owichan APRIL 2017 ISSUE 101 1
Easter at VINOTECA Join us at Zanatta Vineyard
Sunday, April 16th Brunch served from 10AM to 1PM Fruit Salad & Honey Yogurt French Toast with Macerated Fruit & Warm Maple Syrup or Chorizo & Caramelized Leeks Eggs Benedict on Crispy Polenta or Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict on Toasted Brioche or Savoury Crepe with Mushrooms, Ham and Cheese Sauce
vinoteca.ca
For reservations call 5039 Marshall Rd, Duncan I 250 709 2279
Youth for Christ - Blue Bus Quw’utsun “Open Bus” 6:30-8PM Mulaqw Rd, Cowichan Tribes FREE
Rainbow Coffee Group monthly meet-up for LGBT adults. Info: www.meetup.com/ Rainbow-Coffee-Group
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All Candidates meeting to discuss Seniors issues, 6 - 8pm, Cobble Hill Farmers Institute Hall free, but bring your questions!
South Cowichan Live Music Jam 7–11PM Shawnigan Malahat Legion Hall, 1625 Shawnigan-Mill Bay Rd alphi@shaw.ca No Cover
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Parents Unite Garage Sale, 9-12PM Island Savings Centre Tables $20/FREE admission
Waldorf and Homeschoolers Spring Break Camp,10-3PM $100/3 days For more info www.wolfcowichan.com
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Community Acupuncture Wednesdays w/ Frauke McCashin, RAc, 5-8pm#103-44 Queens Rd, Duncan 250-710-3581 also 12/19/26 Meditation Wednesdays 7 PM Nichiren Buddha Center 250. 710. 7594 also 12/19/26
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Registration for Cowichan Valley Fine Arts Show 10-5 PORTALS or Online 2687 James St. Duncan cowichanvalleyartscouncil.ca
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Cari Burdett Live at the Duncan Showroom – 133 Station St, Duncan 8pm Tickets $20
2 Pianos 4 Hands opens Chemainus Theatre Festival www.chemainustheatre.ca Community Acupuncture Thursdays w/Frauke McCashin 12-3 pm RAc, #103-44 Queens Road, Duncan 250-710-3581 $15-$45 also 13/20/27
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Divine Love:The Answer to Universal Health w/Jose de Dios Mata CSB11AM Island Savings Centre, 2687 James St 250 597 7554
(Japanese style) Yoga classes with Tin Yan, 5:307pm @ Sol Centre, #3-5380 Trans-Canada Hwy, $15, yogaokido@gmail.com Also 13/20/27
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Tim Dyer: Life on paper,’ @ The Ou Gallery 11-4PM 3091 Agira Rd, Duncan, FREE, www.theougallery.com
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Crowe & Appel 5-8 PM information session for Wolf Cowichan with short film and dinner, open to the public.
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Sunday Jazz Maple Blues Winner David Vest - Mr. Boogie Woogie $20 Crofton Pub 2pm
DJ Space Old Firehouse Wine Bar 40 Ingram St, Duncan
The Stragglers @ Bridgemans Bistro Mill Bay Marina 4-7 PM No cover www.bridgemans.ca also 9/23/30
Art Opening - Your Daughter is in Good Hands: An Exhibit by Shannon Peck 6-9PM PORTALS 2687 James St, Duncan
Auction Sundsay! La Petite Auction House 9686 Chemainus Rd, 1pm To consign email dawngeddie@gmail.com Also 16/30
Perennial Exchange 9:30 AM Dinter Nursery
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Your Daughter is in Good Hands: An Exhibit by Shannon Peck PORTALS 2687 James St, Duncan www. specksurfacedesign.com. Cowichan Estuary Threatened by Rezoning Public Information Meeting, 7:30 PM Cowichan Maritime Museum 1761 Cowichan Bay Rd
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Advance Care Planning w/ Cowichan Hospice Duncan Ramada 250.701.4242 Lemon and Lavender Vintage Tea 11AM -2PM, Mill Bay League Community Hall across Kerry Park Arena Free admission/Tea tickets $7 Kombucha with Renee 2pm $30 Scoops Natural Foods, Whippletree Junction 778-422-3310
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LAP PUPPETRY FOR AGES 4 - 7 FreyaSophia Waldorf Store, Sol Centre Duncan
Releasing Stress - Creating Your Own Healing Toolkit 1-4PM Celtic Rhythm Dancers 371 Brae Rd creativebreakouts.com Sunday Jazz NMA Big Band 50th Anniversary Special presentation $15 Crofton Pub 2pm Chemainus Classical Concerts: “Persian Spring” Ensemble Daryâ 2pm St Michael’s Church, Chemainus $20/$5 Adv 250-748-8383 Jocelyn Pettit & Band in Concert 7:30PM Shady Grove, Mill Bay $5 Donation shadygrove.ca
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Youth for Christ - Blue Bus Quw’utsun progam for youth ages 8-12 years, 6:308:00 pm, Mulaqw Road, Cowichan Tribes FREE
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Intro to Cajon Drumming w/Karin Lewis, 6-7pm, Sol Centre, 5380 TCH Duncan $20 Preregister karinlewisdrum@gmail.com
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Spring re-opening, Crowe and Appel, 1751 Cowichan Bay Road, 250 748
Cowichan Valley Garden Club w/Diane Pearce,Victoria “Spring & Summer Colour in the Garden” 7PM St. John’s Anglican Church, Duncan Chemainus Sketch Group 9:30AM guest artist: Josslyn Meyeres Fuller Lake Arena, Chemainus
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Spring Painting Workshops at Embellish! 10AM -3PM $125 115 Kenneth St To Register 250 745 9809 Understanding Essential Oils 7-9PM Botanical Bliss in Duncan $25 Register on line at www.botanicalbliss.ca or call 250-710-1276
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Healing Arts Expo Call For Practitioners Deadline Applications available at www.cowichanhealingarts.org Masala Sauce 6-7.30PM $15 Scoops,
Valley Voice Magazine -Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Whippletree Junction 778-422-3310
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Masimba Marimba, Kurai Mubaiwa and Marimba Muzuva - A fundraiser for Nhemamusasa North w/ Silent Auction & Refreshments 7PM Mercury Theatre, 331 Brae Road, Duncan $15/ Families $25 Galactic Funk In The Country 9PM-1AM, Glenora Hall 3660 Glenora Rd, By donation at the door. Food Catered by Wild Thyme
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Cowichan Valley Garden Club Annual Plant Sale, 10AM -1PM, St. John’s Church Hall, 486 Jubilee St. Duncan $2 Free Yin Yoga Class with Nadia, 6:00-7:30pm, Harmony Yoga Centre 360 Duncan St. FREE! A Day of Faith, A Day with the Buddha’s, Nichiren Buddha Center, Info: www.VIRetreats. com/2017 Retreats
OPEN HOUSE After school in the Kindergarten
Current Threads, Ladysmith Waterfront Gallery
Current Threads Artist Reception, Ladysmith Waterfront Gallery
Arbutus Ridge Golf Club 10 Game Pack Promotion ends today 250 743 5000
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HUGE MS Garage Sale Fundraiser, 9am-2pm, 7305 Bell McKinnon Road, Duncan
Sunday Jazz Vocalist Wanda Nowicki $15 Crofton Pub 2pm
Easter Family Day at Birds Eye Cove Farm Easter Egg Hunts every hour from 10:30AM, wood fired pizza, petting zoo, EA Photography, Horse Wagon Rides, face painting, egg decorating, bouncy castle and more! 5881 Genoa Bay Rd, Duncan $5 per person
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Sacred Chant Circle @ Rivendell Yurt 7-8:30pm For info Sadie sdbartram@gmail.com
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Saturday May 6 10 - 11:30am
The Hub Easter Fair Easter egg hunt, pancake breakfast, inflatable obstacle course, kids crafts, clay activities, face painting, live music and more! 9AM-1PM the HUB 2375 Koksilah Rd
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Space is limited - Please RSVP admissions@sunrisewaldorfschool or call 250.743.7253
Cowichan Lake District Chamber of Commerce All Candidate Debate 7PM Centennial Hall, 311 South Shore Rd, Lake Cowichan
www.sunrisewaldorfschool.org
Easter Brunch Buffet at Satellite Bar & Grille Arbutus Ridge Golf Club 3515 Telegraph Rd, Cobble Hill 250 743 5100 Easter Bruncn on the Vineyard, Vinoteca at Zanatta Vineyard, 5039 Marshall Rd, Duncan Call for reservations 250 709 2279
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Green Rally / Pub Night 6 – 9PM Cowichan Bay Pub soniabcgreens.ca All Candidates Debates Hugh Wilkinson Theater (Shawnigan Lake School) 7PM
Cowichan Artisans Annual Spring Open Studio Tour 10am – 5pm daily Visit www.cowichanartisans.com for the map or look out for our new brochure
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Atlantic Theatre Ballet of Canada’s – Phantom of the Opera 7:30pm Cowichan Performing Arts Centre www.cowichanpac.ca Beatlemania tribute “The Deaf Aids” 8PM Cobblestone Pub, Cobble Hill No cover Authentic Lentil Dahl 6-7.30pm $15 Scoops Whippletree Junction 778-422-3310
47th ANNUAL
Wednesday April 26 2 - 3 pm
SILK MARIONETTE SHOW AGES 4 + Freya-Sophia Waldorf Store, Sol Centre
A Morning in the Preschool
Chamber of Commerce All Candidate Debate 6:30 PM Cowichan Performing Arts Centre Sunrise Waldorf School OPEN HOUSE Afterschool in the Kindergarten RSVP 250 743 7253 www.sunrisewaldorfschool.org
Liquified Natural Gas: Pipedream or Reality, Public talk w/speaker Ben Parfitt 7PM Duncan United Church 246 Ingram St, Info 250-748-2444.
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Leaders of Tomorrow Awards, 6-9PM, Island Savings Centre Duncan Free leadersoftomorrowcowichan.com
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Personal Transformation Intensive (PTI) 5 Month Program Lori 250-597-7459 loriaustein.com
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HUB FilmClub:“Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter..and Spring” 14A 7PM 2375 Koksilah Rd, Admission with membership or donation hubfilmclub@gmail.com or FB Youth Action Day The “for youth, by youth” event celebrates Cowichan’s Youth in Action Cowichan Performing Arts Center
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In Bloom Wildflower Festival 10-2PM Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve 1241 Maple Bay Rd www.natureconservancy.ca/bc
GARDEN FAIR sponsored by the Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society 10AM-2PM Main Hall, CowEx Grounds Coffee & Donuts FREE Sourdough Bread Baking Workshop 9-4PM Cowichan Green Community $120/90 per person sproutspopup@gmail.com Arlo Guthrie, Cowichan Theatre, 2687 James St., Duncan www.cowichanpac.ca
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Sunday Jazz Andrew Janusson, Ryan Oliver, Sean Drabitt & John Lee Crofton Pub 2pm $15
OUT OF TOWN
7-9 ROOT VICTORIA Goward House, 2495 Arbutus Rd, Victoria 28 OPEN HOUSE Canadian School of Natural Nutrition 4-6:30PM 91 Front St, Nanaimo FREE Tickets on Eventbrite
Cowichan Valley’s Largest Open Art Exhibition & Sale Wednesday May 3rd - Sunday May 7th, 2017
Wednesday to Friday 10am - 8pm, Saturday 10 - 5pm, Sunday 11 - 3pm Admission $5.00 - 12 & under Free
Artist On-line and in person registration April 5-8, 2017 PORTALS & Cowichan Suite • Island Savings Centre, 2687 James St., Duncan www.cowichanvalleyartscouncil.ca 250.746.1633 cvartscouncil@shaw.ca
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Issue 101 April 2017 Published by Cowichan Valley Voice Magazine Editors Sheila & Richard Badman Contact us at: editor@cowichanvalleyvoice.com 250 746 9319 www.cowichanvalleyvoice.com Proofreader Diana Pink
Distribution Mike Andringa
Advertising Enquiries Please Contact Adrienne Richards 250 510 6596 e-mail adrienne@cowichanvalleyvoice.com Next Ad Deadline APRIL 18 for MAY ISSUE 102 *Non Profit Community Ad Rates available please enquire. COMMUNITY CALENDAR LISTINGS ARE FREE! Next DEADLINE APRIL 15 for MAY 2017 Issue 102 Please send event all on ONE line in this order: Date, Event Title, Time, Location, Cost to: events@cowichanvalleyvoice.com Cowichan Valley Voice Magazine reserves the right to omit and/or edit submitted listings due to space limitations SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING VALLEY VOICES Mark Holford, Antoine, Faye Stefan, Jock Hildebrand, Sarah Wilson, Richard Badman, Lois Hellemond, Ted Wright, Naomi Kunert, Janet Magdanz, Tamu Miles, Michelle Vogelgesang, Sheila Badman, Rebecca Hazell, Lori Austein, Robin Round, Ted Leischner, Matt Price, David Pink, Barrie Agar, Jane Waterman, Catherine Macey, Reed Gary, Tracey Hanson, Christy Thomson, Richard Ingle, Kristi Hagen, Nicolette Genier, Sophy Roberge, Dave Nichols, Genevieve Singleton, Dr. Goetz Schuerholz, Simon Pidcock, Penelope Griggs, Debbie Wood, Lesley Nielson, Frances Lidner, Paulina Kee, Lilian Bianchi, Nick Brown, Laura Colpitts, Rosalie Sawrie, Rick Dennis,Adrienne Richards, David Suzuki, The Wonderful Staff at The Community Farm Store and The Lovely Georgia Nicols. We welcome your story ideas & photo submissions, however Cowichan Valley Voice Magazine reserves the right to omit and/or edit all submissions for space, clarity, content and style. The opinions expressed in Valley Voice Magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, publishers or other contributors. Please send a query e-mail with your suggested topic prior to sending your article as space is limited and may not always be available. Valley Voice Magazine is distributed through 450 + select locations throughout the Cowichan Valley- Malahat, Mill Bay, Shawnigan Lake, Cherry Point, Duncan, Cowichan Bay, Crofton, Chemainus and Salt Spring Island and to Cowichan Lake, Ladysmith, Victoria, Tofino, Parksville and Courtenay. Cover Image: Ferns by Cheryl Painter With the beautiful Cowichan Valley as her home base, she uses escapades with her family for inspiration. Local parks, various spots in the Lower Mainland, and the BC Interior provide a kaleidoscope of subject matter. www.cpainterartist.ca
Hop to it! adrienne@
Request a new 2017 Ad Rates Card and get a start on a new marketing plan to grow your business this season.
