the

Acorn
The Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy Number 38, Spring 2008

It’s a Day Out of the Ordinary

Picture yourself in this image?
It’s SSI Conservancy’s Stewards in Training school program.
If you’re in the picture, or could be in another like it, then it
goes without saying that you know the scene. You can hear
the young voices; imagine the day again in your mind’s eye.
For those of you with no familiarity, let me describe it.
We’re outside on Salt Spring Island. We’re someplace
where green predominates, sometimes with blue. The weather
is whatever it chooses to be – sunny, breezy, rainy. There are
voices – young voices talking out, older voices containing
the natural chaos, and there are voices from the bushes and
the sky overhead. We could be at Ford Lake when the red-
winged blackbirds take up their territorial posts on the tallest
bush of hardhack around the lake; or at Andreas Vogt Nature
Reserve when an orange-crowned warbler sings from its
blind of leaves. Not everyone will notice, but the noises are
all around and part of the scene.
On arrival at the field site, we morph into an organism-
like-thing with four parts, each part a small group of students
with an adult or two, each group going to a predetermined
station, and leaving for the next station in a set time. At each School program at Ford Lake
station the group meets up with a station master for the March students were out Inside:
activity there – a blindfold walk in the marsh, art journaling, at stations throughout the President’s Page .................. 2
a silent walk, taking compass bearings while traveling back water system of Ganges Director’s Desk . ................. 3
in time – there are many. Harbour, making water Feature
These natural places have immense diversity, a key quality measurements and Neil Dawe Speaks............. 4
feature in our enjoyment of them. Our volunteers and sampling the habitat for Book Review
students mimic this same kind of diversity. Each student plants and animals. Upside of Down .............. 6
is a little Buddha with something unique to contribute. We asked students Stewardship
Collectively they hold wisdom in their perspective and place what variable they thought Phantom Orchid.............. 8
in the world. Each volunteer brings their specialty of being had the most influence on Frogs Who’s Who...........12
– a grandmother, a nature nerd, a father, a professional, a the differences in life found Events
retired teacher, an artist, an eco-adventure guide, a mother, between the different Calendar........................... 9
an aunt, a conservancy member, a grandfather, an activist, habitats. Library Program...............9
a gardener – the list is seemingly endless. The diversity of A session in the Natural History
volunteers makes the program strong in its unity of purpose. biology lab at GISS with Bullfrogs......................... 10
And maybe, the diversity of the programs and classes makes local marine biologist Bamboo .........................11
the interest from volunteers strong. David Denning revealed Bird Chat....................... 11
The grade eight program contains more hardcore the world of pond plankton Inside SSIC.......................13
science than the programs for younger grades. This past Continued on page 13 Essential Details.......... 15
http://saltspringconservancy.ca/events
President’s Page

Visions
People who start organizations know what they want to get
done. Then founders retire. New times, new leaders blur the
early clarity. “Where are we going?” someone asks. “How will
we know when we get there?” “We need a vision,” someone
says, “a picture of what life will look like when that day
comes.”
For just under two years individuals and focus groups
have struggled to draft a Vision to put in the new Official
Community Plan. It’s hard. I know, because after half a
dozen worn out BIC word processors I feel like Paul Simon,
sprawled on the hood of a taxi that hit a brick wall, who
could only ask, “Is this my problem? Is this how it is going
to be?”
activating theme of our lives, an indivisible, responsive,
instructive, vulnerable, resilient whole.
Future Salt Spring is able to cope with economic, social
and environmental surprises; its community institutions can
see them coming and “eliminate the negative, latch on to the
affirmative” facets of change.
The community routinely tests proposals and changes
for sustainability.
Community institutions leave room for error when
gauging how heavily to harvest nature or burden it with
wastes we expect to be de-toxified.
Future Salt Spring formally assesses the effects of
horizon technologies and democratically decides whether to
allow, encourage or regulate their local use.
Salt Spring uses different ways to correct historic
imbalances between human numbers (and their ecological
footprint) and Island capacities.
I’ve offered pretty abstract stuff. The arena of practical
living on our verdant Island is wide open. How about putting
your own ideas for a better Salt Spring into the language of
action?
- Bob Weeden

This gorgeous calendar of Salt Spring

photographs by Michael Levy is now
for sale at just $14.95, as a fundraiser to
support the Conservancy’s Stewards in
Training schools program.
Look for it on sale at the Saturday market,
Salt Spring Books and in other local stores.
It dawned on me that it is tough to win a footrace when
you start off in the wrong direction. I fixated on trying to
describe how it would be, in the rosy future when our work
is done. You know the drill: clean lakes, more kinds of wild
things, more ancient forest, fewer excavators, happier people.
A still life, like the Peaceable Kingdom. Then I realized –
knew it all along – that every future will be as restless as
every present. You can count on it. Existence is becoming,
not being. The things worth achieving are better capabilities
to meet new futures.
Simple example: The freeze-frame vision for 2050
might note that the phosphorus washing into lakes is half
what it was in 2008. The video version says that in 2050 well
informed landowners and an effective regulatory process
combine to keep pollutants out of fresh waters.
A bit of pondering uncovered a few capabilities I’d like
our community to have in Vision Time. This isn’t the place
to explore them (besides, they are half-baked at best), but a
one-sentence description will tell you what I have in mind.
Future Salt Spring teaches and demonstrates the idea
and practical meaning of person/community/land as the
 The Acorn - Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

