the

Acorn
The Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy Number 25, Winter 2004

On Being and Becoming

- Bob Weeden
A dozen or so Islanders worked for a decade after the
Who are we today? Who do we want to become? mid 1980’s to get the Province to convert Salt Spring’s
crown lands into parks and reserves – a job, by the
Every organization – every person –
answers those questions incrementally
A Decade of the Conservancy – Your Photos
and almost unconsciously with every way, which is exceedingly well begun but not done.
action it takes and every in-action it chooses. Once in They formed the Crown Land Coalition to assure that
a while a dynamic organization like your Conservancy the work of persuasion was done by a broad array of
has to ask aloud and take time to answer. Island interests. In 1994
Mill Farm, Inside:
That’s a fine and On Being and Becoming..1
what we strategically President’s Page................2
did last located bit of Board Update....................2
month, private land Good Business...................2
with a amidst crown Director’s Page..................3
Channel Ridge..................5
full day’s lands, edged Earth Charter Youth.........6
discourse toward sale. Poem...........................6
by A registered Sharp-tailed Snakes..........7
directors charitable SSI Management Plan......8
and staff organization Birgit Bateman Cards.........8
Nature Reserve Signs........9
led by was needed to Office Space Wanted.........9
Peter head up local Broom Pull........................9
Lamb efforts to buy No Lassitude...................10
and the land, so Energy Strategy...............10
primed the leaders of All Things Precious.........11
Epiphyte Neophytes.......12
and Karen Hudson at 2000 Garry Oak Walk. Photo Anon. the Coalition
Wild Whales...................13
regulated by facilitator created the Salt Maniacal Mushrooms......14
John Sanderson. I hope my summary carries the main Spring Island Conservancy. Trail and Nature Club......15
messages, though inevitably with my own spin. Fundraiser Help Needed..15
The Conservancy was built Patience.........................16
Mammals Talk................17
I want to hit the November 22 starting line running, to last. It was given a sharp Call for Submissions........17
by a well-squeezed history of the years of change focus – promoting, acquiring Office Update.................17
before 2003. and managing natural Small Actions.................17
Continued on page 4 Recognizing Volunteers...18
Haiku Contest.................18
http://saltspring.gulfislands.com/conservancy Leaving a Legacy...............19

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President’s Page

Moments of Truth
- Peter Lamb an unprecedented assault on the environment and
local community interests. Bill 46,the Working
There are moments of truth in life when a word or Forests Initiative and “strategic sale of Crown Land”;
a phrase resonates in one’s mind and captures the Bill 48, permitting aquaculture even when opposed
essence of what one believes but cannot articulate. by local authorities; Bill 75, the Significant Projects
Such a moment came to Streamlining Act giving
me during the height of the Provincial Government
the battle with Texada the power to fast-track
Land Corporation over designated projects and
logging in south-west override any legislation
Salt Spring, in an article that might impede their
written by the late Jan van progress; Bill 84, which
Stolk of Salt Spring. He amends Parks and Protected
was a Past President of the Areas Acts to allow resorts
Canadian Physicians for or lodges in parks at the
the Prevention of Nuclear Minister’s discretion and
War which received a directional drilling for oil
Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 and natural gas under parks
for their humanitarian and protected areas; Bill
work. Jan wrote “ It Beach Combers at 2002 Beach Walk with David Denning. 85, enabling BC Hydro
seems as if some possible Photo Courtesy Tamar Griggs to be “privatized”; and
immediate monetary Bill 88, preventing local
gain for some interest group is more important than governments from interfering with private Managed
life itself. This is either criminal or it is madness or it is Forests. And I’m sure there is more to come.
both.”
So much for the touted Community Charter, the
Those words struck home again and again as I read of Islands Trust’s “preserve and protect” mandate and
new legislation being pushed through by the current environmental reviews. Which makes the task of
Provincial Government in the name of economic your Conservancy so much more important. We must
growth. Over the past few months, we have witnessed continue to be vigilant in our efforts to protect the
natural features and sensitive ecosystems that are so
important to our community.

Board Update
A summary of major items recently discussed by the
Board:
Good Business
The Conservancy thanks all of our business
• Our annual Strategic Planning Retreat and 2004
members. Please support these local businesses:
Budgets
• Density Transfer/Amenity Zoning and a review of • Anchorage Cove B&B • Salt Spring Centre
the Official Community Plan • Balmoral by the Sea B&B of Yoga
• Establishment of an Endowment Fund • Barb’s Buns • Salt Spring Kayaking
• Adoption of Standards and Practices Guidelines • Barnyard Grafix • Salt Spring Linen &
• A proposed Environmental Scientists Registry to • Creek House Realty Drycleaners
support the Islands Trust • Derek Crawford • Spindrift at Welbury
• Grant application for 2004 Stewardship Program Architect Inc. Point
• Government policy on Crown Lands • Island Escapades • Terra Firma Builders
• Plans for a “sustainable development” symposium. • Salt Spring Books
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 Director’s Desk

Membership Reaches 400!

I am proud to announce that the Conservancy now business memberships, we think many of these
has over 400 members. We reached this number in business owners are already individual members or
October and are still growing as membership forms are too busy with holiday preparations to respond so
are delivered to our post office box every day these quickly. If you are a member with a local business,
past few weeks. Part of the reason for the dramatic please ask us for a member decal to display on the
increase in the last two years is that the Board of window at your business.
Directors made membership a priority for my work
as your Executive Director. In cooperation with our Our final membership appeal, which was sent to all
Secretary (previously Ruth Tarasoff and currently members recently, was a request for members to “gift”
Rachel Bevington) and our volunteer database a membership to a friend, relative or organization.
manager Sheryl Taylor-Munro, I have been looking at Thanks to all of you who have responded by giving
how the Conservancy records, manages, and serves a membership thereby helping us to increase our
our members. Sheryl came up with the idea of putting membership even further, and to those who responded
the membership expiration date on the renewal letter by sending a cheque. We encourage members to gift a
and Acorn so members know when their membership member in the future for special occasions and also to
expires.
Recently,
as part of
this year’s
membership
campaign, we
undertook
a number
of new
initiatives.