cowichanvalleyvoice.com
250 510 6596
6 contact Adrienne Richards
OUR COMMUNITY April Events 4- 5 Viridian: Love What You Do; Make A Difference 30 Conversations for Living and Dying Well 35 The Death of E-Plus 41 SCowichan Pipers and Drummers Society 34 Natural Beauty in Downtown Duncan 36 - 39 Volunteers needed for Friendly Visitor program for seniors 42 What about those numbers on plastics? 49 What does a Realtor do for you? 60 What It Took - How Shawnigan Won 63 Community Farm Store 64-66 Local Business Directory 68-69 April Forecasts by Georgia Nicols 67 Voting Made Easier 70 WEBSITES, EMAILS AND VERBAL LINT 70 LOCAL FOOD & DRINK Delicious Ways to Celebrate Easter in the Valley! 9 Local Pairings For Easter 12 Musings From The Vines 14 Home Sourdough Bread Workshop 15 FARM, HOME & GARDEN One Egg, Seven Omelettes19 Water Conservation in your Garden 31 The Exotic Rhododendron 32 Companion Planting in the Vegetable Garden 33 Beginning Beekeeping 44 Green Living: Tips from the Pro’s 61 LOCAL ARTS Cari Burdett Live - On Tour 7 2 Pianos 4 Hands 20 Spring Fever! 21 Awakening the Spirit of Stone ~ Creating a Legacy to Inspire… 22 Cowichan Valley Fine Arts Show Registration 23 Your Daughter is in Good Hands: Art as Autobiography 27 BODY, MIND & HEALTH Spring Cleaning Detox And Weight Loss 16 Essential Oils 28 Personal Transformation Intensive 29 Releasing Stress- Chronic Illness and Pain 34 RMT Lindsay Campa 42 Warmland Medical Cannabis Centre 55 Spring presents an excellent opportunity to lighten up! 57 Root & Ancient 58 Yoga For Wellness:The United States of Joyful 59 CHILDREN & FAMILY The Healing Strength of Puppetry 46 The Freya Sophia Waldorf Store 47 BEAUTY The Cold Laser Experience 56 PETS, RECREATION & NATURE Arbutus Ridge Golf Club introduces The 10 Game Pack” 40 South Island Whale Report 50 Take a Paddle on “The Wild Side” 51 Nature Rambles:Notes on a FewSpring Flowers 52 Old Dogs…A foxy experiment…53 CERCA says “NO” to a Re-zoning Application 62 David Suzuki: Faulty logic fuels fossil fools 71
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Vocalist Cari Burdett
Cari Burdett Live - On Tour “A pleasure to meet this powerhouse performer, her skilled intensity with a wide range, from opera, to folk and feisty gypsy cabaret style music.” Daphne Goode, Shaw TV
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ncomparable soprano Cari Burdett will be performing alongside internationally acclaimed members of The Bills. Delight in her multicultural set featuring Italian, Spanish, Swedish, French and English flavours, along with some new originals to be featured on her upcoming album. A show for all ages, audiences will travel the world without leaving the room, and go home inspired by song and sound. If you enjoy Ute Lemper, Edith Piaf and Nina Simone, you’ll love Cari’s unique interpretations of these great classics as well as her original
compositions. Her all-star band members include such notables as Adrian Dolan (Piano, accordion, violin, mandolin), Richard Moody (violin, viola, mandolin), and Scott White (bass). Cari has gained recognition across Canada since her release of Magnolia last year. She has been featured on Radio Canada, CBC, CFAX, Shaw TV, Montreal Jazz shows and Hot Air. Cari will sing at the Duncan Showroom April 6, to kick off her ‘Spring Fling’ tour. The Duncan show is a co- production between Longevity John from the Duncan Showroom and the Cowichan Folk Guild, with Kelly Nakatsuka as the new director. April 6, Duncan Showroom – 133 Station Street, Duncan, Show starts at 8pm Tickets $20 Duncan Showroom
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Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Delicious Ways to Celebrate Easter in the Valley! Centrepiece, True Grain Bread
Coconut Cream Pie, Art To Eat
EASTER BAKING
The lovely bakers at the Duncan Garage Café will be baking their delicious Hot Cross Buns ($2 each or tray of 4 for $7.50) and Gluten Free Hot Cross buns ($2.50 each or a tray of 4 for $9.50) on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in April until Easter is done. Their hot cross buns are made with only organic natural dried fruit and a delightful blend of organic spices. All Easter weekend, they’ll be offering the super cute Bunny Buns ($1 each), a bunny shaped variant on our legendary addictive Butter Buns (also available, 90 cents each). All the usual goodies to make your holiday feast amazing will be available in an assortment of wheat and gluten free. 330 Duncan St, Duncan, 250 7486223 Art To Eat’s Michelle Plain is baking Coconut Cream
Pies! loaded with coconut and creamy goodness for your Easter Celebrations. Call to order 250-746-4310. A beautiful addition to Cowichan tables are True Grain Bread’s Edible Centerpieces - an Easter specialty composed of 18 different topped buns and arranged into an eye-catching spiral arrangement. It is available in 1 of 4 different doughs. Hot Cross buns are available now until Easter in both wheat or spelt. Easter Bread an Italian sweet bread that contains roasted almonds, raisins and rum, will be featured on the weekends
EASTER FAVOURITES!
Wheat & Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns, Spelt Easter Braid, Bunny Buns, Fruit Pies, Cakes and more!
Bunny buns, Duncan Garage Bakery & Cafe
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The Hub Easter Fair
leading up to Easter. Pre-orders available anytime right up to Easter. 10% off for orders pre booked 48 hours in advance. 1725 Cowichan Bay Rd, Cowichan Bay 250-746-7664.
EASTER SPECIALTIES
AN EXCELLENT LUNCH STOP
FEATURING COWICHAN VALLEY WINES & ISLAND CRAFT BEERS
Chef Brad Boisvert of CURE Artisan Meat and Cheese is taking orders for Easter Hams bone in or boneless. These hams are produced using BC hormone and antibiotic free meats and cured in a custom brine before being smoked. Full of flavour, hams can be ordered in a variety of sizes. *Tip - a foodie favouritehave the crackling left on for extra flavour. New forEaster Smoked Turkey Breast stuffed with sage and rosemary sausage stuffing. Each portion contains both white and dark meat all rolled into one. Fully cooked or just smoked for you to finish. Serve with a selection of condiments including grainy beer mustard, red onion jam and smoked onion chutney. Other quick gourmet brunch options: meat pies, quiche, farm fresh eggs, house smoked bacon and for dessert, Easter macaroons. Add a cheese platter for a great appetizer and Easter dinner is
a breeze. Order by April 10 for bone in or April 13 for bone out for pick up on April 15-16. Valley View Centre, Cowichan Bay 250929-2873
EASTER BRUNCH
The Satellite Bar & Grille’s Easter Brunch Buffet offers a wide range of beautifully presented dishes made with the freshest ingredients. The friendly service and exceptional food make for a memorable dining experience for those in the Victoria, Duncan or Cowichan area. Indulge with the Chocolate Fountain in our family friendly environment. Adults: $31.95, Seniors: $28.95 Children: $12.95*, *Ages 6-12. Children 5 and under are FREE. 3515 Telegraph Rd, Cobble Hill 250 743 5100 Brunch over a vineyard prepared by Chef Fatima Da Silva at Vinoteca. Brunch begins with fresh fruit, honey yogurt and baked pastries followed by your choice of main including delicious dishes like Caramelized leeks and chorizo crispy polenta with poached eggs and hollandaise, Smoked salmon
La Petite Auction House
Auction Sunday APRIL 2,16 & 30 • 1pm Accepting goods throughout the week
Viewings
DAYLINERCAFE.COM CLOSED TUESDAY & WEDNESDAYS
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WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY 11am- 5pm SATURDAY 1-5pm SAME DAY viewings 10am-1pm To consign email dawngeddie@gmail.com
9686 Chemainus Rd, 250-701-2902
year! Candace Lane Farm Horse wagon rides will be available for an additional fare. Photos taken by EA photography. We will be firing up the outdoor oven for delicious wood fire pizzas which can be ordered all day from 11AM till 3:30PM Our pizzas feature farm to table produce and are all made from scratch. We raise free range Highland beef, Berkshire pork and chickens with care and consideration. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate and some other goodies will be available for purchase from our Cookshed. Admission $5 per person 5881 Genoa Bay Rd, Duncan 250-748-6379 www.birdseyecovefarm.com
Boys and chickens at Birds Eye Cove Easter Family Day
eggs benedict, Savoury crêpes with mushrooms, ham and cheese sauce and more. 5039 Marshall Rd, Duncan, 250 709-2279.
EASTER EVENTS
Bird’s Eye Cove Farm welcomes all to our Easter Family Day. We love sharing our farm with our community and we will be excited to see you rain or shine! Easter is such a fun day for both young and old. Enjoy a pizza, listen to great music preformed by acclaimed artist Terry Brennham, bounce in the castle and watch the chickens go by while the kids play on the farm. We will be running Easter egg hunts every hour starting at 10:30 AM with the last hunt at 3:30 PM. There will be two hunts available, one for children under 5 and one for children ages 6-12 We will also have face painting, egg decorating, colouring, adorable farm animals on site and afternoon farm tours to visit the Highland cows, heritage farm yard and more chickens! We will have animals in our petting zoo from our farm, Maple Bay Farm and Westcott Farm. New this
Easter Fair in the forest! The HUB at Cowichan Station has a volunteer crew organising an Easter Eggstravaganza again this year. Come join in the fun on Easter Sunday with egg hunting in the forest, pancake breakfast, bouncy obstacle course, face painting, music and more. “We were stunned by the turn out for last year’s event so we’re pulling out all the stops and piling up the pancakes this year.” Says HUB volunteer coordinator, Donna Shaw. To find out more and to get an event map, check out our website and facebook page. 100% of event profits will go Cowichan Station Area Association to support improvements and programs at The HUB. This is a free community event from 9am – 1pm on Easter Sunday (April
Gift Baskets Gift Certificates Meat & Cheese Platters Cocktail Supplies Gourmet Foods
16th). Fair style tickets will be sold so you can pick and choose your favorite activities. 2375 Koksilah Rd.
t k ou C h e c EW N u! our Me n g n i Sp r SERVING DELICIOUS WATERFRONT
BRUNCH, LUNCH & DINNER
OPEN MON - FRI 11:30am / SAT & SUN 10am MILL BAY MARINA • 740 HANDY RD • 778-356-3568 www.bridgemans.ca Eat, Drink and Support Local
LIVE MUSIC ON SUNDAYS! 4 -7PM
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Local Pairings For Easter TLC Rocky Creek Winery Try some TLC: Off Dry. Reference to Linda whose germatic name refers to soft, tender and beautiful. This is a unique blend of Viognier, Albarino, Pinot Gris, Siegerrebe, and Ortega. It has floral aromas is soft and easy drinking. Our value price wine. But we like our blends, as they are the winemaker’s signature. This vintage is from the hottest year since we began yielding beautiful delicate aromas. This sold out in no time and is a small batch wine. This is a field blend not a blended set of wines from the winery. $20
2014 Quill White Blue Grouse Estate Winery
Tradizionale Brut Vigneti Zanatta
Bright and lively, this blend of Vancouver Island and Okanagan grapes gives you Jasmine, dry straw and a bit of smokiness on the nose, with fresh acidity on the palate. The wine exhibits flavours of melon, honey, white peach and a few floral notes. This wine would pair well with baked ham and scalloped potatoes, it has just enough refreshing acidity and fruit to cut the richness of these Easter favourites. $18
The Easter tradition in my family is yeast-risen sweet breads and sparkling wine! This is a great pairing because the traditional Easter bread such as Venetian focaccia bread, hot cross buns, and brioche are slightly sweet and rich in texture and pair beautifully with sparkling wine. My pick for this Easter is our Tradizionale Brut. Made in the champagne method from only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, this wine has a lively bouquet expressing Cowichan Valley terroir through the strawberry and raspberry notes so typical of Pinot Noir in the Cowichan Valley. Visually the wine is like a reflection of the bread, deep straw, almost golden like the bread itself. With its smooth yet fresh and lingering finish this wine will undoubtedly please the palate. As are all Vigneti Zanatta wines, Tradizionale Brut is 100% Vancouver Island grown.
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Heritage River Hefeweizen Red Arrow Brewery Heritage River Hefeweizen is a delicious pairing with fish and seafood options and was recently featured as part of Victoria Beer Week’s “Fishing for Beer” event where different beers were paired with a variety of seafood options. Enjoy this great beer while the sun is shining, preferably from a patio.
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
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Musings From The Vines
S
pring! After the past few months I thought it was never going to arrive. The question I’ve been asked a lot lately is how did the winter affect the vines? Are we alright? How bad is the damage?
ning e p O g SprinApril 12! • Restaurant • Deli • CAFÉ • Grocery •
1751 Cowichan Bay Road 250 748 0020 croweandappel.ca
Offering fresh seafood, gluten free and paleo friendly menu of soups, broths, pies, jumbo sushi rolls, salads and salad rolls. Always wild, pastured and organic. Join us in Cowichan Bay for some great food events! Saturday Night Dinners with live music celebration Sunday Brunch with wilderness skills for all the family
NEW SPRING Hours Wednesday through Sunday 11am-5:30pm
LET US KNOW IT’S YOUR FIRST VISIT FOR 10% OFF YOUR MEAL
Well, rest easy. Grapes are a pretty hardy plant. Most commercial grape plants are hardy down to at least minus 20 degrees C. So thankfully we’re not in that much danger of reaching that on the island. In addition, after grapes have their fruit harvested the plants harden off their canes. The most danger for winter damage is if harvest is really late and the plants don’t have time to harden off before the harsh winter arrives. If you recall, last season was early and hot, so our grapes were all picked pretty early and the plants had lots of time to harden their canes before the cold weather arrived. We’ve pretty much finished pruning, and no signs of any damage in the vineyard. Now the late spring we’re having could be another story… Late bud break could signal the start of a challenging year, so we’ll be keeping our eyes on the buds to assess how early or late we are compared to normal. Spring in the vineyard is great for a lot of reasons. Our gardens start blooming (crocus and daffodils are already out). Soon our plums and cherries will be in bloom. Lots of work after the cold storms. Plenty of branches came down, and a whole lot
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of work is required to fix the damage from all that snow. Our crew has been really busy cleaning up the mess mother nature left us. In addition we are excited for a whole slate of new releases. Typically most wineries are bottling their whites and rosés from the previous season and starting to taste and sell them. So lots of new products to look forward to in the next few weeks. It’s a great time to visit your favourite local wineries and see what new products they are releasing, or visit the Duncan Farmer’s Market where you can try a selection of local vineyards all within a city block of each other. Given the really warm years we’ve had recently the wines should be spectacular and I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes out this spring from our local wineries. Finally, here at Rocky Creek we have a few surprises in store this year. We’ve been busy remodelling in our tasting room so some awesome changes are in store for the coming year. We’re open 3 days a week in April so please come by and see for yourself! Our tiny, intimate tasting room isn’t so tiny anymore... Rocky Creek Winery, 1854 Myhrest Rd (off Koksilah), Cowichan Bay Open Friday to Sunday 11am to 4 pm.
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Mark Holford Owner/ Winemaker at Rocky Creek Winery for the past 9 years
Home Sourdough Bread Workshop
J
oin Antoine for a day of fun and learning that brings to life the magic
of making naturally fermented bread (real sourdough made without baker’s yeast). In this hands-on workshop you will learn the basic principles and techniques used to transform flour, water and salt into a loaf of bread as nutritious as it is delicious. Also covered will be an introduction to the benefits and use of ancient grains. Pizza lunch included. Saturday April 29, Cowichan Green Community $90/$120 per person. Email Antoine at sproutspopup@ gmail.com for more infomation.
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Spring Cleaning Detox And Weight Loss
North America’s BEST SELLING
TOTAL BODY CLEANSE year after year!
W
Faye Stefan is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Certified Heilkunstler and Homeopath Dynamicpathways.biz
ith winter finally fading into the background and spring just around the corner many of us are thinking about spring cleaning our homes, yards and maybe even our bodies!