Director’s Desk
The 2008 year has been off to a great start, with memberships
climbing to over 950 members in January. This is another
large increase over last year and at this rate I expect that we
will achieve 1000 members sometime later this year.
Although it has been more than a month since the
successful conclusion of this project, I want to acknowledge
again the enormous achievement of Maureen Moore and her
amazing band of volunteers. They achieved the improbable
by raising enough money to buy the Creekside Rainforest
property so that it could be protected forever. We are proud
to have contributed $50,000 from our Acquisitions fund
toward this appeal and are grateful for all those that worked
so hard on the campaign.
As part of our work to ensure that the SSI Conservancy
will continue as a strong and secure organization long
into the future, SSIC staff and the Board are working on
a coordinated fundraising strategy. This includes actively
promoting bequests and the idea of leaving a ‘green legacy’.
We are being assisted by Nora Layard, who is volunteering
her time to help us get a program in place this fall.
Volunteers Needed
If you are interested in helping with any of the activities
listed below, please contact Linda at the office: 538-0318 or
send an e-mail: ssiconservancy@saltspring.com
We Are Back in the Market!
Starting with the first Saturday in May we have a table in
the Saturday market to sell our gorgeous new ‘green’ calendar
and to promote the Conservancy. We need volunteers to take
either a morning or afternoon shift minding the table. People
on the morning shift will set up the display and sit at the
table until about noon. Those on the afternoon shift will start
at noon and take down the display at the end of the day.
Join a Committee and See Salt Spring [from a new
perspective]
Most of the key work of the Conservancy is done by
volunteers on the various committees. Joining a committee
is a great way to learn a lot more about our island and the
Conservancy, and to meet interesting people. Committees
currently looking for volunteers include:
Covenants: Help with contact and follow-up with
landowners who want to place conservation covenants on
their lands.
Education: Help plan and organize the monthly public
education talks, walks and workshops. Get to meet the
speakers and participate in events.
Stewardship: Assist landowners to care for their land
and waterways. In the process, learn about the Island’s natural
habitats and species at risk.
Spring 2008
Director’s Desk
Lend Your Writing, Layout, Design or Photography
Expertise
We would like to produce a Newcomer’s Guide to
Conservation on the Gulf Islands this year and are looking for
volunteers to help with this project. Are there photographers
and designers that could donate some time to help produce
an eye-catching and informative guide? Or who would like
to work on our other public information brochures?
- Linda Gilkeson
Web Links:
Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change through
Conservation of Nature in British Columbia by Sara Wilson
and Richard Hebda. 2008. http://www.landtrustalliance.
bc.ca/research.html This new report was commissioned by
the Land Trust Alliance of BC to provide scientific data
on the value of conserving natural ecosystems, the threats
to protected and conserved lands from impacts of climate
change and strategies to reduce those impacts.
The Garry Oak Gardener’s Handbook is available as a free
download at http://www.goert.ca/athome_garryoak_
gardener.php. In the handbook you will find tips on planning
your native plant garden, removing invasive species, acquiring
plants, mulching, caring for Garry oak trees, dealing with deer,
and more, all with full-colour photos and plan drawings. We
also have hard copies available at the Conservancy office.
Annual General Meeting May 23rd
Salt Spring Island Conservancy members are hereby
notified of the Annual General Meeting, which will
take place at the Lion’s Hall, 103 Bonnet Ave (off
Drake Road), Ganges, at 7:00 pm on Friday, May
23rd, 2008.
On the agenda:
Members will elect new directors for two-year terms.
Candidates standing for election include John De
Haan.
Motions the Board will propose or membership
approval: 1) appointment of the accountant for 2008,
2) the recommendation that the number of board
members for the 2008/09 election continue to be set
at 14 (as it is now).
You won’t want to miss the presentation on
Salt Spring’s rare and wonderful species led by
Conservancy biologist Robin Annschild (with a little
help from her friends). It will be both a celebration
of our natural environment and an informative report
on what we have learned from five years of work on
the Island on protecting endangered species.

features
Neil Dawe Speaks on Sustainability
In February, we invited Neil Dawe to give a talk for the
Conservancy on Sustainability: The Possibilities are Endless.
It was excellent and crucial. He talked about the root
causes of why we are not living sustainably on the planet
and why we are causing so much degradation. His message
was that we cannot address only the symptoms and expect
to be successful: we must address the root cause, which is
economic growth, a continual increase in the production and
consumption of goods and services. Dawe argues there is an
attitude that natural resources are unlimited for all time that
has become our standard (North American) attitude.
After the talk, people wanted to know, “What can we
do as individuals and groups like the Conservancy to address
the root cause?” We asked Dawe to write a follow-up article
to his talk. He agreed.
Are current conservation methods working?
For unnumbered centuries of human history the wilderness
has given way. The priority of industry has become dogma.
Are we as yet sufficiently enlightened to realize that
we must now challenge that dogma, or do without our
wilderness?
—Aldo Leopold
In March, 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
(MEA) was released. This report, based on the work of over
1,300 scientists, is the most comprehensive look at the state
of the Earth’s ecosystems ever completed. It reports some
significant conclusions:
“Human activity is putting such strain on the natural
functions of Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems
to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for
granted.
The provision of food, fresh water, energy, and materials
to a growing population has come at considerable cost to the
complex systems of plants, animals, and biological processes
that make the planet habitable.”
After over a century of conservation efforts around the
world, 60% of the 24 ecosystem services the MEA reviewed
were either being degraded or used unsustainably; they noted
that “Human activities have taken the planet to the edge of a
massive wave of species extinctions, further threatening our
own well-being.”
The 2007 IUCN Red List for Threatened Species
supports the MEA findings, noting that over 20% of the
species in the groups where most of their species have been
assessed (gymnosperms, amphibians, birds, mammals) are
now in danger of extinction. And only 3% of the world’s 1.9
. Those wishing a list of supporting references to the statements
in this note are invited to request them through the Qualicum
Institute web site: http://qualicuminstitute.ca/contact.php
 The Acorn - Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy
million described species have been assessed.
Other studies have shown similar results. The Global
Ecological Footprint analysis to 2003 indicates that humanity
exceeded the carrying capacity of the biosphere in the mid-
1980s. The Living Planet Index shows that we have eroded
about 40% of our natural capital since 1970, a little over one
human generation.
Now, consider this: today we have more wildlife
professionals and environmental organizations and volunteers
working on more ecological research, and environmental
awareness, education, and stewardship programs than ever
before; we have more rules and legislated regulations in place
to protect biodiversity; more conservation and ecosystem
restoration projects; and more protected areas than ever
before. Despite all this effort, there is more environmental
degradation than ever before. What conservationists are
collectively doing is not working. And yet we keep doing it,
environmental business as usual.
One of the main reasons we, at the Qualicum Institute
(www.qualicuminstitute.ca) believe this has happened is
quite simple: for the most part we’ve only been addressing
the symptoms of the problem rather than the root cause. We
spend our efforts, acquiring habitats, cleaning streams, dealing
with endangered species through recovery plans and so on,
but we fail to address the root cause of these environmental
problems. If we continue in this vein there is little doubt we’ll
fail in virtually all of our conservation efforts.
So what is the root cause of these problems? A number
of scientific and non-governmental organizations—
including the Qualicum Institute—have concluded that it
is economic growth. To understand this fully, one must have
some appreciation of our conventional economic model and
of economic growth itself.
Economic growth is an increase in the production
and consumption of goods and services and is a function
of increasing population and per capita production and
consumption. Thus, it can also be considered an increase
in throughput, or flow of natural resources, through the
economy and back to the environment as waste.
This required throughput unavoidably results in the
removal of structural ecosystem elements; the depletion of
non-renewable resources; actual displacement of healthy
ecosystems, their biodiversity and their life support services;
and degradation of the remaining ecosystems with wastes.
So, as the GDP continues to rise we know that somewhere,
ecosystems are being degraded or displaced or both, along
with their biodiversity and life-support services.
Since everything humanity depends upon comes from
global ecosystems, economic growth only occurs when
natural capital from the economy of nature is appropriated
for use by the human economy where it is converted to