In November,
we mailed
all of our
old, but not
current,
members
a letter
Mill Farm Walk 2000. Photo Anon.
telling them of our current work and asking them
to join again. In just four weeks, 19 members have let us know if you know of someone you think would
renewed and sent us a total of $1,296. Many of these be interested in a membership. The many members I
members not only renewed but also added a donation spoke to who sent a cheque without reading the gift
and signed up for 3 years. Due to the success of this letter and all of you who have stayed on as members
letter, we will again ask our non-active members to without getting a follow up membership letter have
renew once a year in an effort to catch anyone whose shown me that we have an extremely loyal (and
membership has lapsed. organized) membership. Thanks to all of you for your
support, loyalty, and steadfastness over the years.
As part of our second membership initiative, we sent
430 local businesses two pages of information about Sincerely, Karen Hudson (far left in above photo)
our work and asked them to consider a business
membership, which is a newly created membership SSI Conservancy 2004 Annual General
category. Though we have already received seven Meeting Will Be Held May 18th 2004
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Conservancy Interests
On Being and Becoming,
Continued from page 1
habitat reserves – partly because of the founders’
interests and partly because at the time a broadly-
based action organization, the Island Watch Society,
existed. Conservancy leaders have kept that central
interest. However, a fuller understanding of what
“promoting natural habitat reserves” entails, and the
demise of the Island Watch Society, resulted in the
addition of major new efforts: promoting private land
stewardship, and education.
The stewardship work, meeting landowners and
offering free nature-assessment and planning
services, was fuelled for two busy years by grants. It
involved the Education Committee, which organized
informational meetings, and fed into the covenants
program. Grants dried up. Education dropped its
landowner-tailored events and expanded its general
education schedule. Stewardship languished in 2001-
2003; covenants, acquisitions, and recently land
restoration and management kept good pace.
As matters stand the
Conservancy is known
for its lively programs in
nature education: slide
shows, walks-talks, major
speakers, broom-pulls,
the Acorn. It is known,
too, during campaigns
to raise money for land
acquisitions whether to
hold title (once) or in
partnership with other
title-holders (four times).
Its covenants work
is quieter but widely
Beach Crab at 2002 Beach Walk with David Denning.
understood and supported.
Its land restoration and
management work is just beginning.
Early this autumn the board recognized that
stewardship work was too important to leave dormant.
A new grant proposal has been submitted. If funded,
that will restore stewardship to a solid level.
The strategy session brought consensus that our
education program should reduce the percentage of
4 Continued on page 5
time devoted to organizing events in the category
of nature education for the general public, shifting
instead to programs supporting stewardship and
covenants, and to actions making contact with
targeted audiences like Island newcomers and school
children. Later meetings will shape those priorities
into an action plan for the next year or two.
We decided to keep the energy levels of the covenants,
acquisitions, and land management volunteers at
their accustomed level. Our history tells us that new
covenant and acquisitions projects will be offered by
circumstance – we don’t need to seek them out.
A renewed effort will be made to work with the Local
Trust Committee and be involved significantly in the
next OCP review. We want to see the Trust develop a
new capability (and willingness), through volunteering
experts living on SSI, to access environmental changes
likely from permit applications, re-zonings, etc. And
we feel it is urgent to undertake a serious review and
public discussion of the
whole concept and reality
of density transfers.
Supporting all this work
are money, volunteers, and
organizational partners. In
2004 we want to develop a
structured effort to contact
major donors whose gifts
and bequests will go into
our new endowment fund
and to current operations.
We made major
improvements in finding,
Photo Courtesy Tamar Griggs using and thanking
volunteers this past year
(thanks to the efforts of a volunteer coordinator). We
agreed that fine partnership opportunities exist and
are well worth the effort to cultivate.
Perhaps our best discussion was about the character
of the Conservancy – the qualitative image our
neighbours have or should have of us. “Professional”
was the first and common response, a word meant
to embody an instinctive desire to be well informed