Why you should cleanse: 1. Improves overall health 2. Decreases risk of disease 3. Increases energy 4. Improves digestion 5. Helps control weight A 30 DAY CLEANSE that deeply cleanses the entire body without the need to follow a strict diet. It will help to ease elimination, improve digestion, and increase energy. It is is formulated to stimulate the detoxification process of the body’s 7 channels of elimination: the liver, lungs, colon, kidneys, blood, skin, and lymphatic system. There are toxins all around us so it is important to cleanse to feel in top form for our health. Come on in to Lynn’s and our knowledgeable staff can help you find the best cleanse for you!
Lynn’s
VITAMIN GALLERY HEALTH FOOD STORE
4-180 Central Avenue, Village Green Mall Duncan
250 748 4421
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Spring is the perfect time to flush out the effects of our winter sedentary habits that may have added a few more inches to our waistlines. There are several ways to spring clean our organs and cells. One can do a short or long term cleanse depending on your lifestyle and goals. A short-term cleanse could be a 3-day juice fast to give your body a quick pick me up and get all your organs “freshened up”. For a longerterm cleanse one can purchase several different products that come packaged with many supplements, bowel and organ cleansing herbs to help you sustain a cleanse over a 1014-day period. What is most important after doing a cleanse is to implement a healthy diet that will keep your body functioning at it’s peak. There are such a wide variety of diet plans available that is
can be quite daunting to try and decide what might work best for your body type. You may consider consulting a professional who can help guide you to a diet plan that will work with your lifestyle. There are a couple of diet changes that can be successfully implemented on your own without having to do a lot of research. Books or internet sites can easily be found to guide you through diets such as eating for your blood type, diets based on your metabolic type, or diets focusing on being grain free as a few examples. One popular diet that has gained notoriety for quick results weight loss is the HCG diet. It is based on using either injections or a homeopathic version of HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) to supress one’s appetite and encourage the body to burn stored fat. Individuals are often able to lose as much as 20 pounds in 3 weeks if they maintain strict diet protocols and take HCG supplements. During a one hour consultation Faye, can help you determine which diet/ cleanse may work best for you and supply you with several homeopathic remedies to support organ cleansing. She can also
Dynamic Pathways
Faye Stefan MA, RCC, DHHP Registered Clinical Counsellor and Certified Homeopathic Practitioner
250-815-5029 Path to Wellness: Combining counselling with homeopathy for your emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual needs utilizing Heilkunst Sequential Timeline Therapy.
Dynamicpathways.biz | fstefan59@gmail.com
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
guide you through the HCG diet protocols and supply the homeopathic HCG drops.
Healing Arts Expo Call For Practitioners Are you a healing arts practitioner or vendor dedicated to enhancing wellness of mind, body and spirit? You are invited to come and share your gifts with our community at the Cowichan Healing Arts Expo. The intention of this event is to create a space where people can explore the healing arts of the amazing practitioners, vendors and craftspeople of our beautiful valley. Anyone who has explored the array of healing arts services of the Cowichan Valley knows that this is a wellness destination. The Warmland is home to some of the most amazing practitioners and artisans in the world, and we love to share those gifts with the community. The Expo will host three floors of healing arts: One for practitioners offering their services, another for vendors of natural health and wellness offerings, and a third for free workshops and seminars scheduled throughout the twoday event. There will also be an outdoor market, local musicians, a kids craft area and tasty food. If you would like to join us in creating a fun adventure for the whole community. Wellness Practitioners, Vendors, Speakers, Musicians, Artisans, Food Vendors and Volunteers are all invited to apply. You are welcome to join our facebook group at Cowichan Healing Arts. Please send in applications by April 14th, 2017. Email us at cowichanhealingarts@gmail. com Applications available at www.cowichanhealingarts.org.
Support & Protect the Cowichan Estuary Without community support we cannot protect the precious and delicate Cowichan Estuary. A re-zoning application by Tidal Harmony Holdings of Crown Leases in the estuary has been made to the CVRD. Leases related to the Cowichan estuary have always been confined to forestry related activities such as inter-tidal log storage and transport, and lumber storage and shipping from what is known as the Westcan Terminal. Over the years all the original Forestry Companies related to the six Leases subject to re-zoning have disappeared from the estuary. However, the area is still occupied by a Company called Pacific Industrial Marine (PIM) which is not related to the forestry sector. This company has been operating for years in non-compliance with CVRD bylaws. Why have the bylaws never been enforced? Should the present operator not move to a designated, properly zoned area within the CVRD? A public information meeting to discuss the rezoning issue will be hosted by the Cowichan Estuary and Conservation Society. Dr Goetz Schuerholz will be the speaker. A question period will be held at the end of the meeting. Everyone is invited. A petition to the CVRD opposing the rezoning application may be signed at the public information meeting, and memberships for the Cowichan Estuary and Conservation Association may be purchased at the same time. For more information contact: Jock Hildebrand 250 215 2823 artis@shaw.ca
All organic! Cold-Pressed Juices + Juice Cleanses + Smoothies + Elixirs + Raw Food + Bulletproof Coffee
Try A Glow Cleanse! Whether it’s to lose weight, get in shape, or to start eating healthy, an Organic Glow Juice Cleanse is a great way to accelerate your health goals.
Call, come in, or book online at www.glowjuicery.ca. 250 597 2595 3-5380 Trans Canada Hwy, Duncan
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Homemade lemon loaf made wtih two different flours.
Taste The Difference - Organic Milled Flour
S
erious about flavour, artisan home bakers are taking their craft up a notch these days by looking back to the past and baking with made to order fresh milled flours. Seems extravagant right? Not for Pam Stiles and her loyal customers at Scoops Natural Foods at Whippletree Junction “Where have you been? We have been milling flour for our customers here since we opened!” Pam laughs. Feeling like the foodies who were left behind, we decided to indulge and challenge ourselves to a taste test. Anita’s Organic Canadian Red Wheat flour vs Scoops organic fresh milled Canadian Soft Wheat.
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With our lemon loaf recipe in hand, Pam weighed out a bag of soft wheat kernels equivalent to 3 cups of flour. The organic wheat kernels were dropped into the hopper and set on a nice fine grind, equal to the texture of our store bought flour. Once home, we prepared all the ingredients equally, right down to the mixing bowls and loaf pans. Step 1 and 2 of the recipe, the mixing of the dry ingredients, seemed the same. By Step 3 there was a noticeable difference. The store bought organic flour (Loaf A) was drier and you had to work at it more to mix it in with the wet ingredients. The freshly milled flour (Loaf B) mixed easily and became wet in just a few strokes. Both mixtures were poured into the loaf pans and baked at 350 C for 1 hour and then toothpick tested. At the first toothpick test, Loaf A came out dry and was ready to serve. Loaf B came out wet and needed 15 more minutes in the oven. Once done, both were set out to
cool and finished with an organic lemon and cane sugar drizzle. Now it was time for the closer inspection. Loaf A was considerably higher than Loaf B. My 7 year olds eyed the taller loaf with delight. We sliced into both to have a look inside. Loaf A was much paler in colour. We served each person a half slice of the loaves, and we all expected appearances to match the taste. Here is how they fared. Tiller (age 7) - “Both are delicious, but the shorter loaf is better it tastes sweeter and nuttier.” Richard (the baker) “The fresh milled loaf is moister and cakier and the other more bready and spongey.” Shawn Sanders “The loaf that was lighter in colour, I didn’t finish my piece as I really liked eating the other one more which I ate first. When it gone, I chewed on the other piece but it wasn’t as good.” Shiloh (age 7) “ I like the darker loaf better. It is more like cake. The other one is good too, but is not as good.” As for me, I couldn’t get over how different the fresh milled loaf tasted. It was definitely richer and more complex in flavour. It was pleasing in texture and moist, but still light. All in all the five of us preferred the shorter Loaf B, though visually we expected to prefer the paler, taller lemon loaf. Upon further research we discovered that not only does it win the taste test, but fresh milled flour can be up to 7080% more nutritious than store bought organic flours. In store bought flour the outer husk (the bran and germ) is removed so the flour keeps longer. But it is these itty bitty bits that pack the
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
most nutrients. With fresh milled flour, you grind the whole kernel bran, germ and endosperm, which contain healthy delicious oils, vitamins and insoluble fibres. This fact was evident with with everyone’s comments on how moist loaf B was. Another bonus with fresh milling is that you can buy small batches of different grains and use to order. No large storage units necessary. At Scoops Pam carries Red Fife, Soft Wheat, Spelt, Kamut, Durham Wheat, Rye, Whole Oats and Barley kernels that you can purchase in bulk to grind into fresh flour for your Easter recipes. For those who are gluten free she has buckwheat, millet, quinoa, lentils or an assortment of beans that can be ground into fresh flours. Like the idea of fresh mlled flour? Scoops also carries a good selection of European electric mills perfectly sized for your kitchen. Her most popular models are Nutrimill Classic - Stainless Steel Burrs with high-speed, large capacity flour mill, Nutrimill Harvest - Ceramic stone mill in attractive bamboo housing and the Victorio Hand Mill Manual grain mill with variable coarseness setting, Don’t just take our word for it grab your favourite recipe and bring it into Scoops. You can try your very own taste test at home. You will be glad you did.. The results are such a pleasant surprise. Scoops Natural Foods, Whippletree Junction www.scoopsnaturalfoods.com
One Egg, Seven Omelettes
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armers rarely take vacations and it has been our observation that they feel compelled to include some business if they do get away. One past season we were putting the finishing touches on our packing for an agricultural conference in Denver. We heard a knock and our neighbour was at the door. He described how he was just sitting down to breakfast and a “big chicken” walked past his window. Fortunately he agreed to keep our big chicken safely fenced in until we got back. It makes sense that our neighbour described our emu as a big chicken as “if it looks like a chicken and walks like a chicken it must be a chicken”... but no, emu are actually classified as livestock because of how the meat is processed even though it has the anatomy of poultry. Emu are native to Australia and are the world’s 2nd largest bird (only smaller to an ostrich) and when full grown weigh about 110 lbs. At 14-18 months that full grown emu produces 35 lbs of healthy red meat (higher in protein and iron than beef) and
Benefits Of Emu Oil FROM Mt. Sicker Family Farm BCemufarm.ca
• contains omega 3,6,9 fatty acids • has anti-inflammatory properties • penetrates deeply
Contact us at e3naturals.com 25 lbs of fat that renders to 10.5 L of therapeutic emu oil. As we write this article our farm is fully into breeding season. Unlike poultry, emu breeding is stimulated by shorter daylight hours and longer nights. In the wild the rooster goes broody and sits for 50 days to hatch his clutch of 7 to 8 eggs. At hatch he will lead his chicks, sometimes miles to food and water and be their protector for 4 or 5 months. A hen on the other hand can produce some 20-30 eggs in a season. As her first mate starts incubating the eggs she will leave in search of a second and possibly a third consort. These emu eggs average 600 grams and contain the equivalent volume of 10 chicken eggs. The
shell is dark green and including membranes is made up of seven layers to protect the growing chick. The internal shell layers are progressively lighter in colour and are perfect for carving in the cloisonné style. Because an emu chick takes 58% longer to hatch it is not surprizing that the yolk portion of the egg would be much larger than that of a chicken. The white is more viscous than a chicken egg and makes wonderfully light and fluffy omelettes and cakes. So as our neighbour’s news gave us much stress leading up to our “vacation” we did appreciate his humour. Emus although large are very easy to raise and for the most part friendly and curious. We invite you to visit our website at www.bcemufarm.ca. Lois Hellemond works with her husband John at Mt. Sicker Family Farm
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T
he Chemainus Theatre Festival is thrilled to present the critically acclaimed 2 Pianos 4 Hands. One of the most successful Canadian plays of all time, 2 Pianos 4 Hands has performed to rave reviews and sold-out houses, and has had 4000 performances at 200 different theatres throughout the world. Nearly 2 million people have seen the play on five continents worldwide making it one of the most successful Canadian plays every. The laugh-out-loud comedy and virtuosic music grace the stage to tell a story of childhood dreams and life lessons.
2 Pianos 4 Hands
With a playlist that includes everything from Bach to Billy Joel, 2 Pianos 4 Hands is a semi-autobiographical play about two gifted boys who pine for concert pianist stardom. As years of sacrifice and learning the art of playing the piano unfold on stage, Ted and Richard come to the sobering realization that becoming the next Glenn Gould or Vladimir Horowitz may be beyond their reach. It’s a story of childhood dreams, parents’ yearning for their children’s success, and a few life lessons along the way.
show in 1996. The pair toured with the show for the better part of its first 2 years and have occasionally returned to it for special engagements. Since then it has been performed by new talented duos who portray an impressive and hilarious range of characters that include idiosyncratic piano teachers, Kiwanis Festival adjudicators, Conservatory examiners, as well as young and older Ted and Richard. Celebrating 20 years, 2 Pianos 4 Hands sees the return of Richard Greenblatt as director with a brand new duo in this full-scale anniversary edition MainStage production. Greenblatt has received numerous nominations for his work on this production and several other shows, and has won seven Dora Awards and two Chalmers Awards. Tickets are available now at 1-800-565-7738 or www.chemainustheatre.ca.
The play first opened with the writers, Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, as the stars of the
Zak Stolk Violin Maker
25 Years Experience of Lutherie in the Italian Tradition.
Making, repair and restoration of Violins, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Harp, and all manner of Stringed Instruments. 250-749-6563 zakviolins@shaw.ca www.zakviolins.com
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Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
own driving style. It’s an evening not to be missed! This event is a fundraiser for Nhemamusasa North, an annual gathering for people of all ages and skill levels interested in the music and dance culture of Zimbabwe. Held in the Cowichan Valley since 2006, it attracts participants and teachers from across North America as well as Zimbabwe, and has grown over the years to become a beloved and much-anticipated annual rite. Masimba’s members have spent much time at previous camps soaking up the songs and culture behind these deep and rich musical traditions, so that they can share the music here at home with as much authenticity as possible. Having been ‘Nhema North’ regulars for many years, they recognize that it is truly a labour of love, so to give this volunteer-run music camp a good boost of support, all funds raised on April 15th will be gifted to Nhemamusasa North. There will be a silent auction during the evening as well, with many gorgeous items and services that have been donated by our amazing and supportive local community, so bring a little extra cash just in case!
Spring Fever!
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he delights of Spring are varied and plentiful; the iconic soundtrack underpinning it all, however, is the evening chorus of frogs in the various wetlands dotted across our valley, as they wake from their winter dreaming and sing their timeless song to announce the new season. In that same spirit, the Cowichan Valley’s own Masimba Marimba are busy channelling their inner frogs! Set to emerge after a winter spent hunkered down learning new songs and reworking older material, their voices will rise up together at their first appearance of 2017, a special fundraiser with silent auction for Nhemamusasa North on Saturday April 15th at the Mercury Theatre. It promises to be an unforgettable night of fiery rhythms and joyful celebration: Masimba’s infectious beats and tingling harmonies; a set by special guest Kurai Mubaiwa of Vancouver/ Zimbabwe (whom many of you enjoyed dancing to last November at the Hub), with his mesmerizing stage presence and soulful voice; PLUS - in a rare Cowichan Valley appearance - a guest set by the legendary Marimba Muzuva, the originators of Zimbabwean style marimba music in Canada, who bring an intoxicating mix of original marimba music delivered in their
Hope to see you there for an evening of Spring Magic!
