery means of maintaining heritage orchard: council CONTINUED FROM P. 1

While a rezoning can take two years of consultations, reports and reviews, a TUP can pass over the course of two council meetings. Some also took issue with the short notice period for comment – a letter from nearby property owners said some had five business days’ notice to have submissions included in the planner’s report. The letter requested that the TUP be denied and a rezoning be submitted instead.

Concerns of increased tourism and traffic to the property – seven kilometres from the ferry dock – with feared effects on a nearby equestrian business, neighbourhood character and use of the nearby Mount Gardner trails too factored into the opposition. As did concerns about water use and waste water (Purdy says they’re working with VCH) and environmental effects.

Council, on the other hand, emphasized that this is a means to protect the 1,200 tree orchard with more than 800 apple varieties. “The orchard itself is almost like a national treasure,” said Mayor Gary Ander. “It is very unique.”

Coun. Sue Ellen Fast pointed to another apple orchard on Cortez Island that “blinked out” after family circumstances changed.

“I think of it as a gene bank,” said Fast. “A living collection of trees. And as we head into a climate that won’t be as stable for agriculture, I think it’s even more important to have.”

While she ultimately supported the TUP (which council amended to restrict space to what’s being used now – no expansion) Fast spoke in support of sending the permit back to staff and working through the concerns of scale, environment and neighbourhood division. “I’m reluctant for council to get involved in a neighbour dispute,” she said. “I think there could be lots of common ground if they have a chance to find it.”

Fast suggested that BIM may need to revise its TUP process and that she’d bring something forward in the future.

“The issue has come down to…this misunderstanding around the scale,” said Coun. David Hocking. “It’s all tiny.

There’s a tiny little patio, there’s a tiny little tasting room, there will be no food served, there will be no washrooms, so nobody’s going to be staying very late and making a racket. It’s the kind of thing that fits in perfectly to that little neighborhood.”

Coun. Maureen Nicholson said that it seems reasonable to her to propose a cidery to maintain the heritage orchard, something which requires a lot of labour. Nicholson also pointed to alignment between the cidery and the Official Community Plan’s economic development goals. Among them, “We will promote economic activity that builds on diversity, sustainability, innovation, and creativity,” she said. “I think this particular proposal ticks all

Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A21

needed immediately -work from home.

those boxes.”

Coun. Michael Kaile brought up that this a highly regulated business (regulated through the liquor board). He also hearkened to his work on the Bowen branding exercise, looking at what was “quintessentially Bowen.” “To me, this very special enterprise, this remarkable…legacy is one of those businesses that does define us,” he said.

Coun. Rob Wynen commented that having a TUP means BIM has some control over what happens and testing out what works rather than the more permanent rezoning. Coun. Morse similarly said that TUPs “are an ideal way to see if the business will work,” and how it’ll work with council-imposed conditions, pointing to the cannabis shop as an example.

Martin clarified that if the conditions laid out in the TUP aren’t being met, it could be cancelled, or, the business licence pulled.

Editor’s note: Coverage of the rest of March 22 meeting: a sweeping regulatory bylaw (which regulates camping, fireworks and other use of public spaces) that passed first reading; water districts’ progress updates and the possibility of a new modular building on the community school property for Bowen Children’s Centre’s after school program, will come next week. I ran out of space.

Empress Labs is looking for any recent graduate of animation or VFX to help out on immediate work.

Training will be provided as needed. Ideally, you have a working understanding of an animation pipeline, familiar with either Katana, Nuke or Houdini and are able to be self directed for the work at hand. Work can be done from home as long as you have a decent internet connection and laptop.

go to to www.studiocrew.ca to apply and you will get contacted by Jason via email if you are a suitable candidate.

Looking for Home to rent Lived on Bowen for over 2 years. My home in Bluewater has been sold and must leave my Yurt house. No car - I ride an e-bike. Non-smoking quiet lifestyle (no parties) No pets. Looking to rent May 1st. Will sign lease $1500-2000.

References upon request.

David Berger 604-690-0616 catgentlemanwh@gmail.com

Book your complimentary meet & greet and first walk or drop in. Rates are $25 for group hikes and start at $15 for drop-ins.

Dog Walking Group Hikes Individual Walks Socialization

778 898 5950 |

Cat Care

Home Visits Litter Maintenance Playtime

www.barkpetcare.ca

30+ YEARS IN BUSINESS FULLY INSURED WORKSAFE BC COVERAGE

All of our employees follow strict COVID-19 prevention protocols.

Feel free to ask us!

Carriacou Kids Soccer Team at Dover School.

CALL US TODAY FOR INFORMATION ON GARAGE DOOR INSTALLATION, SERVICE & REPAIR.

604.741.5231 WWW.CANADIANDOORMASTER.COM “Unhinged” Womens Soccer Team.

Thanks to Sunshine Coast Youth Soccer Association.

