It is so wonderful to be in my 70’s because I have finally slowed down enough to reflect on the path I walked in life. As things were happening in real-time I never really thought I was doing anything more then what I should. My life had its ups and downs but one consistency I now see throughout is a deep connection with nature and humanity through my work and my service.
When I was studying Biology at Simon Fraser University in the late 1960’s, that was when I was first hit by the vital importance that we as a society and as a species at whole had better start looking after the environment! The most poignant memory I have to this realization was when myself and two other students had come across a population growth chart for the planet that showed that the global population would DOUBLE from the then approx 3 billion people to 6 billion people by the turn of the millennia! It did not take a genius to realize that a planet of finite resources would be stressed the more human population was added to it, especially if that population continued living by a mantra of having ‘dominion over the earth’! This business as usual approach had to be modified quickly if we were to avert a man-made catastrophe!
To that end I became one of the originating members of SPEC (the Society for Pollution and Environmental Control) in 1969 although they have since changed their name to The Society Promoting Environmental Conservation. At that time I did a lot of agar plate analysis to investigate the levels of water pollution that was already mounting in and around Vancouver even back then!
I graduated with a Master’s degree (Forest Entomology) in 1972. and then worked on a Aphid project at UBC before I accompanied my then husband, Don, to Jamaica for three months so he could complete his medical externship. While there I volunteered to teach Biology at the local university and also became pregnant with my first child.
We then moved to California for Don to pursue his internship, I spent my time raising our young daughter and volunteering at the hospital as well as a local farm there. So, in these early days I realized I had a deep passion for putting my energies into volunteer service and social initiatives.
In 1976 we moved back to British Columbia where I gave birth to our son and we bought a 10 acre hobby farm where we grew organic produce, raised livestock and participated in Peace Marches and the annual Courtenay Renaissance Fair! It was a hippy time with close ties to nature, getting our hands dirty on the farm producing our own sustenance and sharing our abundance with the community. I also really accelerated my community activism at this time as I volunteered as a counsellor for the Comox Valley Crisis Center, joined an organic Food Cooperative and co-facilitated “Expression for Women” empowerment groups which evolved into the North Island Women’s Services Society (The Courtenay Women’s Center). I was also a member of that board and participated in developing The Women’s Self-Help Handbook as part of a successful women’s collective.
A friend of ours owned a fishing boat and from 1979 till 1981 I frequently signed on as a deckhand to marvel at the abundance of nature as we hauled herring onto the skiff or salmon onto the fishing vessel. When our friend passed away from an untimely fishing accident, however, we moved a bit further away from the hippy life.
In 1981 we moved to a beach front house on the Comox Peninsula and took up road racing and mountain hiking. To this day I have the fondest memories of Strathacona park and climbing up the Comox Glacier and Mount Albert Edward and soaking in that bond with nature. Professionally I took a contract to investigate recreational activities for disabled people in the Comox Valley, and then another contract providing speech therapy for children in their homes. I then worked as the office manager for tourism Comox Valley until In 1986 I found myself working in the field of my actual study, forest entomology!
Working for PheroTech as a forest entomologist on North Vancouver Island, it was fascinating to once again get back to science and to track the relationship between beetle counts and log damage. I did that for five years until in 1991 my husband and I divorced and shook up my world. I didn’t even see it coming and felt more then a bit naive to have been blindsided like that.
To toughen myself up I decided to enroll in Law School and started that in the fall of 1992 at UVic. Still longing to be close to nature though, myself and my new partner Johnny would retreat back up Island every summer to work on a commercial Oyster farm on Quadra Island.
Upon completion of my law degree in 1996 I then worked on a three month contract examining the ecological pros and
cons of forest harvest tenure types in a joint project of Ecotrust and David Suzuki Foundation. I then was an owner operator of a shell fish Lease on Denman Island for the next ten years syncing up with tidal cycles and finding a balance of time in nature with writing, reporting and book-keeping. At this same time I also became a board member of the Georgia Strait Alliance for two years, out of which came The Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up of the Courtenay River Estuary which I took on for 10 years from 1996-2005 and marshaled volunteers and removed and identified sources of
litter from this precious ecological gem in the heart of the Comox Valley. Over those ten years we removed more than 4 tonnes of garbage and I took training as a Streamkeeper and Wetlandkeeper.
I volunteered extensively after selling the oyster lease and really loved it for its engagement with people and to give back to the community. I enjoyed working (usually as a director on the boards) with good friends in many organizations: Comox Valley Environmental Council, Comox-Lazo Forest Reserve, Area B Rural Residents’ Association, the Comox Town Residents’ Association, to name a few. I was also chair of the Regional District’s Area B Advisory Planning
Commission and then two friends and I formed Smart Growth Comox Valley and encouraged the principles of community development that reduces the impact on the environment while creating livable, dynamic and tax-efficient
communities. In 2008 I ran for Comox Council on the “Smart Growth” platform and won third place with a strong showing of support!
In 2009 Johnny and I moved to Quadra Island but unfortunately my 60’s were a bit rough on me health wise so I had to reduce my volunteerism for my own sake. I still took time to I volunteer in the kitchen at Camp Homewood, and was on the steering committee of The Old Farm Community Garden, the board of Sierra Quadra Island. I organized a
Climate Change march in Campbell River one year and was also on the board of the Quadra Island Seniors Housing Society where we worked to build a 16 unit low-income housing facility right on our island.
Now in my 70’s things seem much better. My health has stabilized without the need for medications. I now volunteer with Quadra Island’s Emergency Services Society, through the B.C program as well as with the Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Program for our neighbourhood. I recently joined the Community Led Death Care group (to bring death care home from professional funeral services). I am also currently a working member of Island Climate Action Network (ICAN) for Quadra Island and have also been a member of the Quadra Island Legion Ladies Auxiliary for several years now.
Now, from the comfort of my home, I am pleased to bring my experience to this web page and interact with community minded, environmentaly minded people and to take incremental steps towards us all living more environmentally sound lives!