Channel Ridge Village and Beyond
-Peter Lamb
If you read the Driftwood, you will have seen the
recent updates on the plans for the new Village in the
heart of the Channel Ridge lands. This is the largest
proposed real estate development in the Gulf Islands,
contemplating about 430 dwelling units and 80,000
sq. ft of commercial
space on completion.
Such a high-density
development will clearly
have a substantial impact
on the Island and a
particularly dramatic
impact on the northern
sector.
Your Conservancy has,
therefore, taken a special
interest in the proposal
and has expressed its
concern over sensitive
ecosystems in the area. Alligator Lizard. Photo Courtesy Todd Conohan on December 13 to
While the developers are carrying out
extensive studies, we have drawn their attention to
new ecosystem maps which identify natural features at developers directly. If you missed this session, and are
risk, particularly terrestrial herbaceous, woodland and interested in learning more about their development
wetland areas. Hopefully, these vulnerable habitats will plans, visit the Islands Trust office to look at
be avoided during site clearing, expected to begin in
January 2004, and during construction.
On Being and Becoming,
Continued from page 4
before acting, and a respect for others. The best
professionals do work that is good and needed,
not for self-gain but for the community. Directors
recognised three downsides to professionalism,
“coolness” stemming from trying to be objective,
a feeling of superiority from knowing more than
others, and that common criticism of conservation
organizations, “elitism”. The response was immediate
and clear – we have to have “heart” to balance the
head. As individuals we are emotionally responsive
to nature and passionate about our cause – show it!
Lastly, most directors wanted the society to stay away
from the radical fringe and be a respectable part of the
Conservancy Interests
We are also interested in longer-term protection of the
remainder of the lands in Channel Ridge to the north
and west of the Village since this area represents the
only remaining undeveloped area in the north of our
Island. Accordingly, we have offered our assistance
through conservation covenants, eco-gifting and other
programs. Our goal will be to have the natural features
of the area preserved and
protected as much as
possible.
A meeting was held
in December with
representatives of the
developer where we
discussed our offer to
assist and elaborated on
our genuine concerns
for critical features
and wildlife habitats
in the area. A public
meeting was held
th
give the community
an opportunity to hear about the proposal from the
preliminary layout plans, site clearing proposals,
artists’ rendering of homes and commercial units.
community – “Just one of us”, but simultaneously to
have the courage of our convictions, ready to use the
hammer when that’s the tool for the job. A long-dead
American president said it: “Speak softly, but carry a
big stick.”
Ours is a lively organization fully involved in
a growing community and a gloriously diverse
natural environment. For us, change and time are
indistinguishable. We’d rather change through our
own alertness and corresponding shifts in priorities
and structure, than to suffer Darwin’s curse on things
that make too many mistakes.
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Conservancy Interests
The Earth Charter Youth Conference 2003
- SSI Education Committee
Daniel Fogarty, a grade 12 student from Gulf
Island Secondary School, was selected by the SSI
Conservancy to attend an Earth Charter conference
at Lake Cowichan Education Centre earlier this
month. Forty-five BC students attended the
conference, which was one of 15 organized worldwide
under the Earth Charter Initiative. What follows is
Daniel’s impression of the Conference.
- Daniel Fogarty
On the weekend
of November 8th
to 11th, forty-eight
youths and twelve co-
facilitators from diverse
backgrounds came
together for four days of
learning, innovation and
fun. The Earth Charter
Youth Conference,
held at Cowichan Lake
Education Centre, was
one of many Inclusive
Leadership Adventures organized by Dr. Linda Hill
and others. This adventure, however, was particularly
unique as it was the first time the Earth Charter had
been implemented into the curriculum. The Earth
Charter is an international people’s agreement for a
compassionate, just and sustainable world. Its four
main pillars are respect and care for the community of
life, social and economic justice, ecological integrity,
and democracy, non-violence and peace.
Having heard of this amazing opportunity through
the Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) Leadership
program, I was immediately interested in attending the
conference. A major obstacle then emerged—cost. I
applied for the generous sponsorship of the Saltspring
Island Conservancy. Another student, Camille
Schmah, was sponsored by GISS.
Camille and I approached the lakeside on November
8 with excitement and anticipation. The days to
follow only furthered this excitement. An incredible
6
atmosphere rich with laughter, acceptance and
learning quickly made the Education Centre feel like
home and the sixty participants from all over B.C. like
family.
Over the weekend, we explored the Earth Charter
through participating in a variety of activities and
workshops such as cooperative games, improvisational
theatre, music, dance, solo journeys into nature,
outdoor adventure challenges, and creating a Unity
Flag and an Earth
Charter globe. Also,
each night Dylan
Spencer, the Canadian
representative on the
Year 2000 Pole to
Pole Expedition, gave
multimedia presentations
describing his travels.
His talks were both
interesting and inspiring.
The Earth Charter globe,
consisting of cardboard
panels artistically
Midshipman Eggs at 2002 Beach depicting the four pillars
Walk with David Denning. of the Earth Charter, will
Photo Courtesy Tamar Griggs be traveling to different
schools around the
province as a symbol of how to build a world based
on respect for people and nature, universal human
rights, fairness and peace. Camille and I are currently
preparing GISS to take a turn in hosting the globe.
The conference concluded with workshops about
how to bring the Earth Charter back to our families,
schools and communities. In all, it was a wonderful
experience. I am grateful to have had such an
opportunity and look forward to sharing my weekend
with Saltspring.
I think that I shall never see
A chainsaw lovely as a tree
Perhaps unless the chainsaws stall
I’ll never see a tree at all.
(with apologies to Ogden Nash)
 Conservancy Interests

Sharp-tailed Snake Habitat Restoration

- Charles Dorworth and Christian Engelstoft

During the last weekend of November 2003, two

sharp-tailed snake sites were restored in Vesuvius.
This project involved six yards of rocks and roughly
30 volunteers. The work was part of Habitat
Stewardship Program (HSP) funded project and the
result of careful landowner consultation and project
planning.

The Sharp-tailed Snake is an endangered species

in Canada and provincially red listed, and work
concerning this species is overseen by the Sharp-
tailed Snake Recovery Team.

The species is known from a total of nine locations

on Pender Islands, Galiano Island, Saltspring
Island and Vancouver Island. It is likely that more
populations exist as the discovery of two new sites
this fall indicates. Small forest openings on south
facing slopes are considered critical habitat. If you
have found a small red snake (between 10 and
30 cm) under a rock or other cover object, please
contact one of the authors.

Most known Sharp-tailed Snake sites are found

on private land and in densely populated areas.
Careful stewardship by landowners is an important
part of Sharp-tailed Snake population recovery.

The structures put in place over this weekend

were 70 m of stack wall with cracks and crevices
and carefully arranged back fill that provides the
snake with habitat for winter hibernation, summer
aestivation and feeding sites. Because little is
known about mating and egg laying of this species,
we built structures to investigate breeding biology.
The sites will be monitored during the coming
years to determine the effect of the restoration
efforts.

From top to bottom: Christian Engelstoft and crew (Photo

Courtesy Charles Dorworth), Adult Sharp-tailed Snake
initiating escape (Photo © Christian Engelstoft), Christian
Engelstoft showing Sharp-tailed snake condo being built
(Photo Courtesy Charles Dorworth)

7
Conservancy Interests

SSI Conservancy Management Plan

-Charles Dorworth wishes that the property be maintained in perpetuity
as a “natural” area, but with access provided to let the
We are now responsible for two properties: The public appreciate the natural beauty and biological
Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve (AVNR) and the interactions which occur thereon. In that regard, we
Manzanita Ridge Nature Reserve (MRNR). This have marked a trail for hikers and encouraged use
confers both an of the area for
environmental biological research,
and a legal while holding the
responsibility upon lower two-thirds
the Conservancy of the property as
to formalize a nature reserve.
Management Plans The MRNR,
and provide the conversely, was
means whereby obtained by
those plans will purchase from
be enacted and a local resident
monitored. Martin Williams
who wished to
The Management see the property
Plan is a written preserved from
protocol which Karen Hudson at 2000 Mill Farm Walk. development
outlines the qualities of the land (both Photo Anon. and who was
legal and substantial), the goals of management for receptive to minimal financial compensation in order
the area and the means whereby those goals are to be to achieve that goal. We have permitted a hiking trail
attained. to be maintained on the property but, otherwise, the
property will be maintained purely as a nature reserve.
Each situation is different and the requirements for In each case, these goals will be entrenched in a
them must be reflected in the Management Plan. legally based covenant.
In our situation, the AVNR was deeded to the SSI
Conservancy by Cordula Vogt of Salt Spring Island
and Oda Nowrath of Duncan, who expressed their

Birgit Bateman Cards

Now For Sale
The Conservancy is selling beautiful photo
cards with local nature images donated by Birgit
Bateman as an ongoing fundraiser at these local
businesses:
•Treehouse South and the Beach House in Fulford
• Blue Dragon Naturals in Grace Point Square
• Spindrift at Welbury Point
• Fables Cottage on Hereford Ave.
Thanks! to all of these businesses. The cards will
also be available at the Conservancy office upstairs
in the Upper Ganges Centre when the office
reopens on January 19th. 2000 Stewardship Rain Water Collection Talk. Photo Anon.