Unit 124 - 1877 Field Rd., Wilson Creek. BC 59 Bewicke Ave, North Vancouver, BC 3115 Underhill Ave, Burnaby, BC

A22 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Your Community

MARKETPLACE bowenislandundercurrent.com

Call or email to place your ad, Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

604-444-3000 • 604-653-7851 classifieds@van.net

HEALTH CARE ASSISTANT SPROTTSHAW.COM

BC WIDE CLASSIFIEDS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE Transport Canada - Abandoned TO THE OWNER(S) OF THE VESSEL Sea Doo white and purple. License 33K7248 - at Hutt Island, BC has been found.

If you are the owner(s), or if you have any information about the owner(s), contact Transport Canada before 30 days from the date of the posted notice, at npppac-ppnpac@tc.gc.ca or 604-775-8867 and reference file W2021-501871.

EMPLOYMENT

GENERAL EMPLOYMENT Wanted: Exp’d Diamond Drillers and Helpers for busy 2021 exploration season in Yukon. For consideration send resume, copy of First Aid, TDG, WHMIS certificates plus drivers abstract to Employment@kluanedrilling.ca

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Join our Join the growing conversation at conversation at network! www.facebook.com/BIUndercurrent

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INVENTORS! Ideas wanted!

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Barns, shops, riding arenas, machine sheds and more. adam.s@integritybuilt.com 1-250-351-5374. www.integritybuilt.com

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1.800.218.2909 or visit us at inventing.davison.com/BC

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FLU SHOTS FOR OUR PATIENTS

To advertise please call 604-947-2442 or email ads@bowenislandundercurrent.com

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Thursday, March 25, 2021 • A23

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

ONGOING MARCH 25  APRIL 12

Primary Colours Art Show The Hearth Gallery ThursdayMonday 11 am-4 pm BICS youths’ art works

THURSDAY MARCH 25

Rotary Club talk: Emily van Lidth de Jeude Zoom 7:30 pm “Check bowenrotary.com for Zoom invite. Emily van Lidthe de Jeude spent most of her childhood exploring the forests around her home, this led to a life long passion of connecting to nature.

Today as an artist, explorative learning consultant and lifelong environmentalist, Emily works to

help others feel empowered and engaged in their own ecosystems.

Emily will be speaking about the delights of foraging locally and finding your own food source.”

SUNDAY MARCH 28

Outdoor Meditation Circle Meet at the Crippen Park picnic tables 11 am Restarting after pausing in Nov. due to COVID restrictions. “We meet no matter the weather so dress warmly. We will be sitting apart and I ask that you wear a mask please.” Email lisa. shatzky@gmail.com for details

WEDNESDAY MARCH 31

Storytime with Aubin Live on Zoom from the Bowen

Island Public Library 10:30-11:00 am Register at bipl.link/storytime

THURSDAY APRIL 1

TOTI Presents: A Day of Fools YouTube and Zoom Webinar 7:30 pm “We’re bringing back the court jesters, the commedia characters and the class clown for a special night of tomfoolery.”

Komera Canada Zoom event Zoom 7:30 pm See website for invite: komeracanada.ca

WEDNESDAY APRIL 7

Storytime with Aubin Live on Zoom from the Bowen Island Public Library 10:30-11:00 am Register at bipl.link/storytime

MONDAY APRIL 12

MONDAY APRIL 26

Regular Council meeting Zoom 6:15 pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 14

Regular Council meeting Zoom 6:15 pm

THURSDAY APRIL 15

Storytime with Aubin Live on Zoom from the Bowen Island Public Library 10:30-11:00 am Register at bipl.link/storytime

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21

TOTI Presents: A New Hope by William Shakespeare YouTube and Zoom Webinar 7:30 pm What if the bard had written Star Wars? A Star Wars Day special

WEDNESDAY APRIL 28

Storytime with Aubin Live on Zoom from the Bowen Island Public Library 10:30-11:00 am Register at bipl.link/storytime Rotary Club speaker: Dr. Jack Taunton Zoom 7:30 pm Exercise After Covid, see website www.bowenrotary. com Storytime with Aubin Live on Zoom from the Bowen Island Public Library 10:30-11:00 am Register at bipl.link/storytime

TUESDAY MAY 4

And, why cook in pandemic when there’s Bowen take-out eats and drinks for every day of the week!

BOWEN HOME SERVICES love the life you live Window Blinds On Bowen

BOWEN ISLAND SPECIALISTS! QUALITY SERVICE GUARANTEED! Keep Calm and Call Econo

778-995-1902

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991 West First Street, North Vancouver, BC www.economovingandstorage.com NEW CONSTRUCTION RENOVATIONS RESTORATION ADDITIONS SECONDARY STRUCTURES UNIQUE OUTDOOR SPACES SUB CONTRACT WORK

Licensed Electrical Contractor 778.266.6465 www.bowenislandelectrical.com

BUILT GREEN BC BUILDER CONTACT US FOR A FREE QUOTATION WWW.WHITEHART.CA ADDRESS 302-566 ARTISAN LANE BOWEN ISLAND, BC PHONE 1 (778) 999-3434

live the life you love To reserve a spot on this page, contact us at 604-947-2442 or ads@bowenislandundercurrent.com

Landscape Lighting Irrigation

Seascape Bruce Culver

Office: 604-947-9686

Cell: 604-329-3045

A24 • Thursday, March 25, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

KING EDWARD BAY CLASSIC

BOWEN YOUR

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