Masimba Marimba, Kurai Mubaiwa and Marimba Muzuva, Saturday April 15th, 7 pm, Silent auction and refreshments.Tickets: $15 advance at the Community Farm Store, $17 at the door, $25 for families, under 12 free. Mercury Theatre, 331 Brae Road, Duncan
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I
nternational Artist’s Andreas & Naomi Kunert work collaboratively to create dynamic functional art pieces at their Ancient Art of Stone Studio Gallery in Duncan, BC. Inspiration flows directly from the pure forms & rhythms inherent within nature. Their medium is stone which is both ancient, timeless and permanent. All the ancient sites around the world commune with the sacred by using stone which contains an immortal, timeless and mysterious quality connected to the truth, power and forces of nature. Naomi & Andreas are partners in life and business, they collaborate to design and create artistic and functional works such as sacred spaces, mosaic panels, garden features, walls, fireplaces, doors, tables and monuments. Ancient Art of Stone works collaboratively with both professional and private clients in homes, museums,
art galleries, and public art installations. They use materials that are quarried and when possible recycled from local and global sources, and some feature pieces include rare crystal and fossil specimens within these creations. While every piece is unique, their artwork awakens the spirit and wisdom of the ancient world by conceiving a sacred space to help people remember their innate connection to the creative forces within nature and within themselves thereby creating a legacy in stone to inspire… Andreas & Naomi Kunert are new members of Cowichan Artisans. The group will be holding a studio tour April 21-23, 2017. For more information: www. cowichanartisans.com. 250737-1463
Ancient Art of Stone
Awakening the Spirit of Stone ~ Creating a Legacy to Inspire… Cowichan Artisans include: Cathi Jefferson (Ceramic Artist/Salt-Fired Stoneware); Andreas & Naomi Kunert (Ancient Art of Stone); Ken Broadland (Functional Woodturning and Woodwork); John Lore (Live Edge Design); Karen Trickett and Cam Russell – (Coventry Woodworks Custom Furniture, Marquetry
and Automotive Woodwork); Jo Ludwig (Glass Vessels, Steampunk/Folk-Art Sculpture); Peggy Brackett (Glass Jewellery); Laurel Hibbert (Painter); Mary Fox (Ceramic Artist); Jennifer Lawson (Painter); Morgan Saddington (Silver Jewellery Designer).
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h a I a i e V c h c f j p f b 1 f o b w t w s t
I h w t o
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Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
“People’s Choice Award”. As the attendance increases each year, so does the opportunity for artists to gain a reputation in the valley and on the island. Total sales at the show have ranged between four and five thousand dollars.
Cowichan Valley Fine Arts Show Registration
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or 47 years the Cowichan Valley Arts Council has been hosting one of the largest, open art shows and sales on Vancouver Island. Bob Parkinson, “As an amateur photographer residing in the Cowichan Valley I am excited about the Cowichan Valley Fine Arts Exhibition coming up in May. There is a huge bank of talent in the valley covering every aspect of artistry from wood working, ceramics, jewelry, sculpturing, painting and photography to mention only a few and all of these will likely be on exhibit by the expected 160 participants. I have been fortunate to have exhibited three of the last four years and have been blessed with the sale of my work in two of those 3 years. I tip my hat to all of the volunteers who work so hard to put this show on. It’s a great display of the Valley Spirit.” In the past, the Fine Arts Show has hosted close to 1000 visitors who have had the opportunity to purchase these unique pieces of art, as well as vote for the
JENNIFER LAWSON
Specialist in commissions of homes and gardens with 40 years experience.
Mo Sealey, “For many years now I have been entering this Cowichan Valley Fine Art Show and have been very successful in selling my work at the show. I very much like the idea that there is no jurying process to go through to gain entrance to show a piece of work in the show. I think this makes it more welcoming for those who may be a bit shy or have not shown their work before to give it a try.” This show boasts art that has never been shown before in the Cowichan Valley from both beginning artists as well as artists who have shown nationally and internationally. The Island Savings Centre (2687 James St., Duncan) provides a wonderful venue in PORTALS and the Cowichan Suite for both 2-D and 3-D artists. A jury of three work together to award one “Best in Show”, five “Award of Excellence” and ten “Honorable Mention” awards.
Elkington House
Cowichan Artisans Studio Tour April 21, 22, 23 10-4 Studio & Gallery Open 1516 Khenipsen Rd.,Duncan
www.jenniferlawsonart.com
250 748-2142
EJ Hughes APRIL Join us in celebrating the work of artist EJ Hughes.
We are excited this year to provide an opportunity for online registration. Registration begins on April 5th to April 8th from 10 am to 5 pm. It can be done through our website (www. cowichanvalleyartscouncil.ca) or in person at PORTALS in the Island Savings Centre. The entry fee is $25.
Opening April 6 with refreshments.
The Cowichan Valley Arts Council is proud to provide this wonderful opportunity for artists and artisans to showcase their
original works of art. The show runs from May 3rd – 7th at the Island Savings Centre inside the Cowichan Suite and PORTALS,
Excellent Frameworks Home of the EJ Hughes Gallery 28 Station St., Downtown Duncan www.excellentframeworks.ca 250 746 7112
the CVAC Centre of Arts, Culture and Heritage, located at 2687 James Street in Duncan. www.cowichanvalleyartscouncil.ca
For full design/build service, give us a call
p 250.746.5372 • coulsondesign@shaw.ca • www.davidcoulsondesign.com
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DJ Space Dr Space (Ben Pearson) is an extraterrestrial groove overlord sent to this planet as an emissary of the universal council of Intergalactic Funk! His mission here on earth is peaceful... He’s come to free yo funky mind!! Through the collective powers of all things soulful, funky & downright nasty he fights to eradicate the corruptive influences of the anti-groove syndicate... and to stimulate the planetary groove-bone! Representing every star-system from the ice-moon caverns of Funk-tropolis to the sweatdrippin booties of fudge-monkey Mountain! Come on board the Space Machine. April 7 & 8 Old Firehouse Wine Bar 40 Ingram St, Duncan
Fibre Show ‘Current Threads 2017’ is both the exhibition name and theme of
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the annual showing by a group of Vancouver Island surface design artists presenting a showcase of new and hybrid ideas. Most surface designers have a passion for exploring, experimenting and working with a variety of multiple techniques and their wide-ranging applications, from wall hangings to sculptural pieces. Those showing in this exhibition are no exception. The artists use an array of surface design processes, some of which are painting, dyeing, waxing, quilting, stitching, fabric layering, weaving, knitting, embellishing, paper-making, felting - to name a few. Art cards and scarves as well as small textile art pieces are also on display and for sale. Ladysmith Waterfront Gallery from April 15 — 30
film and community (and good popcorn) come and be a part of it. Admission to films is with membership or you can dip your toes in with a donation at the door. For more info email us at hubfilmclub@gmail. com
Arlo Guthrie The perfect place for jazz lovers.
Folk music icon Arlo Guthrie is a legendary artist who shares timeless stories and unforgettable classic songs as he carries on the Guthrie family legacy. With his singular voice as both a singer-songwriter and social commentator, he has maintained a dedicated fan base that spans the globe. On the heels of the sold-out Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour, Arlo Guthrie plunges into another musical trip certain to be a flashback inducing, 1534 Joan Avenue Crofton mind-expanding show. All shows $15 unless otherwise stated Coming to Cowichan for the first time, at the Cowichan Performing Arts the Road Tour is making only Centre. The Running Down three BC appearances. This unforgettable night will include the best of Guthrie’s classic songs, some of which have not been seen on stage for over two decades. Running Down The Road Tour April 29, Cowichan Theatre, 2687 James St., Duncan For tickets call 250-748-7529 www.cowichanpac.ca
LIVE JAZZ EVERY SUNDAY 2pm to 5 pm Musicians Jam 4 pm to 5pm
Join The Film Club It’s the HUB Film Club’s first birthday! The movie this month reflects the turning of the seasons and marks the HUB Film Club’s first year of existence. Entitled “Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring” this beautiful, award-winning 2003 film from South Korea screens on April 28th at 7pm at the HUB at Cowichan Station. A very big thank you to the 60 plus members that have joined the club over the last year! Now on sale, annual membership begins again May 1st. If you enjoy
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
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Works by Tim Dyer
Above Maple Bay
April Is EJ Hughes Appreciation Month Tim Dyer Ou Gallery The Ou Gallery is very excited to present our opening exhibition featuring selected drawings from local artist Tim Dyer’s vast catalogue of work. His process is steady and honest. His line-work timeless. Our love for Tim’s work grew over many visits as neighbours, as we shared coffee over stacks of his drawings. This free exhibit is open to all ages and will be viewable Saturdays & Sundays from 11am-4pm until April 28th. We look forward to sharing our new gallery & workshop space with the Cowichan Valley where we can create and experience the world of art. Ou Gallery, 3091 Agira Rd, Duncan www.theougallery.com
A true son of British Columbia, Hughes’ stylized realism has earned him a unique place in the history of Canadian art. Hughes remarkable career as an artist, spans 70 years and encompasses his work as a gifted printmaker, successful muralist, outstanding Canadian war artist and prolific painter. His paintings depict land, sea and small moments of daily life with a rare clarity and vividness. Hughes has a distinguished reputation for work underscored by a passion for the beauty of the west coast of Canada. Despite the changing face of the visual arts, Hughes has remained steadfast in his exploration of a unique and personal approach to realism. The artist’s distinct style, marked by the use of flattened space, skewed perspective and simplified shapes, defies parallels with other artists or easy categorization within artistic genres.Join us for some refreshments to celebrate EJ Hughes April 6 at EJ Hughes Gallery 28 Station St. Duncan. www.ejhughes.ca
“Building furniture while building lives”
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Wo o d w o r k s
rom pens to kitchens, the Providence Farm woodworking program is eager to design and craft a one of a kind piece for your home or office. We use a blend of traditional and modern building techniques to meet our high quality standards, so that your furniture can be enjoyed for generations. Our commissions directly fund therapeutic programming, providing our participants with materials, tools and machinery, and high quality artisanal instruction.
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Contact: woodwork@providence.bc.ca 250-746-4204 ext.27
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Fetus
Incident
Your Daughter is in Good Hands: Art as Autobiography Birth Mother Dress
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t eleven days old, Shannon Peck was adopted. She divides her life into two parts: before adoption as a child with an assumed name and mother, and
after adoption, living her real life with her Mum, Dad and siblings. She says she was fortunate in being raised here on the island by loving parents who fostered her curiosity and love for the arts, and who willingly shared what they knew about her birth mother’s circumstances. But like many adoptees, Shannon wanted to know more, to understand the circumstances around her birth, to see how she is connected to her ancestry, and to share how she has grown as a person. She embarked on a quest to find her family and met with a wall oflegalities, including blacked– out documents and a disclosure
veto signed by her birth mother. Init was the phrase referring to her birth asDzthe incidentdz, which hurt her deeply. Her reaction was, DzI’m not an incident; I’m a little girl!dz Her inner child needed to heal. With her husband’s support, she left her job in administration to focus full time on her art, in particular on a show that would act both as autobiography and as a model of what adoptees go through in searchof themselves. At first, her thought was to create a rebuttal of the idea that she was no more than an incident, but her feelings evolved as she worked her way through the complexities of creating a unified body of work. She began to understand how it had been for a young woman in 1970, unwed and pregnant, alone, guilty and ashamed, out of touch with the father of the child she was carrying, and having to lie to her family to avoid shaming them. She began to love the woman who wanted to have nothing todo with her, and her art evolved into a reconciliation with her past and with her identity. It also reflects a universal
experience among adoptees. As a fibre artist, Shannon has a unique approach. While her pieces vary, she often uses a detailed, scientific-drawing style that she translates into embroidery. For example, her birth certificate is reproduced on fabric with tiny stitches. The few facts Shannon has are also reproduced onit. For instance, having read that her birth father was happy-golucky, she embroidered Lucky where his last name had been left blank, and Happy Go where his first name would have been entered. Her pieces may question identity, and lookat shame and secrecy, but they also impart humour and joy. She says that her next art exhibit will also be about reproduction. She’s always been fascinated by the process despite having chosen not to have children. If she had wanted them, she said, she would have fostered or adopted due to her own experience. Her show, Your Daughter isin Good Hands, will run at Portals Art Space in the Island Savings Centre from April 3 through April 25, 2017. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, April 8 from 6-9PM. All are welcome to attend. For more information onthe exhibit, visit www.specksurfacedesign.com. Submitted by Rebecca Hazell, Author and Artist, www.rebeccahazell.com
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Lori Austein, C.C.H.T., C.C.T.
Helping you create personal transformation •Certified Council Trainer & Facilitator •Certified Heart-Centered Hypnotherapist® •Transpersonal Life Coach Individual Hypnotherapy, Coaching Sessions & Workshops to Create Healthy New Patterns For Your Life: • Improve Relationships • Resolve Anxiety • Increase Self-esteem
• Heal Trauma • Get Unstuck • End Emotional Eating
Authentic Change for an Authentic Life www.loriaustein.com I (250) 597-7459 I leaustein@gmail.com
INTUITIVE HEALER • Certified Clinical
Hypnotherapist • Certified Quantum Touch Practitioner
HEATHER LAUZON
Understanding Essential Oils
E
ssential oils seem all the rage these days, which is wonderful. These powerful, fragrant oils are offerings from the plants own immune system that we can use to help strengthen and heal ourselves.
Master Herbalist Robin Round in a field of lavender
much more.
The ancient Greeks believed that there were four elements that everything was made up of: earth, water, air, and fire. The fifth element, or “quintessence”, was the spirit or life force. Distillation, the process by which essential oils were historically made, was thought to bring forth the spirit from the plant. Thus, what we now call essential oils are really ““quintessential oils”, the concentrated life force of the plant!
Essential oils have been used by every major culture and society for over 10,000 years for spiritual and physical purification and healing. Ancient Egypt, India, China, Greece and Rome all used these plant essences. In 1886 pharmacist John Permberton invented a new nerve tonic called “Coca-Cola” which contained essential oils of orange, lemon, nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander and neroli.
When we think of essential oils in this way, we cannot help but honour and respect them. Essential oils are much more than pleasant smelling perfumes. They are compounds produced by plants to adapt to their environment and have evolved over millennia.
The word “aromatherapy” was coined in France in the 1930’s and is a widelyaccepted form of medicine particularly in England and Germany. In North America, however, we have much to learn about how to effectively use our plant spirit oils, particularly as they grow in popularity.
These oils attract pollinators, keep competitors away, repel insects that would eat the plants, and keep away disease. For those reasons they are anti-viral, antimicrobial, anti-fungal and
Join me on Thursday, April 13th for my Understanding Essential Oils class- 7-9 pm at Botanical Bliss in Duncan. $25 plus tax – includes two oil blends that you will make. Register on line at www.botanicalbliss. ca or call 250-710-1276.
250-732-1405
www.emeraldhealingplace.com
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Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Personal Transformation Intensive “The abiding task in most forms of depth psychology is to somehow access those deeply imprinted influences, to bring them to conscious awareness, and thus to make it possible to consciously choose behaviors rather than re-enacting old patterns. We have found hypnotherapy invaluable in that task, which allows one to go back through age regression to early formative experiences, bringing to light what has until now been lurking in the shadows.” The Wellness Institute Blog, by Diane Zimberoff, Apr 04, 2014
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he Personal Transformation Intensive (PTI) is a five-month program (one weekend each month) that packs a lot of healing and self-development into each weekend. The program has been developed for over 25 years by The Wellness Institute and is popular across North America, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. HeartCentered Hypnotherapy is at the core of the program and is built on a strong humanistic and transpersonal psychology foundation. Developer Diane Zimberoff studied with Fritz Perls, Eric Berne, and Virginia Satir. Then, twenty-five years ago, she weaved the hypnosis component into her original therapeutic process that incorporated Gestalt therapy, Transactional Analysis, transpersonal psychology, Reichian body armoring, and a family systems perspective. Diane also studied in India, learning from yoga and meditation masters. This work has been woven into the PTI as well.
