Fireweed Learning Commons

Sharing this guest column by forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon in the inaugural edition of Forest Voices, a newsletter from the Friends of Eagle Bluffs Forest.

The Big Backyard BioBlitz returns July 27–August 3! 🌱📸
Join thousands of people capturing the sights and sounds of species across Canada. You can be anywhere, city park, your backyard or deep in the wilderness, just as long as you photos of the species around you to help monitor the health of Canada’s biodiversity. To be part of this popular event go to: https://brnw.ch/21x3H4p

The Big Backyard BioBlitz returns July 27–August 3! 🌱📸

Join thousands of people capturing the sights and sounds of species across Canada.

Protecting nature is as easy as spot, snap and share!
Whether you’re in a city park, your backyard or deep in the wilderness, take photos of the species around you to help monitor the health of Canada’s biodiversity.

Be part of something big: https://brnw.ch/21x3H4p


A big thanks to Manulife, our Presenting Sponsor.

Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, celebrated each year on the summer solstice. It’s a time to honour the languages, teachings, traditions, and cultures of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples across Turtle Island.

Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day! Celebrated each year on the summer solstice, is a time to honour the languages, teachings, traditions, and cultures of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples across Turtle Island.

As Grandfather Sun shines longest and brightest today, we hope you are feeling energized and ready for a fresh start to the season.

Sharing this post from our friends at Protect Eagle Bluffs Forest. Why does Eagle Bluffs Forest matter? Because this 33-acre forest in Whiffin Spit, Sooke, BC, is unique and irreplaceable!
🌲🌲🌲Please help us protect it! 🌲🌲🌲
https://protecteaglebluffsforest.ca/take-action/
Sign our petition at this link to support the creation of this forest as a permanent park … a legacy for the future! This forest type is only 0.05 percent of BC’s land base. Temperate rainforest is only 1 percent of the planet’s land base. This is the last remaining oceanfront temperate rainforest in Sooke, BC, Canada, “where the rainforest meets the sea.”
https://protecteaglebluffsforest.ca/take-action/

Join Sierra Club BC on June 8 at 6:00 PM for a conversation with Suzanne Simard about her new book ‘When the Forest Breathes’ and what nature can teach us about adaptability, resilience, and community.
Sign up for the free webinar here: https://sierraclub.bc.ca/our-work/re-connecting-with-the-lands-waters/webinars/when-the-forest-breathes-a-conversation-with-suzanne-simard/

Join Sierra Club BC on June 8 at 6:00 PM for a conversation with Suzanne Simard about her new book ‘When the Forest Breathes’ and what nature can teach us about adaptability, resilience, and community.

Sign up for the free webinar here: https://sierraclub.bc.ca/our-work/re-connecting-with-the-lands-waters/webinars/when-the-forest-breathes-a-conversation-with-suzanne-simard/

Sharing this from our friends at Protect Eagle Bluffs Forest. Today is the UN International Day for Biological Diversity.

May 22 is the UN International Day for Biological Diversity. This year's theme "acting locally for global impact" is a very timely reminder, here at the Friends of Eagle Bluffs Forest, that meaningful action on biodiversity loss always begins at the community level. Please sign our petition in support of protecting Eagle Bluffs Forest here in Sooke.
🌲🌲🌲https://protecteaglebluffsforest.ca/take-action/ 🌲🌲🌲

About 40% of open-net salmon farm sites in B.C. have already been removed so progress Is being made. But 60% are still operating.
The federal government made a promise to fully transition all marine factory salmon farms out. It’s time to ensure they finish the job.
Wild salmon support a real economy, from commercial fishing to sport fishing to tourism. Foreign-owned factory salmon farms have threatened these community-lifelines for too long.
You can email our Member of Parliament Stephanie McLean at [email protected].

🔎 A new investigation found Norwegian fish farms are polluting fjords with waste compared to raw sewage from millions of people.

There are Norway-based companies factory farming salmon in B.C. 💩

Do you think the impacts are any different here?
👉Read the full story: https://www.safesalmon.ca/norwegian_fish_farms_polluting_fjords

The right to repair/repair cafe movement is a global shift towards recognizing that we can't keep throwing things away when they no longer work. Many, many common household items can be fixed and our talented fixers are committed to repairing as many items as they can at Zero Waste Sooke popular cafe's (complete with coffee, tea, and goodies) to make it a complete experience! Bring us what you can carry through the doors (i.e., not tractors 😊) and we'll do our best!

Getting ready for our Repair Cafe!
Sunday May 31 from 10:00am to 2:00pm, downstairs at the Community Hall.