manufactured capital and consumer goods. Because of the
tremendous breadth of the niche that we occupy, the human
economy grows at the competitive exclusion of wildlife in
the aggregate. This is fundamental to our understanding of
the basis of our economy and biodiversity loss.
The conventional or neoclassical economic model, under
which much of the global economy operates today, assumes
that infinite economic growth on a finite planet is possible;
the economy is considered to be the whole rather than a
subset of the biosphere and is not governed by physical and
ecological laws and principles such as thermodynamics and
carrying capacity. The economy is seen as a perpetual motion
machine that can run forever on its own output.
But the flow of economic throughput is not circular. It
flows one-way from low entropy (useful) resources to high
entropy (used-up-ness) waste, according to the Second Law
of Thermodynamics. To grow, the economy must take more
and more useful matter and energy from the finite biosphere
to produce goods and services; wastes are inevitable by-
products. Ultimately, all our goods become wastes as well.
The economy cannot function simply by using only its own
labour, manufactured capital, and waste as input.
While mainstream economists may think we can ignore
carrying capacity and the laws of thermodynamics, “Facts do
not cease to exist just because they are ignored,” as Huxley
observed.
Biologist and ecological economist, Brian Czech, using
an ecological analogy, identifies economic growth as a
limiting factor to wildlife conservation. He shows that there
is a fundamental conflict between economic growth and
ecosystem health, including biodiversity and the ecosystem
services on which we all depend.
As conservationists, we can no longer ignore the fact
that an economic model based on infinite growth on a finite
planet with finite resources—a model with no connectivity
to the biosphere—is fatally flawed and is causing the loss of
ecosystems, their biodiversity and the life support services
upon which we all depend. Even many of our so-called
“protected areas” are no longer providing secure habitats for
the wildlife dependent on them as the effects of economic
growth continue to impact them directly.
If economic growth is the limiting factor to biodiversity
conservation, economic growth is what has to be addressed.
Otherwise, everything else we do to try and conserve
biodiversity will be for naught, as the economy continues to
steamroll over more and more ecosystems further reducing
biodiversity and the ecosystem services that support all life
on the planet. That, appears to be what is happening.
There is a solution to this dilemma: we can choose to
move towards a sustainable economy with a reasonably
stabilized population and levels of consumption: an economy
Spring 2008
features
that ecological economist, Herman Daly, calls a “steady state
economy.” He summarizes the concept:
The main idea of a steady-state economy is to maintain
constant stocks of wealth and people at levels that are
sufficient for a long and good life. The throughput by which
these stocks are maintained should be low rather than high,
and always within the regenerative and absorptive capabilities
of the ecosystem.
The scale of the steady state economy must be sufficiently
below the ecological limits so that enough natural ecosystems
and biodiversity remain to allow the maintenance of the
planet’s biodiversity which is integral to normal ecosystem
functioning and the provision of the ecosystem services
necessary for life.
So what can we do? Well, first we have to choose to
make the change from doing only the “sexy” tasks of dealing
with the symptoms and start to include significant efforts to
address the root cause. Once that choice is made, here are
some other choices:
1. Learn as much as you can about our current
(neoclassical) macroeconomic model and its replacement
model from ecological economics. You can do both by reading
the excellent book Ecological Economics, by Herman Daly
and Joshua Farley.
2. Learn about the steady state economy. The Society
for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE)
web site has an excellent resource centre with papers that
discuss a number of aspects of this topic: http://www.
steadystate.org/CASSEResources.html
3. Join the over 1,500 individuals who have signed
on to the CASSE position statement on the fundamental
conflict between economic growth and ecosystem health:
http://www.steadystate.org/CASSEPositionOnEG.html
4. Encourage all the environmental or social justice
organizations you belong to, to adopt a position statement
on the fundamental conflict between economic growth
and ecosystem—and thus our own—health. Have them
register their position with CASSE (to see position
statements that other professional organizations and
NGOs have adopted, go to: http://www.steadystate.org/
CASSECompilationPositions.html and publicize their
decision.
5. Talk to your local, provincial, and federal politicians/
decision-makers about dealing with the fundamental conflict.
Ask them, e.g., to explain how the economy—a human
construct that is totally dependent on natural resources for
its growth—can keep up its perennial economic growth
when those resources are finite. Ask them to explain—if
growth is so good—why the disparity between the rich and
the poor keeps growing, why our taxes keep rising despite
Continued on page 14

Book review
A Stone too Far
Review: “The Upside of Down” by Thomas Homer-Dixon
(2006, Alfred Knopf, Canada)
East of Beirut, in the dessicated northern reaches of the Bakaa
Valley, six incredible columns of stone rear into the sky. They
are the last upright evidence of the Temple of Jupiter built
by Roman architects, engineers and slaves in the first century
A.D., at the far borders of empire.
Thomas Homer-Dixon gazed in awe at these ruins.
What values, he mused, were held so deeply that the Romans
would spend ten generations cutting, hauling, carving and
erecting such immense stones? Where did the wealth for this
project come from? Why wasn’t it finished?
He walked to a quarry nearby and found a clue. There,
“in a large depression in the ground, rearing out of the dirt
like a doomed ship about to slide beneath the waves for the
last time, was the renowned Hajar el Hibla, the Stone of the
Pregnant Woman.” Weighing close to 1000 tons, it had been
cut and readied for transport to become a foundation for
the planned extension of the Temple. The northern addition
never was built. The last stone, still partly attached to country
rock, lies abandoned, a poignant metaphor for the exhaustion
of Empire.
As Homer-Dixon tells it – and I can only sketch the
story he unfolds so cogently – the great talent of Rome
was organizational: the creation of a civilization around the
essential fact that when farmed well, grain yields far more
energy than it takes to grow it. This energy surplus, translated
into slave labour for public works, roads and aqueducts, and
into soldiers, tax collectors and administrators, conquered,
secured and managed a territory stretching from the Middle
East to England.
Then: overshoot. Production from Mediterranean
heartlands wasn’t enough. Exploiting more remote arable
land took more energy. Each acre of poorer or drier soil
yielded less. Barbarian raids in the northern hinterland
interupted production and required more forts, soldiers,
roads and administrators.
In Rome itself, empire profits disappeared into a
cesspool of corruption, murderous in-fighting and a bloated
bureaucracy. (While the Temple project was struggling,
Petroneus noted wryly that “I was to learn later in life
that we tend to meet every new situation by reorganizing;
and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion
of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and
demoralization.”) To use the author’s dispassionate analysis,
when the ratio of energy in to energy out dropped from
1:12 (or even as high as 1:50) to 1:1, the great Empire died
of exhaustion. Hajar el Hibla was a stone too far - almost
literally the last straw.
That last stone lies in dusty stillness today in the quarry
 The Acorn - Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy
of Baalbek, mute warning to moderns. We discovered a source
of energy surplus in fossil sunlight as Rome found theirs
in current sunlight. We, too, have our clever technologists,
managers and administrators who, in the blind work of
four centuries, have converted that surplus into 6.5 billion
people, marvels of cultural and utilitarian infrastructure,
unparalleled access to education and health services, art,
soldiers, consumer goods and bureaucracies that make
Rome’s look like children’s models. We, too, scramble harder
and tolerate more societal and environmental destruction to
keep coal and oil flowing. Replacing depleted fields with new
sources yields (as in tar sands) as little as 2 units of energy
for each unit invested. Alternate energy sources, held back
by relatively amateurish technology and tiny market shares,
struggle to get the invested energy back.
This comparison launches the doomsday section of The
Upside of Down, the obligatory proof of crisis that precedes
and meshes with whatever hope the writer offers. Readers
of this review don’t need my second-hand descriptions.
Read for yourself Homer-Dixon’s clear and thoughtful
accounts of today’s “tectonic stresses” (population growth
and urbanization, energy scarcities, environmental turmoil,
climate change and economic failures) and the factors of
speed, global connectivity and terrorism that exacerbate
each.
One of the book’s special contributions is to underscore
the imbedded fallacy of straight-line thinking so characteristic
of society today, particularly notions that Progress, although
it lurches, travels ever forward; and that Growth is both
necessary and possible. In reality, cycles of growth, collapse,
and reconstitution are everywhere. They aren’t merely
common, they are a fundamental characteristic of our lively
planet and perhaps of the universe. Cycles occur at all scales
of space and time, spanning rain-puddle communities of
tiny swimmers as well as continental glaciations coming
and going over millions of years. Cycles are nested like
the Russian child’s toy eggs, except that the toys are static
whereas natural and human cycles affect each other, the
growth phase of one cyclic phenomenon either propagating
or restricting that of a “neighbouring” cycle. Mid- to big-
scale cycles control conditions for all life within them. If
small-scale cycles get synchronized their combined force can
shift conditions regionally or globally.
Industrial capitalism has had an unprecedented growth
phase, but Homer-Smith (and many others) see its end dead
ahead. Someone once noted that “nothing clarifies the mind
so wonderfully as the imminent threat of hanging;” and
Homer-Smith thinks deeply and with urgency about the
collapse phase of this civilization – yours and mine. Can it
be prevented? If it comes, what could limit or magnify the
damage? If humans survive, what would be left with which