PTI’s are residential programs co-facilitated by Wellness Institute certified therapists, where you are pampered by staying in a beautiful retreat setting with healthy and delicious meals prepared for you. Each weekend includes an array of group processes to foster authentic and healthy relationships and provides concrete tools to further each individual along in their life’s journey. Concise teaching pieces and generous hand-outs for home use are included. Each person experiences hypnotherapy or psychodrama each weekend and a breath work session potentiated by the power of the group. The subtle power of breath work is revelatory. Each day begins with Kirtan chanting and kundalini meditation to open the heart and ready the group for their work.
What you will experience: • Increased selfawareness, acceptance, and understanding • Release of self-defeating beliefs and patterns • Deepening of your spiritual connection • Improved interpersonal communication skills • Improved mental, emotional and physical health • Attracting healthy, fulfilling relationships • Experiencing deep inner peace and joy
Reiki Wellness Centre Debbie Shkuratoff Reiki Master - Teacher Usui-Karuna-Komyo-Tibetan & Seichim styles
•Reiki Therapy & Classes •Chakra & Energy Balancing •EMF Balancing Technique •BARS - Access Conciousness
•Detoxifying Foot Spas •Jade Roller massage Capsule •Amethyst Crystal Bio Mat •Kangen Water Ionizers
Reflexology and Intuitive Massage Gift Certificates & Package Specials Daytime • Evening • Weekend • By Appointment Only #13- Upper Level • Valleyview Centre • Cobble Hill
www.reikiwellness.ca • 250-743-8122
Foot Reflexology Special 3x 1 HOUR SESSIONS FOR $120 Gillian Needs Cht,Certified Reflexologist Hypnotherapist 778-455-4466 Home Visits
Terri Lewis RABC , IHM, TT Reiki Master 250-701-8962 1453 Algonkin Dr, Properties @ Maple Bay
(with small fuel charge)
SOTA Magnetic Pulser and LightWorks
• experience benefits of pulsed magnetic fields to help balance the body’s natural electricity for health • combine the ancient wisdom of colour and light with the frequencies and LEDs of modern technology to gently awaken the body’s natural 3x 45 min sessions for $135 (Regular $165) tendency towards health and well-being.
www.terriswellness.com
• Strengthened personal integrity Themes developed throughout the five month PTI series include: • Healing Codependency: Dysfunctional relationships, healthy boundaries and communication. • Healing Addictions: Addictive behaviors and patterns, identifying and releasing shame and other self-defeating influences. • Healing Sexual Abuse: Body shame, sexual abuse
and sexuality issues, womb/ birth issues. • The Mind-Body Connection: Strengthening of physical and psychic immune systems. •Healing Relationships: Detrimental patterns in existing relationships, releasing unhealthy relationships. The first weekend starts April 28-30. For more information, call 250-597-7459 or visit www.loriaustein.com.
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e all came from financially stable careers,” says Kuan Jian Foo of Viridian Energy Coop. “But who can say they love what they do while working to make the world a better place?” Viridian started in the Cowichan Valley five years ago and has since grown to span Vancouver Island and beyond. The worker co-op installs solar photovoltaic and solar hot water systems, and provides design expertise on renewable energy and energy efficiency. As a kid, Kuan moved around the world a lot because his father worked in oil and gas. He met his partner who grew up in Cowichan Station, settled here, and studied green building and renewable energy at Vancouver Island University. After gaining several years of experience working in renewable energy, he decided to start a new venture with classmate, Wes Hyde. They recruited long time local electrician Don Skerik who had just sold his business. 2012 was the United Nations International Year of the Co-Op and after researching the worker’s cooperative model, they decided it
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The team celebrating 200 solar panels installed on Golden Tree Farm, Saltspring island
Viridian: Love What You Do; Make A Difference was the best structure to match the goals of the business. One of Viridian’s first job was installing solar hot water at a new natural home in Shawnigan. Word of mouth led to more work, but things didn’t scale up until 2014 when opportunity struck. Eric Smiley, a renewable energy engineer, who was their teacher at VIU, had just joined the co-op and brought a lead from a supplier in Ontario. A
solar job out east had fallen through and the supplier had a truck full of panels going cheap, and going quickly. Viridian was offered a chance to buy them. Working with local climate advocate Peter Nix, they pulled together a meeting of about 40 people and things just took off. Viridian was able to buy over 700 panels for about 30 customers. “The whole thing was a real rush,” says Skerik. Since 2014, the co-op has sold over 3000 solar panels, gaining significant experience. They have also added three new co-op members along the way. The Co-op has completed a major offgrid solar installation for Camp Fircom on Gambier Island, a net-zero solar project for Golden Tree Farm on Saltspring Island, a job for Peninsula Co-op (at the gas station at the corner of Island Highway and Bench Road), and recently an installation for the CVRD at Bings Creek recycling centre.
As a worker co-op, each member is their own boss, and things are run by consensus. This means lots of meetings and communication. Viridian also has an ethic of giving back, and has donated solar systems to a Sunriver Community Garden in Sooke, and is in the process of helping Cowichan Green Community with a solar project. Kuan believes we’re approaching a tipping point for solar electricity in BC. As the cost of panels comes down and the cost of BC Hydro goes up, the economics gets better. So far, it’s been early adopters with an environmental ethic who have made the significant upfront investment, but even now systems are getting a 4-6% return, which is more than you get with a GIC.
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Matt Price is a director with One Cowichan and well known for organizing social change across Canada.
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Sub-surface emitter line to be covered by mulch
Water Conservation In Your Garden
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ater, and the lack of it, continues to be at the forefront of both our local community and world news! In Canada we have grown up in a culture of an abundance of water making us the second largest consumers of water in the world (329 litre/person/day). This translates to over 2,000 gal/ week for a family of 4. Water is a limited natural resource, even here on the ‘wet coast’. Learning about smart water practices is becoming increasingly important to homeowners due to rising water costs, watering restrictions and ongoing droughts. Of all yard care tasks, watering plants and lawns is often the most misunderstood of efforts. Water must arrive at regular intervals and in quantities that will sustain the plant throughout its entire life. As simple as this may sound, far too many plants die from over-watering and incorrect watering practices than
from a lack of water. Historically our region receives enough precipitation from October to May to take care of the needs of most plantings, June to September we need to augment the rain by watering. On average gardens and lawns in our climate require 1” of water per week (soil type will vary amount), shade gardens and Native plants require 30% - 50% less. Place a few shallow collection containers in the garden as you water and measure the depth of water after one hour, this will give you a rough idea of how often and how long you need to water. It is important that your plants receive a deep watering to a depth of six to nine inches (6-9”) as opposed to numerous shallow waterings - challenging to do with a hose and sprayer. If you haven’t already considered an automatic watering system, you may want to. The benefits are numerous including time saved, reduced plant stress (a healthy plant is a happy plant), money saved if your water is metered and most importantly conserving water. There are both conventional and micro-drip irrigation systems
available, conventional irrigation systems rate sprinkler flow in gallons per minute (GPM) while micro-irrigation flow rates are in gallons per hour (GPH). For example a lawn sprinkler may be rated at 3 to 10 GPM, or 180 to 600 GPH, micro-irrigation devices are rated from 1/2 to 2 GPH. Micro-irrigation employs drippers and emitter line for delivery, significantly reducing run-off, erosion and water consumption (the system is so efficient that in many Regional Districts a micro-irrigation system exempts you from all watering restrictions). An added bonus is the reduction of weeds as only the plants are getting watered. These systems are versatile, durable, and easy to maintain, they are available as a do-it-yourself or professional installation.
Existing sprinkler systems can be easily converted to micoirrigation. A micro-irrigation system is the affordable green answer to water restrictions, water costs and water conservation. Have a great gardening season and don’t forget to replace all of your hose washers, a dripping tap can waste hundreds or even thousands of gallons of water during the growing season. www.warmlandirrigation.com David Pink and his wife Diana own Warm Land Irrigation, and grow and sell food as Fresh Start Edibles @ Affinity Farms
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Special Gifts for first 100 Customers-Don’t miss it!
THE COWICHAN VALLEY’S LARGEST
GARDEN FAIR Saturday April 29 10 am – 2 pm
COWICHAN EXHIBITION GROUNDS DUNCAN Free Coffee and Donuts for first 200 customers
• Free admission-lots of free parking • Come early for best selection! • High quality plants from 15 nurseries • Wide selection of Rhodos available in different sizes and colours • Rare, hard to find rhodos available • Many Companion and other beautiful plants for sale • Truss (flower) display of local rhodos in bloom • Variety of unique vendors and garden suppliers • Planting, growing, maintenance advice from experts • Many excellent buys on quality plants • Carts available or bring your own! • Cash/cheque only please – ATM on site
www.CowichanValleyGardenFair.com CowichanValley GardenFair
CowGardenFair
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n Saturday April 29th, The Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society will hold their annual Garden Fair at the Cowichan Exhibition Grounds. Along with rhododendrons their will also be a host of different nurseries selling companion plants and other horticultural treasures for the discerning gardener. But why this fascination with the Rhododendron?
Rhododendron Susan, a reliable and hardy choice for early May blooms Barrie Agar.
The Exotic Rhododendron
A common shrub, planted in masses in commercial landscapes, often ignored as undistinguished background, bursts forth in spring with luminous flowers as exotic as an orchid, and in as many colours. Botanically, evergreen and decisuous azaleas are also Rhododendron. Named for the Greek “rhodon” meaning rose, and “Dendron” which means tree, the Rhododendron is actually a member of the Heath family, and is related to Heathers, blueberries, and Arbutus. Like its relations its prefers an acid soil, which makes it a good choice for our gardens here in the Valley with a naturally acidic soil. The Rhododendron is found predominantly in the Northern hemisphere. It ranges in size from 6” to giants of 40 feet. Vancouver Island is home to three species of rhodos: R. macrophyllum (meaning large leaf) with pale mauve flowers, R. albiflorum, a deciduous shrub with small white flowers, and Rhododendron groenlandicum, or Labrador tea, a recent entry to the Rhododendron genus. The greatest concentration of rhododendrons in the wild is in an area along the southern Himalayas and stretching into South West China. They tend to be denizens of the mountains, and even the Vireyas, a group found in the tropics, tend to be found at higher altitudes.
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Subsequent introductions and hybridizing have increased the range of colours and shapes available. Now it is possible to find orange and yellow rhodos, delicate bicolours, deep, almost black purples and reds, and every shade imaginable in between. Rhododendron foliage ranges from tiny ¼’’ to two feet long in some of the Himalayan species, ,and in colour from pale to dark green, blue coloured, and reddish. Variation in foliage adds to interest in the garden, as it is there for generally much longer than the flowers. There are many good rhodos for the Cowichan Valley A highlight of the Cowichan Garden Fair is the truss show. Members of the Society bring trusses of their favourite rhodo to be displayed, and is a good place to check out the flowers of different varieties, and choose ones that appeal to you. The Cowichan Rhododendron Society Garden Fair Saturday April 29, 10-2PM Cowichan Exhibition Grounds Gift for the first 50 attendees! Free cowichanvalleygardenfair.com/ cowichanrhodos.ca/ Information on the local Rhodo Society, plants, and events.
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Barrie Agar, Head Gardener at Hatley Park National Historic Site/ Royal Roads University, and the President of the Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society.
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melons later, so that weeds don’t have a chance to move in and you get two crops instead of one. 4. Don’t mix dill with tomatoes or with carrots. 5. Don’t plant garlic, onions, or chives with beans. 6. Fennel does not mix well with most other plants; keep it in its own corner.
Companion Planting in the Vegetable Garden Tamu Miles, Novelist, blogger, and employee at Dinter Nursery
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hen you’re mapping out your garden beds this year, you might want to consider the practice of companion planting. In a well maintained garden, companion planting can offer many benefits including nutrient sharing, pest control, improved use of space, and a reduction in the number of weeds. Companion planting is especially well adapted to small gardens that utilize raised beds, wide rows, or intensive square foot gardening methods. Certain plants perform better when grown next to each other. This is because instead of creating
a monoculture (lettuces all over here, and tomatoes all over there), you are creating a diverse culture that takes into consideration the fact that some plants chemically enhance, or inhibit, each other’s growth or well-being. There are many online companion planting guides, but here are the basic rules: 1. Plant short, shade-tolerant plants beneath taller, bushy plants. 2. When you mix sun-loving plants, put tall ones at the north end of the plot and small ones at the south end, so all will get needed sun. 3. Exploit the different maturation rates of different crops: plant lettuce, cilantro, spinach, or chard early where you plan to set out squash and
ENVIRONMENTALLY BETTER THAN BURNING!
s are down! y when the chip dl en fri oec re e’ W
VICE CHIPPING SER
Storm Clean Up Minor Tree Limbing Complete Clean Up & Haul Away Services We Chip up to 6” in diameter and 12”slabs
www.weechipcowichan.ca
When it comes to nutrient sharing, try planting legume crops in and around other vegetables. Peas, beans, vetches and clovers take nitrogen from the air rather than from the soil and with the help of certain soil bacteria they ‘fix’ this nitrogen into the soil. They then, in turn, share this nitrogen with other plants. To help with pest control and pollination, weave clusters of open pollinated flowers (such as Marigolds, Alyssum, Bachelors Button, bee balm, nasturtiums, California Poppy, calendula and cosmos) or herbs (such as basil, thyme, hyssop, dill and oregano) in with your vegetables. These flowers will reduce the need for pesticides that have been shown to be toxic to bees and other pollinators. Each garden is different so it’s important to keep detailed notes and experiment with different companions from year-to-year until you find the right combination for success.
TIME TO PLANT! www.dinternursery.ca
Great selection of quality plants, your ONE STOP for all gardening needs.
PLANTING A FOOD GARDEN? •West Coast Seeds •Vegetable transplants •Small fruit plants
Fruit Trees Plant Now! April 8 • 9:30am
Perennial Exchange Exchange roots and divisions. Get free plants in trade with other gardeners.
(set up by 9:20am please)
Serving local gardeners since 1973
250 748 2023
5km South of Duncan on Hwy 1
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chronic illness and pain are not recognized because symptoms such as fatigue and pain are invisible. In many cases, the causes and mechanisms of these conditions are poorly understood, and effective treatments are not available. Patients and their caregivers are sent home to manage symptoms as best they can.
•Release trapped emotions and find health and happiness •Take down your heart - wall and welcome in your hopes and dreams •Achieve self-confidencePioneering reflex inhibition and integration work
Call or Email
First appointment free!