8

Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve Signs
- Charles Dorworth
SSI Conservancy volunteers trekked to the Andreas
Vogt Nature Reserve on November 6th, 2003 to install
our handsome new trail signs. Hikers entering the
Reserve from either end will be greeted by this 2’ X 3’
sign.
Within another 10 M., a second
smaller sign is posted giving
hikers our welcome and a
set of rules to reinforce the
protection we wish to provide
for the Reserve and insure that
hikers are aware that this is an
“unsupervised” trail, and they
are responsible for their own
safety.
You may locate the trail by
driving west off Stewart Rd. onto
Jasper Rd., then onto Jennifer
Rd. at the mounted fuel tanks
on the right, part way up the
hill. Near the top of the hill,
turn right onto Sarah Way and
proceed to the end of pavement.
Beyond the pavement lies private
property (please stay off!), so
turn right on the next to last
unimproved right of way. The
very last dirt roadway off the Peter Lamb, Gloria Dorworth and Jean Gelwicks. not patrol the trail and you use
pavement will put you over the
edge and into the bush, so you will
recognize that error promptly. At the bottom of the
graveled right-of-way, take the trail toward the yellow
metal horizontal gate pole but turn left at the first
Office Space Wanted
The Conservancy is interested in hearing about any
storefront office space in town or uptown to be let
(or donated!) for a reasonable amount. A big thanks
to Richard Murakami for our current office space in
the Upper Ganges Centre.
Conservancy Interests
opportunity (trail), proceed across the streamlet and
left again at the next trail. Carry-on perhaps 50 M and
you will encounter your trailhead and the SSIC sign,
with the trail nicely roughed-in by our members and
by our colleagues with the SSI Trail and Nature Club
who performed major trailbuilding and also donated
funds to establish the trail.
Expect an easier job of it rather
soon, as we plan to install signs
noting “TRAIL” along the way
to the trailhead from Sarah
Way and a trail map will be
available. At the far end of the
AVNR trail, another pair of signs
occurs, and the trail circles back
through the adjacent Crown
Land parcel. Although the
Vogt Reserve trail is reasonably
well-marked and trodden,
some people have experienced
difficulty keeping on the Crown
Land extension. If you have
any doubts, we recommend that
you retrace your steps along
our reserve trail. Otherwise,
go with compass, a clear idea
of where you have been and
where you are going. Better
still, go the first time with an
experienced companion. We do
Photo Courtesy Charles Dorworth it entirely at your own discretion,
as the SSIC disavows any and
all responsibility for lost or injured hikers. But we
hope you don’t, and we hope you have a splendid hike
when you head for the AVNR!
Scheduled Broom Pull
January 31st, 2004
Check the website for updates and details on this
event. http://saltspring.gulfislands.com/conservancy
9
Environmental Policy

No Lassitude at Our Latitude

Bob Weeden, November 21, 2003
Whatever the global energy resource situation may be,
the Earth Festival Society on Salt Spring Island has it’s
fair share.
I’m talking about energy for the cleanest, most efficient
engine known – the human mind. And I’m thinking of
a new community project hatched and tended by the
Earth Festival Society’s dynamos, Elizabeth White and
Marion Pape.
as a community and as individuals. We will be full
participants in the One Tonne Challenge, Ottawa’s
program to engage private citizens in meeting the
goals of the Kyoto Accord.
Right now the Earth Festival Society’s work centers
on getting good real-time measures of energy use
in sectors like housing, transportation, institutions
(hospitals, schools, etc.) and agriculture. Good data
now will give us a solid basis to measure future trends,
and show us where high energy uses exist.

The project is the Community Energy Strategy whose
startup was flipped late this summer. When the
Strategy is completed we will know how much energy
is used by Islanders, and how it is used. We will have
defined the most workable local strategy for saving
energy and lowering outputs of air pollutants, and
the community will have bought into an action plan
In midwinter, Elizabeth and Marion will partner with
the Local Trust Committee to host a town hall meeting
presenting the energy audit results and starting a
community dialogue. A month or two later , EFS
and your Conservancy plan a jointly sponsored open
house to offer more information, outline some possible
community strategies and private actions, and keep
the discourse alive.

Our Very Own Energy Strategy?

- RB Weeden On Salt Spring Island the Earth Festival Society is
leading the effort to foster a community-wide strategy
Few disagree that human actions are among the causes and to organize support for individual, family, and
of climate changes that business-level action.
could wreak desperate
mischief very soon. Few Elizabeth White (EFS)
disagree that every part has finished an initial
of society, especially in study of how much
developed countries, has energy we use, how it is
to do its share toward used, and apparent recent
amelioration. trends in use. Meanwhile,
Marion
The question is, “What Pape (also EFS) has
do we do?” contacted potential
partner organizations,
Community level of put together a broad-
thought and action is spectrum steering
critical. Communities committee, and planned
make national strategies a series of events to
Crofton Mill at 2002 Beach Walk. Photo Courtesy Tamar Griggs
real and customize organize individual
them to unique locales. enthusiasms and offer
Communities can catalyze and integrate the different practical information.
paths individuals take.
The first is a Town Hall meeting on January 17 to
Continued on page 11
10