to re-form human society? Computer disks encrypted with
the old mistakes?
All earlier cycles of cultural growth and disintegration
were local or regional. New beginnings were made not only
by survivors, but by societies in the untouched hinterland.
The contemporary cycle is global. No one would escape
its collapse. Moreover, planetary climate, the chemistry of
soils, air and waters, the abundance and diversity of species –
indeed, every condition within which life must survive – has
been made less life-giving by our works.
During the 400-year history of the civilization in whose
late stages we live, the author asserts, we have created structures
and behaviours that are complex, intricately connected, huge
in scale, speedily communicated, and ultimately brittle. Each
characteristic contributes to the possibility of global collapse,
but each – in its opposite – offers ameliorating strategies. If
networking interconnections mean that a shock anywhere is
felt everywhere, then decentralize, weaken the connections.
If excessive complexity is dangerous and costly, simplify. If
the speed of change is partly due to a cascade of inventions,
force technologies, new and old, through a rigorous filter
of long-term public interest. Brittleness, the tendency to
resist movement to the point of a final break, comes from
the continuing denial, by ordinary folk as well as the rich
and powerful, of the serious looming challenges to “life
as we know it.” It is a state of mind created too much by
repeated myths of human cleverness and power, too little by
acknowledgement of historical failures and present flaws. If
it is a warped perception, it can be replaced, in time, with a
balanced one.
In the “What to do about it” section of The Upside of
Down, Homer-Dixon’s most important gift is his discussion
of the “prospective mind.” In this frame of mind we admit
how little we know, and, of what we know, how little we
can control. We see that change always was and will be the
way of the world. The prospective mind expects surprises
before it can name them. It is comfortable with uncertainty
and ambiguity, shies from dogma and zeal, hedges bets. If
slower to act and less forceful than the bold leadership we
are taught to admire, the prospective mind will see crises
sooner, respond sooner, and design alternate plans to be
used or shelved as events require. The prospective mind
cannot prevent disintegration of systems that have overshot
fundamental realities, but has a chance to prevent cataclysm.
It will arm us to assure a new start – the rebirth after shock
that Homer-Dixon calls catagenesis.
The Upside of Down is wide-ranging, rich, daring.
I’m not smart enough to critique the author’s data or
interpretations. Others are, and no doubt will. However, I
offer the observation that the author is almost unremittingly
anthropocentric. He centers so thoroughly on the failures
Spring 2008
book review
and prospects of our industrial civilization that he gives
short shrift to the most important thing of all, the absolute
need for a revolution in our relation to nature. This radically
different relationship must underpin not mere survival but
also our quest for answers to what Owen Flanagan calls “The
Really Hard Problem,” finding meaning in a material world. I
believe that such a reliable and enabling relation will be built
in equal part of understanding, love, and humility. No one of
those alone or paired is enough. Homer-Dixon’s focus is on
understanding through science, which leads to a mechanistic
or equally bloodless post-Newtonian view of nature, out of
which can only come utility-based, technologically supported
management. Love by itself, the Bambi Syndrome, is fatally
liable to stupidities. Hubris, the absence of humility, is why
we stand where we do today – but humility by itself is passive,
even fatalistic.
Imagine four houses, exactly alike. One is loved but not
understood. One is understood but not loved. One is given
love and understanding, and the fourth gets neither. Which
will last longest? Which will be the better home? In which
will a person find the richest setting to search for answers
to those great mysteries whose incomplete naming may be
humanity’s most definitive achievement in 10,000 years?
Without this sea-change in our perspective on nature,
survivors of collapse are doomed to repeat the same
fundamental mistakes we have made. Faced with two paths
in the wood, we will always take the one more traveled.
- Bob Weeden
SSIC Green Calendar Launch
Despite being the first sunny day after two most
untimely days of snow, sleet and hail, the SSIC Earth
Day Celebration at the Fritz Theatre saw a packed
house. A roomful of proud supporters was on hand to
watch the beautiful slide show presentation on the big
screen, featuring photographs by nine local artists. The
inspirational photos of nature and people in nature
reminded us again why this island is so special and why
we all need to help protect it.
Directly after the slide show, Jean Gelwicks launched
the new Green Calendar, a fundraiser for the school
programs that was made possible by a generous donation
by Michael Levy. Michael gave the Conservancy his
photos, his business plan, and his format. With 13 local
businesses stepping in as sponsors, all proceeds from
calendar sales will go into badly needed, stable funding
for the school programs.
With cake, coffee and calendar sales rounding out the
afternoon, it was an Earth Day event to be remembered.