David Yaeger
Certified Emotion Code Practitioner 250-597-3686 davidyaeger650@gmail.com
Releasing Stress - Chronic Illness and Pain
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hronic illness and pain are pervasive in our community. If you look at the statistics for Canada, 1 in 5 people suffer from chronic pain (pain that persists over 3 months). When you add up the stats for various chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and autoimmune disorders, chances are, you or someone you care for is living with chronic illness and pain. While some stress is healthy, continued high levels of stress have a proven negative impact on the body. This kind of stress creates inflammation, and has been linked to heart disease, depression, digestive disorders, and more. In Canada, 1 in 5 people (aged 12 and over) report that most days in the past year have been “quite a bit” or “extremely” stressful. People with chronic pain and illness and their caregivers experience additional stressors. Apart from worrying symptoms associated with these conditions, they can increase isolation, impact mental health, reduce life expectancy, and trigger job loss, financial problems, and family breakdown. Stress increases the range and severity of symptoms associated with many conditions. Often, a person’s struggles with
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While doctors play a frontline role in managing chronic illness and pain, patients are increasingly called upon to participate in self-management programs. There are many demonstrated tools to help manage and reduce the stresses associated with chronic illness and pain to improve quality of life. These techniques include mindfulness-based stress reduction, cognitive-behavioural therapy, yoga, meditation, and hypnosis. As two people who have lived with chronic illness and pain for decades, and who have explored many conventional and alternative treatments, our intention is to bring a series of workshops to the Cowichan Valley to support people dealing with these challenges and their caregivers. On April 9th, we will be presenting the first workshop: Releasing Stress - Creating Your Own Healing Toolkit. In this workshop, we will discuss some of the unique stressors faced by people living with chronic illness and pain, and their caregivers. We will facilitate various stress reduction techniques, including mindfulness and compassion practices, chair yoga, and hypnosis. In a welcoming and sacred environment you will have the opportunity to explore these techniques, to help you begin creating your own healing toolkit. If you would like to attend, or get more information, please visit Carmen and Jane at CreativeBreakouts.com.
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Julia Allen
MA Masters Counselling Psychology Registered Clinical Counsellor
Holistic approach to psychotherapyMind, Body and Spirit
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Conversations for Living and Dying Well
n Saturday April 8th join Cowichan Hospice for Afternoon Tea at the Duncan Ramada, accompanied by an engaging advance care planning game. Hello: Conversations for Living and Dying Well is a game to start us thinking, talking, remembering, imagining, laughing and yes, sometimes tearing up, as we consider questions about what might be important to us at the end of our lives. It is a game that gets us talking about what makes life meaningful and starts advance care planning conversations. What is Advance Care Planning? Advance Care Planning is the process of thinking, talking about, and recording the health care choices we would want made for us if we couldn’t speak for ourselves. Why do Advance Care Planning? Think of advance care planning as a gift we leave for the people we love, so if they’re ever in the position of having to make health care
JODIE MCDONALD, MSW RSW 250-580-2252 jodie@livingandbreathing.ca
decisions for us, they know they are in line with what we would want. That can make a difficult situation a little bit easier and leave them feeling they are honouring who we are. It can be the difference between caregivers doing things FOR us instead of TO us. Even if we can speak for ourselves towards the end of our lives, why not put a little thought now into what we might want, so if we find ourselves in a tough spot we have already done some of the thinking. And remember, we can ALWAYS change our minds, so no worries about putting our thoughts down on paper now. An Advance Care Plan helps prepare us and our families for what we may be choosing later on. As Kathy Hagerty, a Cowichan Hospice volunteer, so aptly put it: “The main lesson I learned was to start expressing how I feel NOW instead of when I am almost at my expiration date and probably not able to express much of anything.” Who knew that something as
Weekly blog for insights and personal transformation
250-709-9673 www.longboatcounselling.com info@longboatcounselling.com
Sands Funeral Chapel
Cremation & Reception Centre-Duncan by Arbor Memorial
Janice Winfrey Funeral Director
tel: 250-746-5212 • fax:250-746-7034 sandsfuneral.com/duncan email:sandsduncan@arbormemorial.com 187 Trunk Road, Duncan, British Columbia V9L 2P1
simple as playing a game could be a gift to your family, help you live a better life... and BE FUN? Join us for an insightful afternoon of Afternoon Tea and ACP on Saturday,
IBP INTEGRATIVE BODY PSYCHOTHERAPISTS COUNSELLING AND HEALING BREATHWORK
April 8th. If you would like to attend, please call 250.701.4242 or email cvhospice@shaw.ca to register.
SYBILLE WEBB, MEd 250-715-6957 sybillewebb@shaw.ca
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Natural Beauty in Downtown Duncan
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n honour of spring’s arrival and Earth Day on Saturday, April 22nd, here is a look at just a few of the “natural” beauty products that abound downtown and where you can find the special clothing and products that may fit your values and natural lifestyle. Lise Brown Cosmetics was founded on the principles of clean cosmetics & skin care that is earth friendly, vegan, crueltyfree, non-GMO and free of
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harmful chemicals & synthetics. Founder, co-owner & formulator Christine “Lise” Brown creates a variety of products including skincare, sun care, anti-aging, makeup and herbal salves. Visit this striking shop on Canada Ave. to experience their exceptional standard of excellence and luxury for yourself. Just inside the front doors of the Matraea Centre is their amazing Mama & Baby shop
carrying a wonderful selection of quality, natural products. This light-filled space will delight you with practical, adorable and earth friendly baby options including bamboo baby wipes and adorable organic cotton sleepers and swaddle blankets. And of course you’ll find Matraea’s very own line of locally and BC made natural products for Mama & Baby here. From organic herbal teas to lotions to a Home Birth Kit, the Matraea line is produced to the highest standards for safety,
Matraea Mercantile
health, sustainability and beauty. At Prudence Natural Beauty & Fashion on Craig Street, the majority of their products are either fair-trade or Canadian or North American made. Their stylish and comfortable clothing is made from natural fibres such as bamboo, hemp, cotton, silk, and wool. They also carry natural skin care and make-up lines including Elate clean cosmetics, Kogi Naturals and Pure Anada natural cosmetics. The fabulous organic eco-fashion from Salts Clothing is designed and produced in the Cowichan Valley by local sewers in the
community. Owner Jennifer Graham sources natural and organic fabrics from ethical sources – all tested to ensure they have no traces of harmful chemicals – including certified organic cotton, viscose from bamboo, hemp, soy & merino wool. Visit their awesome shop/ studio upstairs in the iconic Duncan Garage building. For over 40 years, Saltspring Soapworks has been creating handmade products rich in organic ingredients and natural botanicals on Saltspring Island. This small, family run business uses 100% natural ingredients (entirely free of all parabens and sodium lauryl sulfate) in its complete line of handmade soaps, skin, hair and body care products.
Salt Spring Soapworks
Located just beside the Duncan Garage, Spinning Ninny is eclectically filled with natural and locally handmade products; lots of bamboo and organic cotton clothing items including the popular “Flashdance” top (that can be worn 20+ ways!) and unbelievably comfortable made in BC bamboo boxers for men. Owner Lara
Spring Painting Workshops
April 13, 22 & April 27 10am - 3pm $125.00 Learn everything you need to know to give your furniture new life! Call Embellish! to register250 746 9809 is proud to carry natural soaps from Botanical Bliss and “Gentle Earth” products including hand soap, lotion, air freshener and lip balms too. Small town. Big natural beauty.
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Margaret Moss Health Centre
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any families with children are very familiar with the Margaret Moss Health Centre; from pre-natal classes, to breastfeeding clinics to immunizations, their friendly and professional staff have supported Cowichan families in many ways and for many years. But, were you aware of all the other important Preventative Health Programs services that are provided at the Health Centre? Public Health Nurses work with individuals, families and communities to promote health; encourage individuals to take responsibility for health; and provide assistance with specific health concerns. Services include: • Free prenatal classes • Postnatal services • Breastfeeding consultation
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• Communicable disease follow-up • Sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment • Harm reduction • School-aged health services • Youth clinic service for teens • Immunization for children and adults • Dietitian • Dental Hygienist • Healthy Beginnings (Relaxed groups for moms, dads and others who care for infants and children) • Triple-P Parenting Community Programs (Positive Parenting Programs) Margaret Moss Health Centre, 675 Canada Ave., Duncan 250-709-3050
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Family Meals: Eating Together, Eating Better
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aking time to eat with your family is one of the most important things you can do for your children. Once a staple of family life, the family meal can easily be brushed aside by our fastpaced lives. It can take energy to hold onto the family meal. But it is worth it! A family meal happens when at least one adult and one child eat together. It is where family traditions are passed along, where children learn table manners and develop conversation skills. Eating together improves family communication, creates strong family ties and a greater sense of identity and belonging for children and teens. Research has shown that children who eat meals with their family do better in school. Family meals reduce risktaking behaviours; teens who eat dinner with their families at least five times a week are less likely to feel depressed or take drugs. Another study found that teens who eat
dinner with their families 6 or seven times per week are less likely to smoke cigarettes or marijuana or drink alcohol than teens who ate dinner with their family two or less times per week. Girls who eat meals with their family more frequently are less likely to have disordered eating such as extreme dieting or binge eating. Children and teens who eat with their family at least once a day have higher intakes of vegetables, fruit, protein and iron and calcium containing foods. Make family meals a priority and schedule family meals the same way you schedule other activities. If eating together isn’t something you have been doing, start with a few times per week and increase from there. Any meal can be a family meal - breakfast, lunch or dinner. Family meals don’t have to be fancy. Creating a positive atmosphere is important. A family meal is a time when members can share what happened today, a time for food and pleasant conversation. Leave discipline issues and report cards for another time. Turn off the television and cellphones, come away from the computer and enjoy a meal with your family!
JOIN US FOR
LUNCH + DINNER
OPEN Tuesday to Saturday
look for our daily specials on 40 Ingram Street
www.theoldfirehouse.ca
Downtown Duncan
(250) 597-3473
Find us at 306 Duncan St. nestled bet ween the Duncan Garage and Rayʻs Antiques, One of a kind, Clothing, Accessories and gifts for the whole family. Each piece is handcrafted with love by artists from around the corner and across BC. For more info or to register call 778-455-4888 For family meal conversation ideas and more information about family meals including a hands-on approach to family, food and fun see
http://www.bettertogetherbc. ca/ Submitted by Christy Thomson R.D. Public Health Dietitian, Margaret Moss Health Centre.
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rbutus Ridge Golf Club announces that it will be reintroducing its popular 10 Game Pack promotion until April 15th 2017. The 10 Game Pack provides a significant discount to golfers wanting to play Arbutus Ridge Golf Club on a frequent basis this season. “Arbutus Ridge Golf Club is committed to growing the game of golf by eliminating as many barriers as possible that stop people from playing our golf course” says General Manger Richard Ingle. “The 10 Game Pack offers golf for a significantly discounted price to those that are either too busy to play enough rounds for a membership to be worthwhile or simply can’t afford to join a golf course,” he added. The 10 Game Pack is for 10, 18-hole rounds of golf
and is non-transferrable. All games must be completed by October 22nd 2017 and there is a limit of 1 per person. To purchase a 10 Game Pack, visit the Golf Shop at Arbutus Ridge Golf Club. The Arbutus Ridge Golf Club is located in the seaside community of Cobble Hill, a 25-minute drive from the outskirts of Victoria and 15 minutes from the cultural city of Duncan. The Bill Robinson design 18-hole golf course is rated Four Stars by Golf Digest, Best Destination Golf Course in British Columbia by Golf Nerve Magazine and One of Canada’s Ten Best Courses for Your Money by Westjet Magazine. The facility has played host to numerous provincial and national championships and achieved a Sustainability Award from Tourism Vancouver Island. The golf course and clubhouse are
Arbutus Ridge
Arbutus Ridge Golf Club introduces “The 10 Game Pack” specifically designed to offer some of the most stunning views on Vancouver Island amongst the characteristic arbutus tree. The back nine climbs a ridge to overlook the Satellite Channel where you will find the Satellite Bar & Grille including wrap around patio and ocean views. The Mount Baker room provides panoramic views and is one
of the most desired Wedding, Meeting and Banquet facilities on Vancouver Island. The GBC Golf Academy showcases a full length practice facility with five target greens and two short game areas. Arbutus Ridge is also complimented by three indoor tennis courts. Submitted by Richard Ingle
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Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
COWICHAN BUSINESS FOR BUSINESS
The Death of E-Plus What do we do now that BC Hydro plans to terminate the E-plus program? Reed Gary, Owner 360 Comfort Systems Inc. Proudly Providing Comfort with Integrity
BC
Hydro recently announced that they will be terminating the E-Plus program, which has been in place since 1987. If you are not familiar with the E-plus program, that means you probably have not had the privilege of benefitting from it. E-plus was a program that sold surplus electricity at a deep discount to thousands of Vancouver Island homeowners and businesses. The utility announced several years ago that, in order to phase out the program, they would not allow the transfer of the existing program to the new homeowners at the sale of the property but has kept the program in place for those that were enrolled. For those that are still enrolled in this dying program, the question comes up, “What do we do now?” There are a few options. 1. Continue using the current electric heat source. Continuing to heat with electricity once E-plus rates normalize with consumer rates will drastically increase your annual heating budget, in some cases up to $1200/year. 2. Switch to heating with a heat pump There are a a number of advantages in switching from an electric furnace to a heat pump. Firstly the efficiency of a heat pump is incredible. Some might not know that a heat pump actually multiplies the energy used to heat your home. For example, with an electric furnace, for every 1 kW
of energy you put into it, you get 1 kW of heat out of it. With heat pumps, for every 1 kW of energy you put into it, you get up to 4 kW’s of heat out of it. This means that heat pumps can be as high as 400% efficient. 3. Switch to a natural gas furnace Unfortunately this option is only available to homes that are within the FortisBC natural gas service area. Just because you don’t have natural gas to your house does not mean that is not available to you. Try calling FortisBC and it may be as little as $89 to get hooked up. Once you have natural gas to your home the next step is picking the gas furnace. Currently, gas furnaces with a 92% AFUE rating (this is the efficiency of the furnace) are the minimum requirement for new installs. That being said, gas furnaces with higher efficiency’s may be eligible for some substantial rebates. 3. Switch to heating with a ductless heat pump In some instances, the existing duct system in the house may not be able to move enough air to satisfy the requirements of a heat pump and the cost of rectifying this may not be worth the investment (ie. removing drywall and cutting floors). In this case it may make more sense to invest in a ductless heat pump system. The advantages of these systems is that they are one of the most affordable heat sources to operate and they can also provide zone heating. This means that the master bedroom can be set at a different temperature than the living area and seldom used areas can be kept at a lower set point when not in use. These are some of the options for those who will soon lose the benefits of the dying E-plus program.