-Bob Weeden
“If only one dandelion grew, you’d have to add to the
grandstand.” - A.B Guthrie Jr., The Last Valley
If you are alert to the natural world you know
that some species and habitats are rare, others are
common. I’ve often wondered whether abundance
or scarcity should help me decide where I should
put my conservation energies. Conservation groups
I’ve been in have discussed this question often.
Out-of-place scotch broom and flesh-eating bacteria
aside, we usually feel that rare things are precious.
They are dear in part because we can’t bear the
thought of extinguishing any light of creation lest
the next is our own. They are precious because they
illuminate the range of possibilities of evolution, the
richness of an endless encyclopedia of ideas about
how life may be lived. Rare things are valued because
we know that during their last fall the ties that bind
them to the rest of life will tug other species closer to
the brink. We can’t forget, either, that in this changing
world those life forms on the margin of today may be
all there is to populate tomorrow.
But that which is common is precious, too, because it
is the stuff of which daily and abundant human lives
are made. Common things supply the character of
our home lands: the painted hardwoods of autumnal
Vermont, the kelp beds at Mendocino’s door step,
the spires of shadowed balsam in a New Brunswick
twilight, the curtseying cotton grass of arctic wetlands,
the sage-stippled saucered valleys of Wyoming. We
walk our ordinary days with them as companions.
They are the images of our art. From them we gather
daily bread and accept the gift of breathable air. To
Our Very Own Energy Strategy?
Continued from page 10
introduce the idea of a Strategy, get feedback, and
invite people to get involved. On April 3 the EFS and
your Conservancy host an open house/workshop to
draw in more people, offer detailed information on
energy use and conservation, and work out targets that
seem substantial and feasible.
Environmental Policy
All Things Precious
Baby Sharp-tailed Snake. Photo Courtesy Christian Engelstoft
them we entrust the renewal of soil and the cleansing
of our careless wastes.
Saving rare things, then, often is more urgent because
their time is so short. Tending to the well being of
common things is more important because they are
so significant to us - and because without care they
can become scarce in a blink. Think of this: passenger
pigeons, American chestnuts and wild elms, once
pillars of eastern hardwood forest ecosystems, are now
extinct or mere hangers-on. Abundant still, eastern
hemlocks, beech, and ash are so threatened that they
could be gone in our lifetimes.
I’m no closer to being able to set priorities; maybe
the lesson is that there is no overwhelming reason
to choose rarity over commonness, or the reverse.
Whether I’m entrusted with the care of an acre of
Garry oak or an acre of Douglas-fir and arbutus, my
stewardship is of equal worth.
If you haven’t yet heard of the “One Tonne Challenge,”
you will. It is the slogan for a national effort to set out
a measurable target for individual conservation action.
That Challenge will focus the Community Energy
Strategy work, at community and individual levels, as
2004 unfolds.
11
Natural History

Epiphyte Neophytes
- Kate Leslie

“The worst moment in canopy research”,

says biologist Nick Stanger, “is right before
the climb. After four years of research in
New Zealand and western B.C., I know this
moment well. My thumbs ache from fastening
all my gear. The harness and carabineers bite
into my skin. Everything feels too tight. I do
the final safety-check of the rope that will bear
my weight through the ascenders [brakes that
only allow upwards movement].”

Nick Stanger is describing the exhilarating

aspect of studying tree canopy ‘epiphytes’
[plants which grow upon other plants, but
which do not draw food or water from
them]. On November 1st and 2nd Nick gave a
talk and a walk on Salt Spring as part of the
Conservancy’s ‘Tourist in Our Own Back Yard’ series.
Nick Stanger on Mt. Maxwell at our 2003 Epiphyte Walk and Talk.
Photo Courtesy Charles Dorworth
found in newer forests, despite the fact that they are
meant to indicate old growth.

Nick is one of only a handful of B.C. biologists As epiphytes are influenced by prevailing winds, they
specializing in epiphytes, yet these plants are are very sensitive to the changes in wind pattern.
‘indicators’; they hold key Looking at the epiphyte
information that helps distribution across the Mount
scientists gauge the health of Maxwell landscape, participants
our forests and the impacts of observed the ‘edge effect’ that is
industrial logging. also present in forests adjacent
to clear-cuts. Trees located near
With funding from the cliffs and the open breeze
Weyerhauser B.C., Nick had fewer epiphyte zones than
Stanger has designed a trees located deeper in the forest
four-year study looking at (these had a larger number of
the effect of forest practices distinct epiphyte zones).
on the diversity of canopy-
growing plants. He explained On the walk, Stanger pointed
to the audience how his out a number of epiphyte
system of studying epiphyte species common to our
zones is useful for identifying area, such as Forking Bone
the age of the forest, and for (Hypogymnia inactiva),
tracking impacts from logging Methuselah’s Beard (Usnea
and other changes. Zones longissima), Common Witch’s
are more useful for gauging Hair (Alectoria sarmentosa) and
changes than indicator Speckled Horsehair (Bryoria
species because some fuscescens). He discussed
indicator species [e.g. Lettuce Nick Stanger on Mt. Maxwell at our 2003 Epiphyte Walk some of the commercial uses of
Lung (Lobaria oregana)] are and Talk. Photo Courtesy Charles Dorworth epiphytes. For instance, they are
12 Continued on page 13