Stewardship
Phantom Orchid as elusive as its name
Salt Spring Island falls within the rare Coastal Douglas Fir
ecosystem. It is therefore not too surprising to learn that
this island is home to many Species at Risk, both plants and
animals.
Since 90% of the island is privately owned, it is important
for landowners to be aware of the rare species that might
inhabit their properties. It is also imperative to acknowledge
the importance of private land stewardship, as Species at
Risk are not protected by law on private lands.
The Phantom Orchid Cephalanthera austiniae is one of
the threatened plant species found on Salt Spring Island.
It is the only member of the genus Cephalanthera in North
America. Within Canada, the Phantom Orchid is at the
northern limit of its range, found at three locales in south
western British Columbia including Salt Spring Island, the
Saanich Peninsula, and Chilliwack area. It is also found in
four US states.
This elusive white orchid grows on average to about 50
cm tall in clumps of 10-15 stems, with each stem having
5-20 flowers. The orchid is completely white except for the
small spot of yellow found on the inside lip of the lower
petal of the aromatic flowers which bloom in mid-late June
– look for it around Father’s Day! The Phantom Orchid is
saprophytic, having no chlorophyll to make its own food, but
rather relying on a complex orchid-fungi-tree relationship.
The orchid grows in conjunction with a fungi family, and
the fungi family in turn forms associations with tree species
in intact forests. The Phantom Orchid is associated with
calcareous (limestone) sites often in coniferous forest habitats,
but also in deciduous forests with the big-leaf maple as the
dominant tree species.
The Phantom Orchid faces several threats to its survival.
Because it occurs at the northern limits of its range in
BC, the populations of flowering plants are much smaller,
occur less frequently, and lack capsule and seed production.
Subdivision development is also a major threat to the species,
causing disturbance and habitat loss. Other threats include
the impacts of mountain biking, native plant gathering,
and climate change. As the orchids can not be cultivated,
likely due to the intricate nature of their orchid-fungi-tree
association, protection of existing sites and potential habitat
is of critical importance.
We know of one site in the south west of Salt Spring
where Phantom Orchids have been observed. However,
we’ve heard rumours of other sightings over the years. If you
think you’ve seen this orchid we want to hear from you!
- Laura Matthias, Staff Biologist
 The Acorn - Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy
References:
Hill, Donna. January 2008. Nature Park. Phantom Orchid.
http://naturepark.com/porchid.htm
Klinkenberg, Brian. January 2008. Native Plant Society of
British Columbia. The Phantom Orchid in Canada.
http://www.npsbc.org/Newsletter/articleo2.htm
Klinkenberg, Brian. January 2008. Phantom Orchid in
British Columbia.
http://www.geog.ubc.ca/~brian/phantomorchid.htm
CREEKSIDE RAINFOREST IS SAVED
The community owes a huge debt of gratitude to Maureen
Moore and all the other people, young and old, rich and not
so rich, islanders and people from off island, who helped to
make this purchase possible. It was due to their dedication
and hard work that we can enjoy this land forever in its
natural state. The island has once again been blessed.
An article by Hadani Ditmars appeared in the April
4th Globe and Mail entitled How to Save a Rain Forest. In
the last paragraph of the article the author interviewed the
past owners, who now live in Australia, and who said they
are pleased their old property is under the protection of the
Land Conservancy and becoming a nature reserve. They had
“fantasized for several years about being able to donate the
land to the community if we’d had enough money.”
Just a reminder to anyone who also “fantasizes” about
leaving their land as a legacy for the future: as a seller you
can go directly to a conservation group and ask if they are
interested in purchasing a property. This is how the Mt.
Erskine, Manzanetta Ridge, Hatfield Farm, and Ruckle Park
properties were all saved. The sellers came to a conservation
group with an offer. This saved hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
There are also excellent tax benefits for donating land
that property owners may want to look into. We are happy
to help to answer any of your questions.

Upcoming Events
May 16 (Friday) – Bottom Feeder: How to eat
ethically in a world of vanishing seafood. Talk and
reading by author Taras Grescoe, who has travelled the
world to see what is going on in the seafood industry.
Co-sponsored with SS Books. 7:00 pm. All Saints By
the Sea Anglican Church (upper hall), 110 Park Drive.
June 27 (Friday) The Bullfrog Project —Learn about
this invasive species on SSI and discuss ways to restore
the native frog populations.7:00 pm Lion’s Hall
Earth Day event and Green Calendar launch at the Fritz
Please send your updated
email address to
ssiconservancy@saltspring.com
Many of our emails are being
bounced back - including electronic
copies of the Acorn!
Jean Brouard flaps his wings
http://saltspringconservancy.ca/events
Spring 2008
Conservancy Events
Library Program
Salt Spring Island Conservancy and the
Library Cooperate on another Series of
Show, Touch and Tell for Kids
Since January several of our members have been sitting
down with some future Conservancy members at the library
for a little interactive fun on certain natural history topics.
Nancy Braithwaite started the program off in January with
some important organisms to be found in the forest. Andrea
LeBorgne followed in February with a chance for children
to learn about Mason bees and to make a home for them.
In March, Bristol Foster showed lots of vertebrate bone,
including some from other continents. And, David Denning
talked with children on animal eyes and they learned what
three things are important for sight (light, eye, brain). In
April Brian Smallshaw brought in a giant broom plant and a
broom cutter and showed plants that would grow in meadows
if the broom didn’t dominate. Later in April, Jean Brouard
discussed the intricacies of a favourite feathered friend: the
bejeweled hummingbird. By the time you read this report
Deb McGovern will have delighted us with details and
stories about harbour seals. You still have time to catch the
final event on Friday, May 30 with Jean Gelwicks. She knows
a lot about some of Salt Spring’s big birds: the eagle, the raven
and the owl. Be sure to bring some young children with you
to the library, downstairs, at one o’clock. Many thanks to the
library staff and volunteers for their organization, advertising
and support.
- Deborah Miller
A rapt audience photos by Sheila Spence