#301- 394 Duncan Street Duncan, BC V9L 3W4 250 748-1426 Fax: 250 748 2805 PO Box 1396 #101-626 First Avenue Ladysmith, BC V9G 1A9 250 245-1429 Fax: 250 245-1421 1-800-818-5703 www.palmerleslie.ca
Dave Shortill
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Healing With Lindsay Campa
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egistered Massage Therapist Lindsay Campa has two beautiful gifts to offer you. Inspired by yoga at 20, she began to look for ways to deepen her study of the body, mind and spirit to help others. She next explored massage in 2000 and began her career with professional accreditations
in both. “Really, the two roles are intertwined for me. Using the breath, tuning into the inner landscape of the body, learning more deeply how the body moves. The two dovetail so beautifully, and has become like the Yoga of Massage for me.” smiles Lindsay. After practicing for a few years, she committed herself to completing the rigorous training of becoming a Registered Massage Therapist (over 3000 extra hours of training that pertains to the body). As an RMT in BC Lindsay is specially trained to give an assessment of soft tissue and joints of the body as well as assist in the treatment and prevention of injury and pain. The Healing Body operates out of Matraea Centre in downtown Duncan. Here Lindsay offers personalized yoga therapy services and delightful therapeutic
massage. Keeping a tidy, warm and inviting space she begins her session with some friendly conversation to see where you are at and get a feel of what she is needed for today: relaxation, bruised ribs and specific areas of issue are discussed. She explains that her sessions are blissfully silent, with exception to some relaxing music if the client prefers. I climb onto her table already warmed with a heating pad
underlay. This pad remained beneath me throughout the session and was a welcome layer on a rainy day. My body absorbed the warmth willingly and happily and the consistency of keeping warm greatly enhanced my treatment. She softened some shea butter in her hands-and added a special herbal salve made by a local wild crafter. As she applied the butter on my back, I realized that I had never had a massage with shea before. It has a unique
Float effortlessly on the surface of 1000L of water saturated with 1200 lbs of Epsom salts heated to 94.5 degrees. Experience life without sensation and distractions in this unique light and soundproof environment. 662 Herald St. I Victoria, BC I V8W 1S7 I 778 433 3166 I hello@floathousevictoria.com I floathousevictoria.com
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t s r w e t r
A t s o t i o s s a b a d i m t a t s a L p h o r I
tension that works with the skin layer. Instead of sliding rapidly all over the skin as with oils, the shea butter encompasses an extra friction that soothes as it moves and rubs the skin in new ways. As someone that works on the computer daily, neck and shoulders are often the focus of my treatments. Lindsay felt this right from the start and instead of concentrating only on my neck and shoulders she worked on my back and spine, areas that support neck and shoulder care. Gently, but with intention, she traced a line ex-tre-me-ly slowly down one side of my spine in a continuous rhythmic movement following it all the way to the end. Working along the fascia she mirrored this technique on the other side of my spine. Slow, gentle and methodical describes Lindsay’s session with me - a personalized treatment for my healing body. “I use a type of Re-balancing work to help re-set the nervous system. I also use deep tissue and
methods of addressing the meridians. I offer specialized treatment or care plans when applicable, including take home yoga therapy exercises and restorative poses that can really assist the overall healing process.” The end of the session came too soon but as I quietly lay on the table I revelled in how her mindful work on my fascia resonated even though she was no longer in the room. Almost as if she awakened the meridians in my body just for them to continue to work on their own. This resonance continued throughout my body for hours after our session. A gentle, unique and magical experience that was both therapeutic and satisfying. Looking forward to seeing her again. “I love seeing the difference a massage makes- some people look taller, have more color in their faces, experience less pain, and generally feel better on all levels from the treatments. shares Lindsay.
Etc!
BEADS BEADS BEADS
9752c Willow St
Chemainus
250 324 2227 Open 7 days a week
Best prices on the island • HUGE Selection • Workshops & Classes Beading I Kumihimo I Bead Weaving I Viking Knit I Herringbone and more!
“The body is only a mystery until we learn about it, and then we can experience great changes when we bring mindful awareness to how it moves and breathes.” Written by Sheila Badman
Your one stop shop for natural products for home and body • more • more • more • more • more
sustainable fashions natural make up body products mens products natural pet supply
Come in for great natural products, organic produce and so much more!
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healthy snacks natural bulk foods cleaning products vitamin selection household for YOU!
PRODUCE SECTION
9738 Willow St, Chemainus 250-246-9838 Hours Mon-Sat 930-530 • Sun 12-4 Closed Stat holidays
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Ted Leischner and ALL the pollinators on the west coast islands.
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recall the day that I started beekeeping when a student at Olds College, Olds, AB. I did know at the time that I would eventually become an instructor for the college. As an Agricultural Production Diploma student, I was older than most with a level of motivation to learn hands-on skills to become a farmer. I also had a university degree in biology. I had enrolled in the beekeeping course that was offered as a 35hour option in my program. I made intense use of the college library but the days that the instructor went into the college hives to show us real live bees were the most exciting learning experiences. Beekeeping has changed quite a bit since 1973. We now must be super focused on managing varroa mites and American Foulbrood diseases as discussed in my previous
article on Overwintering. I advise all my students and persons that I mentor to find an experienced beekeeper that will show you the ropes about beekeeping as you progress through the seasons and teach you how to handle bees to minimize or eliminate concerns about stings. In fact, do not get any bees until after you have such and arrangement and have taken a beekeeping course. The reason is that today the risk of loss of hives is high because bees as two pound packages or 4-frame nuc [short for nucleus hive] are expensive. They may cost as much as $250.00. The better deal is to purchase a four frame nuc because you get a proven queen and usually more bees with brood better able to withstand spring conditions: extended cold, rain, and snow with no flowers blooming. In my opinion, putting new package bees on frames of foundation only in such conditions as we are getting this spring is cruel and unusual abuse of honeybees. They are stressed
Upcoming EVENTS April 8-9
Wild Food Foraging Weekend with Morel Mushroom Cooking Class
April 15
Spring Wild Food Dinner ed! dd a t April jus
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Wild Food Foraging Workshop
For full details visit www.deerholme.com BY RESERVATION ONLY
4830 Stelfox Rd, Duncan
For ReservationS 250 748 7450 44
enough by the cold and not being able to do cleansing flights because it is just not warm enough. Bees stay inside the hive and store their waste if it is too cold. If I had to do it this year I would be sure there were disease free dark comb in the box with a reserve of pollen and honey. It must be 20 degrees before bees can really draw beeswax foundation. One pound of wax requires 9 pounds of honey so be sure your bees have enough feed. I also recommend joining the local Cowichan Beekeepers to glean the experience of the 100 persons doing beekeeping here. Doing this facilitates getting a good source of bees and learning where to get beekeeping supplies. A hive to be successful needs good quality woodware (hive bottom, top, inner cover and a feeder of some kinds plus a way to adjust the size of the entrance. Hive boxes and frames need to be properly assembled to stay together over time and especially if they are to not come apart in a honey extractor. The first time a frame of honey and bees falls on your foot you will vow to be the last. Bee hive equipment assemblage tricks are shared at beekeeping courses. Before the bees come it is good to run through a checklist of what honeybees need to thrive: a
Beginning Beekeeping wind protected site facing south with all hives up off the ground by the depth of a level pallet, disease free, ideally new hive equipment to keep the inside of the hive dry, a healthy young queen with at least a couple of pounds of worker bees, adequate food (nectar and pollen). Each hive should have at least two frames of honey and a frame of pollen always. Before you bring bees to your property bee sure you have your hives ready. Each hive will need 4 Dadant super with frames or 2 to 3 standard Langstroth supers each with 10 frames to start or 9 frames if you have used equipment. Hive equipment for each hive may cost up to $150.00. Once the bees are settled, expect to check them every 7-10 days when it is sunny and warm.
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B P o V V T g p “ v V b o p t g t t t “ l n c f A s V
Volunteers Needed!
Cowichan Region Better at Home helps seniors to continue to live independently in their own homes. Volunteers are the core of Better At Home. Our Friendly Visitors and other Volunteers provide services that are invaluable and rewarding to our volunteers as well as the seniors they visit.
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Volunteers needed for Friendly Visitor program for seniors
olunteer Cowichan’s Better at Home Program is kicking off its Spring 2017 Volunteer “Friendly Visitor” campaign. The campaign’s goal is to double the present number of “Friendly Visitor” volunteers. Volunteer “Friendly Visitors” befriend seniors who may otherwise be isolated. They provide simple but invaluable time for activities such as grocery shopping, having tea and conversation, or taking a leisurely walk in the park together. Volunteer “Friendly Visitors” can be a lifeline for seniors who may not otherwise have sufficient connection with family or friends to combat loneliness. At present, the number of seniors requesting “Friendly Visitors” exceeds the number
Open 9am to 9pm!
DAILY 1606 Joan Avenue 250-324-2249
“Friendly Visitors” spend time with their senior friend engaging in conversation, shopping together, attending events, reading, walking, and many other activities! It’s all about connecting, caring, and enriching the lives of seniors who may otherwise be isolated, lonely, and not quite able to continue living at home without that helping hand.
If you have a couple of hours each week to share with a senior, we would love to hear from you! Contact Information: Cathy or Jennifer 250-748-2133 info@crbetterathome.ca #1 Kenneth Place (below Duncan City Hall)
Friendly Neighbourhood Painting of volunteers available. Volunteers need no specialized skills or education, and training and support are offered by the Better at Home program. A time commitment of weekly visits for a duration of at least one year is required. After vetting, volunteers are matched with a senior who is within their geographical vicinity and shares general interests and preferences. Research has shown that seniors who feel connected to friends and community experience better mental health, life satisfaction, and
Helping you improve your space Serving the Cowichan Valley
Specializing in Residential Interior and Exterior Services
Eric Stiwich 250.709.2680
ericstiwich@gmail.com
general physical wellness than those who are isolated and alone. Persons interested in volunteering for the Better at Home Friendly Visitor Program can contact Volunteer Cowichan at
ericstiwich@gmail.com 250 748-2133, info@ crbetterathome.ca or visit Volunteer Cowichan at 1 Kenneth Place (basement level of the Duncan City Hall).
All new high efficiency machines! DOUBLE, TRIPLE & QUAD front load washer extractors Oversize gas dryers
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our power to help the children to develop fantasy.” ~ Rudolf Steiner.
Nanna Hannah and friends
The Healing Strength of Puppetry Why bring your children to hear stories being told and to see Puppet Shows? Is there a benefit beyond the enjoyment? “Puppetry is one of the most important therapeutic impulses ... a stimulus of the highest order of healing forces.” ~ Michaela Glöckler The puppetry impulse is one of the most important art therapy impulses for the coming century. Why? Because with hand and string puppets something is possible that cannot be achieved in theater or in movies, namely that the spiritual and soul expressions of the players are completely in the service of the images that are created with the help of the puppets. Fairy tales, plays and everyday scenes that are presented in this innocent fashion come to life in a way that allows the onlooker, especially the child, to take in the content consciously, without the overpowering soul impact of
real theater drama. The spiritual image content appears in the foreground and the imaginative capacity receives rich nourishment while at the same time the constitution of the child is guarded from impressions that are too forceful and that would disturb the flow of images. The marionette play is, for adults, a conscious, and for children, an unconscious, education in imaginative vision, and therefore it is an activator of the highest order of the forces of self-healing. The marionette and puppet theater is on top of everything, the only effective alternative to television and the multi-media culture of our day. ~ Michaela Glöckler, M.D., Director, Medical Section, Anthroposophical Society in Rundbrief Michaeli 1999 no. 37 From Nanna Hannah’s golden cauldron: “We must do everything in
Puppetry and storytelling provide a strong basis for the development of picture-making consciousness. What is picturemaking consciousness? Our fantasy! Our imaginations! The role of imagination or our ability to think in images is recognized as an important component in creative thinking. Albert Einstein said he discovered the theory of relativity by picturing himself riding on a ray of light. Margaret Meyerkort, who headed the Waldorf early-childhood teacher training program in Great Britain, said that imagination is essential for many reasons: for the development of initiative (to see potential, rather than static existence), compassion ( to be able to imagine and empathize with another’s predicament), and last but not least! LOVE! Puppet shows are a living play imbued with inner imagination and fantasy. Images that are envisioned from something a child hears in a story are born out of their imagination and are not static. They transform over time in one’s “mind’s eye”. Rahima Baldwin Dancy, a Waldorf early childhood educator, notes that, “when stories are acted out in front of children using standup puppets or marionettes, the experiences have a very calming and healing effect. They are taken right into the stream of life forces, without creating hard and fixed impressions”. The puppets nourish children’s souls and imaginations. During my puppetry training we learned that Rudolf Steiner said that the antidote to the effects of technology in children of our day is the art of puppetry. Come and let the puppetry and storytelling embrace your inner fantasy and creativity!
Nanna Hannah is a Puppeteer, Storyteller and Applied Theatre Artist who believes in the joy of the imagination. She is a director, actor and is the creator of Myth as Medicine storytelling and puppetry workshops . For 33 years she has been dedicated to human development as a student of Rudolf Steiner. She is a professionally trained theatre artist, puppeteer (Juniper Tree Waldorf Puppetry Training in Boulder Colorado with Suzanne Down) and professional storyteller. She has taught myth workshops for 13 years in Canada and more recently in Devon, UK, Bangkok, Thailand and Chengdu, China. She has worked with the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Jubilee Hospital in Victoria teaching drama and puppetry to people with special needs. She has also performed puppet shows and written and produced marionette shows for the BC Government in Canada,the University of Victoria and the Indigenous Child Welfare Research Network. She has performed Waldorf Puppet Shows in Waldorf Schools for 25 years. Upcoming shows at The Sol Centre next to The Community Farm Store (upstairs in the Sun Room): Sunday, April 9th: (age 4 & up) Table Puppets, Lap Puppets Sunday, April 23rd: (age 4 - 7) Silk Marionette Show All children must be accompanied by an adult. $7 per child, $10 per adult; Family rates available Call Hannah 250-748-3359 *The Sol Centre is located at 5380 Trans-Canada Hwy, Duncan.
FREE LANGUAGE CLASSES, EMPLOYMENT AND SETTLEMENT SERVICES FOR ELIGIBLE NEWCOMERS
WHERE CULTURES CONNECT
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www.cis-iwc.org
250-748-3112
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
This practical and inspiring book, highly recommended by all of the staff at the Freya-Sophia Waldorf Store, introduces ‘conscious parenting’ as a new way of helping any family home become more harmonious. Lou Harvey-Zahra, an experienced parenting coach and teacher, wants to help parents develop calm and happy children. Drawing her inspiration from a SteinerWaldorf background, she offers candid, relevant and funny tips and advice for taking a clear look at family life, identifying what’s not working, and exploring new ideas for improv-ing parent-child relationships. The book addresses issues such as rhythm and routine, children’s play, storytelling and crafts, as well as delving beneath the surface to discuss children’s twelve senses, and four temperaments. In addition there is a sure-to-be popular section on creative discipline, plus tips from Dad and wonderful suggestions for making ordinary family moments extraordinary. This uplifting parenting guide teaches how to raise happy children and create happy homes. An accessible, readable book which parents will appreciate for its down-to-earth, realistic approach and insightful counsel. Our book selection is growing each week! We hope you will come and see us soon! Bring your questions and your children. They can play in our cute little gnome home while mom or dad get to browse our beautiful store and discover the wonderful things we have to offer.
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Youth Action Day The Cowichan Intercultural Society is very proud to announce the second annual Youth Action Day to be held on April 28, 2017 at the Cowichan Performing Arts Center. The “for youth, by youth” event celebrates Cowichan;s Youth in Action and also aims to motivate and inspire students to get involved in community service! The student planning team is very grateful for the financial support of our community sponsors - The Kiwanis Club of Duncan, Be You Promise and Island Return It Duncan.
Picasso At The Lapin An idealistic, undiscovered, 25 year old Einstein and a deeply romantic young Picasso meet at a bar in Paris in 1904 just before they changed the face of art and
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science in the twentieth century. What follows is a hilarious comedy, in which these two great men and a band of bar-goers explore the meaning of creativity and dream about the future. The play, Picasso At The Lapin Agile was written by “Saturday Night Live” alumnus, comedian Steve Martin and is surprisingly clever and thought provoking but also full of eccentric characters, comic monologues and sketches. April 5-8, 7:30PM, T Gil Bunch Centre, Brentwood College Mill Bay. Box Office: 250 743-8756
Garden Pals GardenPals-- free program for kids and parents/supervising adults held at Jubilee Community Garden. This 10-year-old program pairs Seniors with children to learn and work in the garden together--planting, tending, harvesting organic vegetables in an urban park. Topics include: recycling/ composting, birds, beans, tools, bats, plant families. Materials, tools and healthy snacks are provided; enter the Cowichan Exhibition; lots of take-homes! Second and fourth Saturday mornings--10:00-11:30.Register at 250-748-0580. See you there!