- Karen Hudson
On a cold November night, 36 people braved the
icy roads to hear Michaela McDonald speak and
give an excellent slide show (with real whale and
dolphin sounds) about the BC Cetacean Sightings
Network. Their goal is to increase public awareness
of B.C. cetaceans (whales, dolphins or porpoises)
and the conservation concerns affecting them and to
encourage the public to become active stewards of all
cetaceans and report their sightings of cetaceans seen
in B.C. waters.
British Columbia’s expansive coastline is home to
twenty-three species of cetaceans (whales, dolphins
and porpoises), six of which are either endangered or
threatened. An understanding of their distribution and
abundance is crucial to conservation efforts. However,
monitoring these coastal waters year-round is
impossible for researchers without help from the
public.
In 1999, the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network was
Epiphyte Neophytes
Continued from page 12
used in hanging baskets and for producing dyes.
As Senior Project Officer of Vancouver Island and
the Coast with TLC, The Land Conservancy, Stanger
is rightfully proud of the privately donated or
covenanted lands currently protecting epiphytes in
this region. There are fewer epiphytes in our ecozone
than in the lush west coast forests, but some of those
present are found only here. Particularly at risk are
lichens, liverworts and mosses growing on or near
rocky outcrops, as these areas are popular with
people who want to build homes with a view. Some
of Stanger’s work at TLC involves developing plans to
mitigate the negative environmental impacts from such
developments.
Meanwhile, on the Central Coast, Nick has been
volunteering his time with members of the Heiltsuk
First Nation, who are exploring the ecotourism
opportunities of upper canopy viewing. At the slide
Natural History
Wild Whales
established to collect and compile sightings reports
submitted by the public. When analyzed, these
sightings data create a clearer picture of cetacean
habitat use and aid in our understanding of these
creatures and their requirements.
Please get involved! Join the hundreds of participants
from all over our coast in helping conserve our
cetaceans. Increase your awareness of B.C. cetaceans
and let us know what you see. Environmental
stewardship begins at home and in your daily life.
If you see a whale, dolphin or porpoise the network
would like to know!
CONTACT INFORMATION:
http://www.wildwhales.org/
e-mail sightings@vanaqua.org
fax (604) 659-3515
B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network
c/o Cetacean Research Lab
Vancouver Aquarium Marine
Science Centre
P.O. Box 3232
Vancouver, B.C.
V6B 3X8
show, he showed stunning slides from his work in
Heiltsuk territory. Over the winter, he will be offering
Heltsuik youth a crash-course in epiphytology, and
will teach how to take people safely up into the trees.
A wildlife-viewing trail with canopy lookouts is being
designed near Bella Bella.
Nick Stanger is a busy man, juggling many different
conservation and forest research projects. But as he
reminisces about his many hours in the tops of our
temperate rainforests, there is no doubt about the
source of his inspiration: “Slowly I move up the tree,
threading among branches, careful not to damage the
complex micro-ecosystems. This is the best part of the
climb,” he recounts, “the complexity of fallen trees,
pendulant mosses, lettuce-lung lichens, snags, bloated
tree trunks…. But I must stop gawking and return to
science.”
Thank you, Nick for sharing with us a wonderful
gawk with science.
13
Natural History
Maniacal Mushrooms
- Rachel Bevington
On November 14th, Bryce Kendrick began his talk
by explaining that all mushrooms are fungi, but not
all fungi are mushrooms. Roughly 90% of all fungi
are not mushrooms!
The Eumycota, or true fungi have walls made
of chitin. There are 1 1/2 million species of
Eumycotes and so far only 6% have been described
by scientists. The Chromista fungi have walls made
of cellulose and examples are potato blight and bull
kelp. The Protozoa are unicellular.
Fungi begin as spores and send out hyphae. These
very narrow tubes are the operating units of the
organism. They use the hyphal tips to explore their
environments and use enzymes to digest food they
find from starches to sugars. Fungi exist in colonies,
and these colonies can be very old and very large.
One fungus has been isolated by molecular testing
of the hyphae and its genetic information shows that
in an area of 200 acres, the fungus present is a single
organism! It could be 1.5 thousand years old!
“A mushroom is a machine for making spores,” Bryce
described, “humans breathe in up to 1000 spores /m3
of air. Thankfully our immune systems have evolved
to protect us from most fungal infections. However,
people with compromised immune systems, such as
those with AIDS, do get more fungal infections than
others.”
Spores will germinate depending on factors in their
environment: mainly moisture, temperature and
immediate food supply. Spores vary in their size and
shape – some spores are shaped by their ecological
role. For example, some spores float and wait for
leaves to fall onto the surface of a pond. This places
them in the immediate area of a food supply that no
other spores have evolved to exploit. Mushrooms
literally shower the world with spores in order to
ensure the continuation of their species.
We notice fungi growing on things that we leave
sitting for a period of time. They are the decomposers
of the world, and without fungi, the world would
14
become overwhelmed Photo Courtesy Rachel Bevington
with the litter of life.
Since the air is so full of spores, it doesn’t take them
long to colonize a new food source. A loaf of bread,
when left out, is immediately covered in spores, and
“since bread does not have an immune system”, it
quickly sprouts a fungal colony of bread mould. Fungi
eat by absorption through their hyphae. Up to 40% of
the top layers of soil can be made up of hyphae. This
amount of biomass places them ahead of the animal
kingdom, and second to the plant kingdom.
Some fungi play another ecological role. Mycorrhizal
fungi act as partners to trees in a mutually beneficial
symbiotic relationship. The hyphae of these species
grow among cells in the tree’s roots. The tree makes
sugars through photosynthesis, and the fungi
exchange these sugars with the tree for nutrients,
such as phosphorus, that the fungi are better able
to absorb from the surrounding soil. They become
obligate symbionts, as they rely on each other for
survival in that environment. Only 200 species of
trees bear vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal where the
fungal hyphae penetrate tree root cells. 2000 plants
are ectomycorrhizal, where the hyphae grow between
root cells. A 100 foot tall tree has 100 000 000
mycorrhizae.
Most fungi reproduce sexually and may have many
different mating types. Sex cells in fungi are called
basidia, and each basidium can make four spores.
Unlike humans, where there are men and women,
Continued on page 15
 Natural History

Manical Mushrooms
Continued from page 14

fungi may have hundreds of by the fungi as a result of

possible mating types. They their metabolism. When we
exchange nuclei in a process called eat mushrooms, we help to
dikaryotization, where the hyphae distribute the spores, but we may
exchange nuclei between them. not survive the meal. Humans
Further development of the fruiting can get sick days or weeks later,
body or mushroom and basidium, with the poisons slowly killing
allows them to create many more you by dissolving your liver
pairs of the two nuclei. away.

A mushroom cap is shaped like Mushrooms are not inherently

an umbrella because the basidium nutritious because their cell walls
cannot shoot spores if they get wet. are made of chitin – the material
When hunting for mushrooms, dig composing insect exoskeletons.
down to get to the bottom of the Mushrooms also accumulate
stock to see if it has a vulva. This is heavy metals and therefore one
what is left of the membrane when must be cautious of where the
it was young. If you do not check mushrooms they eat are grown.
to see if it has a vulva then “you Handling toxic mushrooms will
may never know what killed you”. not kill you but licking your
A ring is a partial veil attached to fingers afterward is not a good
the edge of the cap before the cap idea. The spores of mushrooms
Bryce Kendrick at 2003 Mushroom Walk and Talk.
expanded and then tore when it can also be toxic, but it would
Photo Courtesy Charles Dorworth
expanded. take three years of steady
exposure to toxic spores at a concentration of 100
Rule #1: Never pick something and eat it. Absolutely spores/m3 breathed in where every bit of toxin from
know the name down to the species before eating each spore is absorbed into the bloodstream before
anything. you would accumulate one nanogram of toxin. The
Rule #2: Don’t eat much. This allows you to test the most important thing to do is correctly identify the
poison so to speak. mushrooms you are about to eat!
Rule #3: Don’t eat more than one type at a time. This
will help you identify which mushroom makes you Early Summer Fundraiser Help Needed
sick.
Rule #4: Always cook mushrooms. They all contain The Conservancy is looking for volunteers to assist
high levels of carcinogens and mutagens. with a planned June fundraiser. We hope to have
Rule #5: Don’t eat mushrooms unless they are in very several different events, including a guest speaker
good condition. and auction on one weekend in June.