natural history

Invasion Alert: Bullfrogs on Salt Spring

Did you know that most frog legs served in restaurants are
taken from the bullfrog, Rana catsbeana? Bullfrogs were
widely introduced around the world for commercial frog-
leg farming, arriving in British Columbia shortly after the left: Bullfrog
Second World War as an employment venture for returning
veterans. Over the years, these ventures proved unprofitable below:
and many bullfrogs were released into the wild. our native Red-Legged Frog
They spread from the original release sites and have
(not to scale)
now established populations on Vancouver Island between
Victoria and Campbell River as well as on some Gulf Islands
and the Lower Mainland.
Does this introduced species present a problem? You
bet! Among other things, bullfrogs are voracious predators
on our native frog species – the tree frog and the red-legged
frog. They are also thought to spread a newly discovered frog
disease, a type of chytrid fungus, although they themselves
are not affected by this disease.
It is very important that we try to prevent the further
range expansion of bullfrogs on Vancouver Island and Salt
Spring Island in order to preserve native biodiversity in our
wetlands.
But the solution to the bullfrog invasion problem is
not simple. Eradication efforts have proven to be expensive, Thank you to our business members:
time consuming and labour–intensive. Furthermore, the
Anchorage Cove B&B Murakami Auto Body &
eradication of established breeding populations may not be
Baker Beach Cottages Repairs
possible with current techniques. Beddis House B&B Pharmasave
Enter The Bullfrog Project. This project at the University Blue Horse Folk Art The Pinch Group
of Victoria is funded in part by the Canadian Government Bold Bluff Retreat Pretzel Motors
Invasive Alien Species Partnership Program. It focuses on Bootacomputer Rammed Earth Canada
prevention. Caprice Heights B&B Raven Isle Graphics
It is much easier to prevent new bullfrog colonies than Cedar Mountain Studios Rock Salt Cafe
to control them once established. Although bullfrogs move Creekhouse Realty Ltd. Sandra Smith, Royal LePage
on their own, most invasion into new habitats is caused by Duck Creek Farm Salt Spring Realty
people. Unwanted bullfrog pets or frogs used in science Elsea Plumbing Salt Spring Adventure
Foxglove Farm & Garden Company
projects should never be dumped into lakes or other wetland
Supply Salt Spring Books
habitats even though this might seem to some people as The Fritz Movie Theatre Salt Spring Centre of Yoga
the “humane” thing. Another bad excuse is that it will Ganges Village Market Salt Spring Centre School
increase biodiversity. But the introduction of bullfrogs into Green Acres Resort Salt Spring Cheese
new habitats actually has the opposite effect – it reduces Gulf Island School District Salt Spring Coffee Company
biodiversity by eliminating important native species. Harbour House Hotel & Salt Pring Gelato Delizioso
The Project is also researching methods to mitigate the Restaurant Salt Spring Kayaking
impact of existing bullfrog populations by restoring habitats Institute for Sustainability, Salt Spring Natureworks
to enable the co-existence of native frog populations. Education and Action Natural Foods
The topic of bullfrogs on Salt Spring Island will be the Island Escapades Salt Spring Seeds
Island Star Video Saltspring Soapworks
focus for a presentation by a member of the University of
Karen Dakin, Accountant Spindrift at Welbury Point
Victoria Bullfrog Project team on Friday, June 27, 7:00 pm Monsoon Coast Sprague Associates
at the Lions Hall. Come find out what population control Moonstruck Organic Cheese Stowel Lake Farm
approaches can be used. Morningside Organic Terra Firma Builders
- David Denning Bakery & Cafe Thrifty Foods
Neil Morie, Architect Windsor Plywood

10 The Acorn - Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy


Bamboo:
Welcome immigrant or illegal alien?
The following article was submitted in response to an Acorn
article in our Fall 2007 issue. The Conservancy does not endorse
the opinions expressed within.
We were reading the interesting article about Ecological
Outlaws in a recent Acorn when we were dismayed to
find bamboo listed in the section called “the Bad: Garden
Escapees”. In over 20 years of cultivating, researching,
propagating and selling over 150 varieties of bamboo, we
have never seen bamboo “escape” into the natural ecosystem,
supplanting native species. Bamboo will not invade or
colonize wild areas, forests, or meadows, because bamboo
needs water in our dry coastal summers. And since many
bamboos flower only every half-century or so, they have no
seeds to spread.
Bamboo’s uses are many, including canes for bean poles
and plant stakes, fences, trellises, and arbors. We also harvest
new shoots in spring, when they come up in abundance, boil
and peel them, and enjoy their tender nutty taste. Phyllostachys
Dulcis is named for its sweet shoots.
A running bamboo prized for screening, Phyllostachys
Aureosulcata grows 25 feet high and has bright yellow culms
(canes) striped with green grooves, some of which zig-zag at
their base (a trait much prized by the Japanese). Phyllostachys
enjoy a trench filled with good soil and they need water at first
to become established. They tend not to run into soil around
the trench if it is rocky and dry (like much of our island.) A
barrier is often employed by landscapers, to a depth of 30
inches, to contain the vigorous rhizomes (roots), so they will
not find their way to your neighbour’s flower bed.
There are, however, also desirable clumping bamboos,
fargesias for instance, which “stay in place“. Fargesia Nitida,
“blue fountain” bamboo, grows to 12 feet, has small, delicate
leaves and prefers semi-shade. Fargesia Murielae, “umbrella
bamboo”, has a graceful arching habit and grows to 15 feet.
Yushania Anceps, a rare and beautiful Himalayan bamboo,
likes sun or part-shade, and grows to 12 feet. These are all
well-behaved varieties and dramatically accent plants in a
bed or large tub.
The south western part of BC is the only place in
Canada where bamboo is cold hardy. Here we can grow
anything from the two foot high dainty “fern leaf ” bamboo
(Pleioblastus Distichus) to exotic, tropical-looking large-
leafed sasa palmata, to 60 foot timber bamboo (Phyllostachys
Vivax). We are fortunate to have such an amazing variety of
hardy and decorative bamboo for our climate. A welcome
immigrant indeed.
- Merle and Doug Box from the Bamboo Ranch
Spring 2008
natural history
Bird Chat:
Advice from Wayne Campbell
1. The annual bird mortality in North America is
very high. Of the 20 billion birds migrating through North
America, up to 1 billion (10%) are from birds hitting
windows, 500 thousand (5%) are killed by cats, and another
500 thousand are killed by cars.
2. One way to prevent birds from hitting windows is to
put lots of stickers up. In general, black outlines of a raptor
bird on the windows don’t work. One thing which works
well is to suspend an aluminum pie plate by a string on both
left and right sides of the window, 2/3 of the way down, to
keep birds away.
3. If a bird hits a glass window, get to it quickly, hold
it upright in your cupped hands and close them without
squeezing. After two minutes or so, set the injured bird
down carefully in the crotch of a tree. Recovery rates with
such treatment can be up to 50%.
4. If you use a big tray bird feeder be aware that bird
poop deposited on it contains salmonella that will be ingested
by other birds.
5. Wash your bird feeder once every two weeks with
10% oxygen bleach.
6. Anna’s Hummingbird, our over-wintering
hummingbird, prefers a concentration of 1 part sugar to 2
parts water. The Rufous prefers 4 parts sugar to 6 parts water,
but they will both feed from 1 to 2.
7. Hummingbirds mainly eat insects and this is what
they feed the chicks before they fledge. When babies hatch
they eat the nectar but as they grow they eat more insects
than nectar.
8. To prevent birds from pecking at reflections in
windows, for territorial reasons during the early portions of
the breeding season, use a bar of Ivory soap and wipe it on
the window. Then wash it off later.
9. When eagles drown after catching a fish (it’s rare)
it’s not that their claws can’t let go but rather that they won’t
let go!
11
stewardship

Salt Spring Island Who’s Who: Frogs

Ponds are special places because of the variety of life they
support. Their importance in dry areas like our Coastal
Douglas Fir ecosystem is even greater. Just ask a thirsty
raccoon on a warm summer evening! At this time of year we
notice even the ponds we never knew were there because of
the chorus of spring frog calls....
THE PACIFIC TREEFROG – Hyla regilla
Hard though it is to believe, that deafening chorus you can
hear on spring evenings is made by the smallest of our two
native frogs, the Pacific treefrog. If this spring chorus makes
you think of a tropical jungle, there’s a reason for it: Many
Hollywood movies use recordings of our treefrog to make
their jungle scenes sound more “authentic”! The same frogs
make a low “krrreck” in damp or wet weather at any time of
year. Adult treefrogs range in length from 1 to 5 cm and vary
in colour from bright green to pale tan or reddish-orange.
They have a sharply defined, wide black line running from
the tip of their snout across each eye to their shoulder. Their
preferred breeding habitat is shallow ponds (less than 0.5
m deep). At other times of the year they can be seen far
from water where they stay moist with the help of a waxy
coating secreted by glands in their skin. The tadpoles can be
identified by their small size (3 mm to 24 mm) and their eyes
which poke out of the head slightly. Their colour is variable.
identified by their eardrum patches which are larger than
their eyes. They are green, tan or dark brown. They breed
in deep or shallow ponds or lakes, preferring warmer water.
The tadpoles are 3 to 60 mm in size and are mottled with
dark grey and black polka-dots.
Our current knowledge of the extent of this invasive
species on Salt Spring is within the Stowel Lake
watershed.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
* Learn more in David Denning’s article on page 10.
* Protect frog habitat on your land by enjoying ponds and
wetlands undisturbed and leaving shade trees around them
which keep water temperatures low.
* Borrow an amphibians field guide from the SSIC library
to help identify frogs and tadpoles in your favourite pond.
* Help SSIC map the current extent of the bullfrog invasion
on SSI by monitoring and reporting the presence of bullfrogs
to the SSIC. If you think you've spotted bullfrog tadpoles in
a water body near you, or have heard the bullfrog's distinctive
low mooing call, let us know by phone or email or by going
to our website to report a sighting.
* Share this information with your friends and neighbours.
- Robin Annschild, Staff Biologist

THE RED-LEGGED FROG – Rana aurora

The only other frog species native to Salt Spring Island is the To learn more about frogs and conservation:
red-legged frog. Larger than the tiny treefrog, adults range http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/frogwatch/
in length from 3 to 10 cm. They have golden eyes and the http://web.uvic.ca/bullfrogs/
underside of their thighs is reddish-pink. They prefer deep
ponds for breeding (0.5 to 2 m), and you will seldom notice
their low-pitched stuttering call that sounds somewhat like
a nail being run over the teeth of a comb. The tadpoles are 6
mm to 35 mm long and are tan-coloured with bright gold
blotches. The red-legged frog is a species of conservation
concern in British Columbia (it is on the Blue list) and at
the federal level it has been identified as a species of special
concern.

AN INVADER: THE BULLFROG – Rana catesbeiana

The bullfrog was introduced to Salt Spring Island
approximately 10 years ago in Stowel Lake. Much larger
than our native frogs, the bullfrog eats and out-competes
our native species, displacing them from our warmer ponds.
There is evidence that bullfrogs eat turtle hatchlings,
ducklings and other birds and they have few predators in this
region. From their first points of introduction on Vancouver
Island they have spread north and west and are now a
problem throughout the CRD and up the eastern coast to
Nanaimo. Adults range in size from 6.5 to 20 cm and can be Red-Legged Frog

12 The Acorn - Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy


Kathy Reimer Awarded Land Trust
Alliance Volunteer of The Year
Below is the winning nomination letter, written by Jean
Gelwicks on behalf of the Conservancy:
Dear Land Trust Alliance,
You are not going to find a volunteer who is more
dedicated in every way possible to their cause than Kathy.
Born in Revelstoke in 1945, Kathy knew fish from an
early age as a trout fisher. This is where she started to become
interested in fish, and their environment. She received
her BA degree in Biology from University of Victoria in
1967 and worked as a marine biologist researcher and lab
instructor there. She moved to Salt Spring in 1978 where
she and mostly some exfishermen formed the core of a group
call Salmon Enhancement that is now in its 25th year of
continued service to Salt Spring Island. Kathy has never
looked back. She became known, affectionately, as the
Salmon Enhancement Lady. In her late 50s she went back to
school at Royal Roads and got a Masters in Environmental
Management. I am sure she taught her class as much as
she learned, since by this time she was quite the expert in
environmental management, doing what most people only
talked about doing.
When speaking of Kathy everyone comments about her
absolute dedication to her work in time, energy and money.
She has the rare ability to work with everyone from all walks
of life and get all of them working together or supporting her
projects. She has been swimming upstream (pun intended)
for 25 years trying to restore all the streams on SSI, other
Gulf islands and even streams on Vancouver Island, back to
becoming salmon bearing streams. People talk about her
incredible work ethic, integrity, patience, intelligence and
they say they are and always will be 100% behind her and her
work. They also say that almost all the money she has raised
goes into projects and very little is spent on administration.
She often spends her own money to make projects work.
She is a doer. She can be found behind the desk writing
grant applications, but most often you will find her on a site,
in the mud doing the work alongside the volunteers she has
pulled together.
So what are her accomplishments? I will list a few below:
She is a strong proponent and teacher of the Stream Keepers
program, which works on restoring and upgrading streams
with and without salmon for the sake of plants, insects
and all living things that rely on clean water and a healthy
environment.
* She started and runs a native plant nursery that rescues
plants from building sites and keeps them at the nursery
until she finds a new home for them along some streambed.
Spring 2008
inside ssic
Congratulations
* She started and teaches the Salmon Enhancement
program in the SSI Elementary school. This
program teaches students the importance of clean
streams as habitat for many living things, especially
salmon, and gets them excited about salmon.
* She and her group have restored the following Salt Spring
Island streams once again to becoming salmon bearing
streams: Harris, Duck, Macafee, Cushion, Ganges,
Mancel, Bullock, Madrona, and O’Kano. There are also
restoration projects in Fulford Creek and Burgoyne.
* She started and is responsible for the Salt Spring
Island Fish Hatchery now at Cushion Creek where
they raise fry and set them loose in restored streams.
* She has applied for and received hundreds of thousands of
dollars that have gone into stream,stream bank and riparian
area restoration. These projects have encouraged salmon
to return to streams where they have not been for years.
* She works with the John Howard Society to help
youth in trouble who have been assigned to do
community work. She puts them to work on stream
enhancement projects, building pathways, pulling
broom and other community enhancement activities.
* She works with exfishers on restoration projects
* In her capacity as Biologist she does Riparian Area
Regulation (RAR) studies and Island Bird studies.
There is more.
You will not find a more valuable volunteer than Kathy.
Her dedication to the land and salmon and her selflessness
is truly unmatched. She is almost a Saint. Saint Salmon
Enhancement Lady. I like it.
- Jean Gelwicks, SSI Conservancy Secretary
School Program,
Continued from page 1
and the microscopic wonders of marine plankton – larval
forms of crabs, barnacles, sea stars and fish, and the green
glass cases of diatoms, the grass of the ocean.
The thing about the Stewards in Training program is
that it is a system that only works with volunteers. And so
we wonder if you could imagine yourself in this scene. It’s a
day out of the ordinary.
The Stewards in Training program is made possible by
the generous support of the Provincial Government of BC,
Friends of the Environment Fund - TD Bank, Mountain
Equipment Coop, our local Thrifty Smile Card program, and
the proceeds from our new Green Calendar, sponsored by
local green businesses.
Please call the Conservancy office for details of the next
Stewards in Training Program: 538 – 0318.
- Cate McEwan
13
Neil Dawe on Sustainability Where Time Goes
continued from page 5
the growth, and why environmental quality worsens and While time is very small,
biodiversity declines despite the fact that the GDP continues Still slighter than a whisper,
its astronomical rise. While now has just become
6. Talk about the fundamental conflict between The briefest instant past,
economic growth and ecosystem health to the people you The surface of the mind reflects
know who may be able to influence decision makers. The drying track above the tear
7. Hold a dinner or dessert party and talk this topic The stitching flight of finch
up among friends and colleagues. Include the viewing and Above the buttered field.
discussion of documentaries such as The End of Suburbia or
What a Way to Go. The lightest weight of time
8. Work to have your community begin to prepare Sinks all events to memory.
for the oncoming effects of peak oil, climate change, and The tear has dropped
biodiversity loss. What will these changes mean for your The finch has flown
community if food no longer arrives from afar with regularity, Although for you they glisten still,
if the sea level rises a metre, if temperatures increase and For you they clearly call.
precipitation decreases? What is the human carrying capacity
of your region in terms of food and water, considering the Memory blurs and then has gone
experts views of the upcoming changes? To ground, with bird and tear
9. Call into talk shows, write letters to the editor, and Leaving ghosts behind as stories
voice your opinion on the fundamental conflict between Passed on from ear to year.
economic growth and ecosystem health. We need a critical
mass of people to change from our fatally-flawed economy Time buries time
to a sustainable, steady state economy. Child buries father
10. Encourage invitations to the Qualicum Institute New tales supplant the old
or others, such as conservation ecologists and ecological Unseen life inters the bird
economists (e.g., Bill Rees), to speak on the fundamental Now long grown cold.
conflict at conferences, chambers of commerce, etc. It is
important to understand that Smart Growth concepts Soil lies over soil.
are good liveability concepts but they’re not sustainability Grown heavy under weight
concepts and that technological optimists are not the Of story, bird and tear
speakers to effectively address these issues. Common sense It awaits its transformation
tells us that we have more technological progress than ever By sea or ice or fire.
before in the history of civilization and yet at the same time, The other side of each is stone
the ecosystems of the Earth are in the worse shape they’ve And time imprisons there.
been in recorded history. We all need a good dose of reality.
Finally, while we may know all these facts, that is not But stone is not the end;
enough; we also need to act. Recall the words of Robert F. There is still and always time.
Kennedy: “It is not enough to understand, or to see clearly. Now again reforms the past
The future will be shaped … by those willing to commit their The stone is steadily undone
minds and their bodies to the task.” The soil with life is quickened
The stories are reborn
- Neil K. Dawe, The child is fathered once again
Director, Qualicum Institute And memory returns on wings
Of yet another flock of birds,
The fall of other tears.