The poisons are secondary metabolites, produced We are looking for:

Trail and Nature Club
Thank you to the Trail and Nature Club and all
of its members for their generous support for the
purchase of the Manzanita Ridge Nature Reserve
from Martin Williams.
- Volunteers to help plan and organize this event
- Heated storage space for donated auction items
- Donations of antiques, art, and quality items.
- Musical acts and speakers
Please call Karen Hudson at the Conservancy office:
538-0318 for more information or to sign up.

15
Regional Insight

Patience
We scurry over the land Our morality and humanity lag well behind
Anxious to perform our tasks But we are a very young species
Appointed and self-appointed The land is ancient, beyond our ken
Miles to go before we sleep The land has seen many, many species
We’re here for only a short time Come and go
And there is much to be done The land can wait
And the land remains quiet Patience is a natural attribute of the land
The land waits patiently
The very young species
Only three to 4 million years ago They called themselves Homo sapiens
Our species began to form The exploiters, the warriors, the achievers
And far more recently, we named “The war to end all wars”
Homo erectus Until the next war, and the next
The early human who stood The ultimate species, far advanced over the apes
Who looked out over the veldt Begun 50,000 years ago at earliest
Whilst hunting and gathering To live for how many more years?
In order to feed his mate Nature knows only change
and offspring, from the land What species will supercede Homo sapiens?
The patient land We, of today, will never know
Ask the land
Later, a more settled species emerged The land has seen this event in the past
Homo habilis, Watching. Waiting patiently.
Built the first rudimentary shelters
To protect the family Become extinct? Change after 100,000 years or 100,000,000
The home maker - former of communities Our species must be immortal!
The species who saved seeds We are living enormously important lives
Who planted the land and gathered crops Our species will undoubtedly be the ultimate of Homo sp.
Who possibly first considered and prepared But, then, we would qualify as an evolutionary dead-end.
For the coming winter. Entropy increasing. Entropy decreasing.
The next year on the land. But locally and never static
The land gave And powered by a finite reservoir of energy
The land was patient But we here, now, will never know.
The land, however, existed before there was life.
From those, came our present form The land can afford to wait
Homo sapiens It will exist when life has been extinguished
The thinking unit of Homo spp. Finally, to amalgamate with the universal energy Bank
The reasoning unit of Homo spp.
The logical one; Homo sapiens The land saw us arrive
The species which did more than respond The land will watch our departure
To external stimuli In honour, integrity
The species which tabulated its own history Or in disarray
Which expounded its own philosophy It’s one in the same; human values
Which explored and documented its roots Success. Failure. They blend in time
The reasoning Homo sp. It’s one in the same
The species which dominated the land
But the land had time to watch, But now, for a brief interval within the succeeding several
To observe, perhaps to hope billion years
But patiently, always patiently The land might observe us,
without noticeable concern
We who named ourselves the reasoning animal Patiently Ever patiently.
Are populating this land - ced
Are altering it beyond the abilities of our predecessors
Our technology is splendid and increasing
logarithmically

16
 Regional Insight

The Biogeography of Mammals in Our Neighbourhood

- Jean Gelwicks
The Conservancy is excited to announce our next
educational event – THE BIOGEOGRAPHY OF
MAMMALS IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD with what I
think we should call the Dynamic Duo – Bristol Foster
and Trudy Chatwin. We could not get two more
qualified people to do this presentation.
Trudy Chatwin is the Rare and Endangered Species
Biologist for Vancouver Island Region of the Ministry
of Water, Land and Protection. She has worked in
this position for eight years and before that worked as
the Biodiversity Coordinator in the Wildlife Branch of
Victoria. Her job at present revolves around creation
of wildlife habitat areas for identified Wildlife (species-
at-risk affected by forest and range practices) and
participating in recovery teams. Trudy’s special
interest is in bats and she has conducted research on
hibernation habitat for bats on northern Vancouver
Island. Recently she helped teach about bats in a
tropical biology course in Belize. Trudy is truly a
generalist with interests in most anything natural.
She is particularly fascinated by the adaptation of all
species to their particular environment.
Bristol Foster has been a naturalist from as far back as
he can remember. Like many, the beauty, vitality and
visibleness of birds attracted him at first. But as he
took his biology courses at the University of Toronto
he concentrated more on mammals, culminating in a
MSC thesis on the ecology of a sub arctic rodent. After
a stint of traveling across Africa, Asia and Australia
for 18 months with Robert Bateman he enrolled at
UBC to study the evolution of the native mammals
of the Queen Charlotte Islands, and this earned him
a PhD. Experiences in Africa led him back to Kenya
where he taught wildlife ecology to graduate students
for 5 years. Giraffes were his specialty and resulted
in a book on this fascinating species’ behavior and
ecology.
He was lured back to Victoria to become the Director
of the Royal B.C. Museum for 6 years. In 1974
he began the Ecological Reserves Program for the
government wherein natural areas are set aside for
research and teaching. This project took him to the
farthest corner of the most spectacular parts of BC.
These are only a few of Bristol’s involvements and
accomplishments. His greatest joy is to share nature
with others.
The richness of knowledge that is in the heads
and hearts of these two incredible individuals is
something you will most definitely not want to miss.
One evening will only whet your appetite for more
information. You are invited to learn about the The
Biogeography of Mammals in our Neighbourhood
January 30th (Friday), 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the
Lions Hall. We suggest a donation of $5.00 to help
cover our costs (this includes refreshments).

Call for Submissions! Office Update: Small Actions Help!

You are invited to submit articles to
the Acorn on any topic, including:
the Conservancy’s history, natural
history, complexity articles,
stewardship, and fundamental
conservancy interests such as
political policies, accountability
and issues beyond SSI borders. If
you have any ideas, write to us at
ssiconservancy@saltspring.com
or bevington@uniserve.com or
PO Box 722, SSI, BC, V8K 2W3.
Thanks!
Donations of any of the following
would be gratefully appreciated:
Office Chairs, Digital Camera,
Laptop Computer, Small
Refrigerator, Telephones and GPS
Unit. We wish to thank Sheryl
Taylor Munro for a computer and
keyboard, Linda Quiring for a
computer desk, Andrea Rankin
for a vacuum and Greg, Samantha
Beare’s son for the Computer
Network System Installation.
Please remember to put your
shopping receipt in the green
Conservancy receipt box at
GVM, and to say “Community
Chest #58” at the check out at
Thrifty’s. You can also credit the
Conservancy when you take
back your bottles to the Salt
Spring Refund Centre (Bottle
Depot at GVM). Every little
bit helps keep our programs
running!