- Bob Weeden

David Denning and Michael Levy at Green Calendar launch; slide show

14 The Acorn - Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

 Essential details

Volunteer Position
The Stewardship program on species at risk is starting
another fascinating field season and is looking for volunteers
to help with plant inventories and ecological monitoring. If
you want to get out into the wild places on the Island, learn
how to identify native plants and contribute to the protection
of important habitats, we will be happy to train you. Ideally,
volunteers would be available Monday-Friday, during the
work week. Contact Robin Annschild: 538-0318 or robin@
saltspringconservancy.ca
Three Simple [but Effective] Ways to Contribute to
the SSIC:
1- Use a Thrifty Food SMILE card: Pick one up our office,
or drop us a note and we will mail one to you. The 5% that
we receive goes to support our Stewards in Training schools
program.
2- Put receipts into the green Conservancy receipt box at
the GVM.
3- Credit the Conservancy when you take bottles to the Salt
Spring Refund Centre (the Bottle Depot beside GVM).
Office Update
Special Thanks
We treasure our regular office volunteer, Dick Willmott,
who comes in every week, without fail, to help with a variety
of tasks that pile up in the SSIC office--thank you, Dick!
Many thanks also go to Nora Layard, for the sound
advice (and the great baked treats!) she provides as she helps
us develop our donor program.
The owls of Salt Spring would like to thank Mark at
Slegg Lumber for donating the materials for the owl nest
boxes being built by another dedicated volunteer, Paul
Linton--hoohoo-to-yoo!
Earth Day event
and Green Calendar
launch at the Fritz

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 authors’, not subject to Conservancy approval.
Editor and Layout:
Elizabeth Nolan Membership Application Volunteer Opportunities
Youth (Under 16) 1 yr @ $15 __ We have a Volunteer Application Form
Executive Director: Linda Gilkeson
Board of Directors: Senior or Low-Income: 1 yr @ $20 __ 3 yr @ $60 __ that best describes areas you wish to
Samantha Beare (Treasurer) Regular Single 1 yr @ $25 __ 3 yr @ $75 __ help in. For now, which areas interest
Maureen Bendick
Regular Family 1 yr @ $35 __ 3 yr @ $105 __ you? Please check off:
Jean Brouard
Charles Dorworth Group/School 1 yr @ $35 __ 3 yr @ $105 __ Office Work
Robin Ferry Business 1 yr @ $55 __ 3 yr @ $165 __ Landowner Contact
Jean Gelwicks (Secretary)
Information Table at events
Ashley Hilliard
Maxine Leichter (Vice-president) Name: _ ______________________________________ Education Events
Steve Leichter Address: ______________________________________ Eco-Home Tour
Deborah Miller
_ ____________________________________________ Information Table at SSI Fall Fair/
Jane Petch
Brian Smallshaw Postal Code: ___________________________________ Craft Fairs
Bob Weeden (President) Phone:________________________________________ Joining a SSIC Committee (Land
Doug Wilkins
Email:________________________________________ Restoration & Management,
The Salt Spring Island Fundraising, Covenants,
Conservancy Please send me the Acorn via e-mail. Acquisitions, Education,
#201 Upper Ganges Centre,
338 Lower Ganges Rd.
(We NEVER give out member’s email addresses to anyone!) Stewardship, or Environmental
Mail: PO Box 722, This is a renewal for an existing membership Governance)
Salt Spring Island BC Other: _______________________
V8K 2W3
Office hours : Tues/Wed/Thurs
Donations
10 am - 3 pm In addition to my membership fee above, I have enclosed
Phone: (250) 538-0318 my donation in the amount of:
Fax: (250) 538-0319
Email:
$50 _ $100 _ $250 _ $500 _ $1000_ $2500 _ $5000 _
ssiconservancy@saltspring.com Other ___________ Ganges PO Box 722
Web site: Tax receipts will be provided for donations of $20 or more. Salt Spring Island BC
www.saltspringconservancy.ca V8K 2W3

Printed on 18% recycled paper Spring 2008 15

Ganges PO Box 722
Salt Spring Island BC
40026325
V8K 2W3