17
Volunteers

Recognizing Volunteers
Maxine Leichter: Volunteer Profile
Maxine provides invaluable assistance to the Conservancy
by writing applications for grants to be submitted to federal,
provincial and private financial donors. Many of the grant
applications are complex and must be submitted in formats
specific to the grantor. Prior to moving to Saltspring, Maxine
wrote grant applications professionally for the City of Los
Angeles, as well as working on projects to redevelop ‘brown-field’
sites such as abandoned gas stations.

The Conservancy relies on grants to fund special programs such

as the successful Stewardship 2000 campaign, which raised
awareness of the importance of conservation, and resulted in
conservation covenants and land donations. We hope to run a
similar program in 2004, concentrating on endangered species.

Maxine and her husband Steve have been members of the

Conservancy for seven years, since falling in love with the island
and purchasing property for their planned move from Los
Angeles. They have now moved to Saltspring and are building an
environmentally designed home. Once relocated to Saltspring, Maxine Leichter. Photo Courtesy Steve Leichter
Maxine immediately offered her expertise to the Conservancy, for
which we are most grateful.

Haiku Contest
Enter your haiku about mist for a chance to win a gorgeous
satellite map of Salt Spring Island!

Like misty moonlight,

watery, bewildering
our temporal way

– Issa (1763-1827).

To enter simply send your poem by e-mail to The Editor at

bevington@uniserve.com or by mail to Acorn Mist Haiku
Contest, c/o The SSI Conservancy, PO Box 722, SSI, BC ,V8K
2W3. The poem topic is mist, but the word mist does not
have to be included in the text of the poem. Unlimited entries
allowed! Judges will be the Acorn Editorial Committee. Deadline
March 31st 2004. Winner Announced in the April Issue of the
Acorn.

Misty Day on Mt. Sullivan Summit. Photo Anon.

18
Top 10 Things You Can Do Today To Leave a Legacy 9. Encourage family and friends to leave gifts to not-for-profits
in their wills.
1. Prepare a will. Without a will you lose control over your 10. Ask your financial or estate planning advisor to include
property at death. charitable giving as part of their counsel to clients.
2. Leave a gift in your will for the Salt Spring Island
Conservancy. Imagine the positive impact if everyone made a The Salt Spring Island Conservancy Planned Giving Program -
gift from their estate to our community. call 538-0318 for details.
3. Leave a specific dollar amount or a
percentage of the assets in your will.
4. Consider using assets for your charitable
gift. These include but are not limited to
cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, term
deposits, real estate, vehicles, art, jewellery,
or insurance. Such gifts may even provide
tax savings.
5. Name a not-for-profit as a beneficiary of
your RRSP, RRIF or pension.
6. Name your favourite not-for-profit as the
beneficiary of an existing or paid-up life
insurance policy.
7. Purchase a new life insurance policy
naming your favourite not-for-profit as the
beneficiary.
8. Remember loved ones with memorial
gifts.
Horse-logging at 2000 Stewardship Event. Photo Anon.

The Acorn is the newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy, a local non-profit society supporting and enabling voluntary
preservation and restoration of the natural environment of Salt Spring Island and surrounding waters. We welcome your feedback and
contributions, by email to ssiconservancy@saltspring.com or by regular mail. Opinions expressed here are the author’s, not subject to
Conservancy approval.
Editor and Layout:
Rachel Bevington
Board of Directors:
Samantha Beare (Treasurer)
Maureen Bendick (Vice-
President)
Rachel Bevington (Secretary)
Nigel Denyer
Charles Dorworth
Jean Gelwicks
Peter Lamb (President)
Linda Quiring
Ruth Tarasoff
Doug Wilkins
Bob Weeden (Past-President)
Maggie Ziegler
The Salt Spring Island
Conservancy
#203 Upper Ganges Centre,
338 Lower Ganges Rd.
Mail: PO Box 722, SSI, BC
V8K 2W3
Office hours : Mon/Wed
9 am - 12 am
Phone: (250) 538-0318
Fax: (250) 538-0319
Email:
ssiconservancy@saltspring.com
Web site:
http://saltspring.gulfislands.com/
conservancy
Printed on 18% recycled paper
Membership Application Volunteer Opportunities
Youth (Under 16) 1 yr @ $10 _ We have a Volunteer Application
Form that best describes areas you
Senior, or Low-Income: 1 yr @ $15 _ 3 yr @ $45 _
Regular Single 1 yr @ $20 _ 3 yr @ $60 _ wish to help in. For now, which areas
interest you? Please Circle:
Regular Family 1 yr @ $30 _ 3 yr @ $90 _
Group/School 1 yr @ $30 _ 3 yr @ $90 _ • Office Work (typing, filing or
Business 1 yr @ $50 _ 3 yr @ $150 _ computer work)
• Information Table at Saturday
Name: ______________________________________ Market
Address: ____________________________________ • Education Programs
____________________________________________ • Annual Fundraising Events
• Information Table at SSI
____________________________________________
Community Events
Postal Code: _______________ • Joining a SSIC Committee (Land
Phone: ______________________________________ Restoration & Management,
E-mail: ______________________________________ Fundraising, Covenants,
Acquisitions, Education or
Please send me the Acorn via e-mail. Stewardship)
(We NEVER give out member’s e-mail addresses to anyone!) • Other: _______________________
This is a renewal for an existing membership
the Salt Spring Island
Donations
In addition to my membership fee above, I have enclosed
Conservancy
Ganges P.O. Box 722
my donation in the amount of:
Salt Spring Island, BC
$50 _ $100 _ $250 _ $500 _ $1000_ Other ___________
Tax reciepts will be provided for donations of $20 or more. V8K 2W3

19
 the Salt Spring Island
Conservancy
Ganges P.O. Box 722
Salt Spring Island, BC
V8K 2W3
40026325