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
What About Those Numbers On Plastics? Sophy Roberge is the Marketing Manager for Island Return It Recycling Centres.
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lright, it’s time for the impossible today... explaining the numbers on recyclable plastics in 400 words or less! The numbers first appeared on products in the late ‘80s, and in general refer to the resin content of different types of plastic. Most mixed-material recycling these days doesn’t require sorting of the different types, but just in case you were ever curious, here’s a (very) brief run-down. (1) Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE): Clear, strong, and a barrier to gas and moisture. PETE is perfect for pop bottles, salad dressing containers, and deli/bakery containers. Recycled flakes are spun into fibre and made into tote bags, bottles, clothing, furniture, strapping and carpet. (2) High Density Polyethylene (HDPE): Strong, flexible, and chemically resilient. HDPE is used in everything from plastic bags to laundry detergent/ bleach containers, and even ice cream tubs! Recycled back into detergent containers, drainpipes, or building material used in benches and fences. (3) Vinyl (V) or Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): Versatile and strong, vinyl is used in some bottles, meat wrap, and transparent bottles with built in handles. Recycled into packaging, mud flaps, flooring, cable, and speed bumps (among many other products).
(4) Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE): Easy to process, flexible, and a barrier to moisture. LDPE is used in garbage bags, some squeeze bottles, and food wrap. This is commonly recycled into garbage cans, compost bins, and building materials. (5) Polypropylene (PP): Strong and resistant to chemicals, heat, moisture, and oil. Perfect for food containers like yogurt, cottage cheese, or margarine. PP is often recycled into pallets, large containers/bins, and flower pots. (6) Polystyrene (PS): Super versatile and doesn’t absorb fluids, polystyrene is best known in its foam state (think meat trays), but is also used in clear deli/take out containers. Recycled into CD cases, seedling trays, and office accessories. (7) ‘Other’ Plastics: An obviously hard to define category, ‘other’ plastics are used in anything from food packaging to ketchup and citrus bottles. Often, these plastics are mixed or layered to provide extra protection to products. Limited recycling use due to mixed properties, but can be used in custom products or building materials. At Island Return It Recycling Centres, we take #1 PETE products in the form of drink containers. Of the remaining types, some are accepted at curbside recycling (check your local list) and nearly all of them are accepted at municipal recycling drop off locations - just make sure to sort according to your depot’s instructions.
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LESSONS • TOURS • RENTALS
Image, Dave Nichols
MILL BAY MARINA & PORT SIDNEY
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250 710 7693
Take a Paddle on “The Wild Side”
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pring time represents a migration crossover for many of our familiar birds. We say farewell to our winter residents as they fly off to their breeding grounds in the north and welcome summer visitors back to their home in the Cowichan Valley. There is no better way to see some of our birds ‘close up’ than from the cockpit of a kayak , slow, silent paddle strokes allow us to observe wildlife at close proximity without fear of disturbance. Squabbling Harlequin Ducks are oblivious to our presence and a fishing Great Blue Heron rarely blinks an eye as we pass slowly by. One of my favourite winter visitors is the Bufflehead; these gregarious little ducks hang out in family groups and communicate with lots of “head bobbing”
Bufflehead, Dave Nichols
A highlight in the Cowichan Valley is the arrival of Purple Martins; a bird that was once scarce in BC has made a successful revival as a result of a conservation initiative. Nest boxes have been places on many posts and stilts along the coast line to encourage these birds to breed without fear of predation. Another wonderful spring arrival is the Osprey, a fish eating hawk with amazing telescopic eyesight and a talent for diving feet first into the water and grabbing its prey with their sharp talons. These birds return year after year to the same nest site, often on manmade platforms throughout the valley. Finally, spare a thought for the friendly Harbour Seals. These inquisitive marine mammals make their home all-over the coast and can often be observed ‘following’ kayakers and swimming under the boats. Join us on the water from our paddling center at Mill Bay Marina and experience our wonderful wildlife first hand on a kayak tour to remember.
Submitted by Dave Nichols, Owner of Blue Dog Kayaking and Wildlife Photographer
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The T036A’s T86B1 and T86B1A resting in Sansum Narrows. Image, Simon Pidcock
Spring Whales
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Simon Pidcock is Owner/ Operator of Ocean Ecoventures in Cowichan Bay
he early spring whale sightings this year have been excellent with multiple visits from J Pod, Bigg’s Killer Whales families and Big Momma our favourite Humpback Whale. Our last encounter was a highlight for me, we had Bigg’s Killer Whales visit Cowichan Bay. They were first encountered off Cherry Point hunting a harbor seal. Two families were traveling together, the T036A’s who we often see in the spring. Traveling with them was T068B1 and T68B1A whom I’ve never encountered before. Over the years I’ve encounter most of the coastal Bigg’s Killer Whale families so it’s always a special day when you get to meet a new family. After sharing their meal they went into a resting pattern and meandered their way towards Separation Point and Sansum Narrows. As they entered Sansum Narrows I expected them to wake and start
hunting again as it’s one of their favourite places to hunt. Instead they continued their resting pattern. Unlike human beings, whales are conscious breathers, which means they have to remember to breathe, even while sleeping. This means their brain has to remain partially active while they are resting or sleeping. Orcas are continuously moving their whole lives and sleep while they travel. They are able to shut down and rest one hemisphere of their brain while continuing to swim in a semi wakeful state. Their eye on the wakeful side of the brain remains open while the eye on the resting side of the brain remains closed. This is called unihemispheric sleep; there are many animals that are capable of unihemispheric sleep include whales, dolphins, pinnipeds and multiple species of birds.
helps the calves regulates their body temperature, as they have not built up their blubber layer. As the calves are continuously moving the mothers must stay awake constantly and
work hard to teach the calf to breathe. Orca families tend to group up and travel in resting groups while they sleep. It’s truly magical to listen to them as they all rise and breathe together as a family unit.
Newborn Orcas do not sleep at all for the first few weeks after they are born and the mothers may go weeks with no sleep. The continuous movement
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Nature Rambles
Genevieve Singleton, nature nut and nature interpreter, twinflower4@gmail. com
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ne of the most common spring flowers in the Cowichan Valley is a surprise to many: bigleaf maple! Did you know that you can eat the flowers straight from the tree raw, tossed in a salad, or mixed into a quiche? Known as ts’alhulhp in our local Hul’q’umi’num’ language these trees are also known as the paddle tree. The wood makes a great paddle, bowls and many other items. The Latin name for this plant is fitting, Acer macrophyllum since it means big maple. When driving in spring to Victoria through Goldstream Provincial Park notice the incredible cathedral of maple flowers you travel through. This is the tree that never stops giving since in the winter delicious maple syrup can be made from the sap. Why do I always write my articles with Hul’q’umi’num’ and Latin? Hul’q’umi’num’ is our local language for millennia. We are fortunate to live in a community where many people are working to keep this language alive. Sadly, in BC several languages have been lost. I use the Latin name for species because that is the international language for plants and animals. Many flowers have a number of common names, but there is only one Latin name for each species. Every flower has its own characteristics and stories to share. The Easter lily, pink lilies, camas and chocolate lilies are all
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members of the lily family with petals and sepals in multiples of three. Trilliums are found in North America and Asia. Trillium comes from the Latin word “tres”, meaning three. Our most common trillium on Vancouver Island is the western trillium, Trillium ovatum, which lights up our forest with its white flowers, which later in the season turn reddish purple. Often people think this is a different species, but these are the same. The flowers change colour after they have been pollinated. White trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, is the provincial flower of Ontario. Never pick these plants since you will kill the plant by doing so. It takes up to five years or so for a trillium to mature, another reason not to pick them. Trillium seeds have little packages called elaiosomes attached, which are tasty oil filled snacks for ants. Ants are an important distributor of trillium seeds! Speenhw is the lovely blue camas (Camassia sp.) seen in Garry oak meadows, the bulbs of which are a very important traditional food. We have two species in the valley, one is taller than the other. This is not to be confused with another plant, called death camas (Zigadenus venenosus), which will grow in the same area but is extremely poisonous. In the old days, death camas was weeded out of the plots which could be owned and passed on to the next generation. In spring the bulbs of the edible camas would be gathered with special digging sticks, roasted in cooking pits, and when baked produce an important source of carbohydrates. Camas are not common enough now to justify this for a casual purpose and the risk of a poisonous
Notes on a Few Spring Flowers
Big Leaf Maple, Genevieve Singleton
bulb being present, unless very knowledgeable, is not to be taken lightly. Often other beauties like peacock like shooting stars and ground hugging spring-gold are to found peeping out between camas. There are many more wonderful flowers in the Cowichan Valley to enjoy, see you out on the trails!
Things to do:
Bundle up and go for a shore walk at low tide and see how many different types of seaweed you can see; go for a forest walk and see how many different buds you can count, then explore a fallen log, putting it back carefully the way you found it. For fun go for a “teeny tiny walk” pretending you are an ant climbing up a tree trunk. The last of the s-hwuw-qun’, Trumpeter Swans, will be leaving in April. Look for smuqw’a’, Great Blue Herons, flying across Cowichan Bay and visit the Cowichan Nature Estuary Centre at Hecate Park, (open Wed to Sunday, 10-4) to learn more about them. Go for a puddle walk and see which puddle has the best splash! Watch out for our iconic Western Bluebird which is returning to the Valley with the Bring Back
the Bluebird Programme, after having been locally extinct for over 20 years. Please contact me if you see one! Flower Power: help wild flowers!!! Do not dig up or pick wild flowers on public land. Please support local farm markets selling domestic flowers and leave our wild flowers be. Buy native species to plant in your garden from a reputable nursery and help increase pollination sources for pollinators. Watch carefully when buying wildflower seed packages. Remember that every plant is native to somewhere! Despite good intentions most of these packages include invasive plants that are a determent to our native species. Google bcinvasives.ca and search for wildflower mixes for futher information. Interested in learning some Hul’q’umi’num’ words? You can buy a most useful dictionary written locally and available at Cowichan Tribes Education Building for $30. Highly recommended.
Lucky Dogs... A foxy experiment…
Debbie Wood is a certified Small Animal Naturopath and can be reached at 250-597-7DOG.
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oxes are notorious for not being able to be domesticated. But they used to make great coats. In Russia in the 1950’s a scientist, Dmitry K. Belaev, wanted to make the foxes in the fur industry a little nicer to work with and he also wanted to see how quickly he could breed a “friendly” fox. His program was rigorous and he chose only ten percent of each generation based on approachability, the fox’s willingness to be touched by humans, and lack of aggression.
Over successive generations the experiment continued with breeding only for friendliness
And then the coats began changing. The solid dark silver/black coats of these particular “red foxes” began to have patches of white in the same patterns we see on our domestic dogs. And the ears were folding over in the floppy style we only see in domesticated animals. Although these foxes were 100% fox, they were looking more like Cowichan Specials. The experiment has created a lot of questions and started to answer others. Testing shows that the domesticated foxes have more serotonin and less adrenalin in their systems, but how does this effect their coat and why? Dmitry Belaev died in 1985, but the program continues to this day. There are plenty of great articles that go into more detail on this amazing breeding program. Start with
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In only four generations he saw results. The test subjects started to like and even encourage human interaction. They would wag their tails and look humans in the eye. None of these foxes were trained or handled any differently than the control groups. The foxes bred for friendliness started to read human cues and responded sweetly.
and lack of aggression. Then surprising things started to emerge. The vixens were coming into heat at earlier ages and could breed twice a year instead of the normal once a year. The foxes were changing physically with shorter legs, shorter curled tails, shorter snouts and broad heads; they were becoming “cuter”.
Custom made wood signs hand painted on pallet wood or cedar
bluetreecreative@gmail.com I 250-507-6922 FB: Blue Tree Creative by Bonnie Tytel Scientific American’s blog post “Russian experiment in fox domestication” and go from there. It throws our assumptions about dog domestication into question
and questions are always good.
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fter an unusually wintry winter, it’s time to celebrate the return of spring with the annual In Bloom Wildflower Festival at the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve. The Nature Conservancy of Canada is pleased to invite the community to visit the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve at the height of the wildflower bloom. Camas, lilies, shooting star and other native wildflowers will be on full display in the restored Garry oak meadows, which are normally closed to the public to protect the sensitive ecosystem. This year the In Bloom Wildflower Festival is being held on Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is by donation. In Bloom is a rare opportunity to explore the preserve and experience its many natural and cultural wonders. Visitors of all ages can wander through the meadows while learning from informational displays, storytellers and hands-on discovery stations that bring to life the world of our iconic Garry oak ecosystems. In Bloom features activities and discoveries for everyone: • Enjoy a nature walk through the preserve’s wildflower meadows at the height of the spring bloom. • Peruse the native plant nursery and even take home some seedlings to plant in your own yard.
• Listen to traditional stories from Cowichan elder. • Discover the Bring Back the Bluebird Project that is reintroducing western bluebirds to Vancouver Island. • Learn about the Elkington family that settled this land in the 1800s and who tended the Garry oak meadows for over 100 years. • Explore the ongoing restoration of the Quamichan wetlands where the preserve meets the lake. Take a break from wandering to enjoy a 30-minute Nature Talk by one of our guest speakers, on everything from the history of the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve to the power of pollinators to the archeological treasures of the Cowichan Valley. Talks will take place every half hour between 10 am and 2PM Whether you are interested in birds and bees, splashy wildflowers, scientific research, native plants or wetland bugs, In Bloom will have something for everyone.
Camas And Ladybug, Tim Ennis
Celebrate spring at the In Bloom Wildflower Festival
The Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve is located at 1241 Maple Bay Road. Visitors should park on Maple Bay Road, then walk to the end of Aitken Road to enter the preserve. For more information or contact bcoffice@ natureconservancy.ca or 1-888-404-8428 or visit www.natureconservancy.ca/bc.
AMOS (H)EARTHWORKS masonry heaters, rocket stoves and ovens cob, adobe, light-clay natural building education, workshops and consulting facebook:partick.amos.140/photos_albums
250 748 2089 54
Inside Warmland Medical Cannabis Centre
Warmland Medicinal Cannabis Centre Warmland Medical Cannabis Centre
Pioneer Square Mall Mill Bay Open 7 Days a Week 10AM - 6:30PM 250 929 5588 www.warmlandcentre.ca
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armland Medicinal Cannabis Centre, in Mill Bay’s Pioneer Square Mall, opened nearly two years ago and currently serves over 1,000 members. It features a medicinal cannabis dispensary along with workshops and seminars, cannabis seeds and grow guides, a collection of antique rarities and curiosities, and accessories such as pipes and vaporizers. The dispensary offers locally-grown craft cannabis flowers as well as tinctures, oils, concentrates, capsules, salves, suppositories and more. Nearly everything is produced on Vancouver Island, and the flower is
all grown in the Cowichan Valley. Although cannabis contains hundreds of compounds known as cannabinoids, two of them - THC and CBD - have shown the most promise in medicine and appear to varying degrees in Warmland’s products. Although THC is helpful to some people, others find relief from CBD and prefer it since it doesn’t produce the euphoria generally associated with cannabis use. Warmland even carries a special strain of cannabis flower, developed locally by cannabis breeders House of the Great Gardener, that contains 15% CBD and less than 1% THC; vaporizing or smoking it can bring quick relief for many ailments without producing any kind of “high”.
Relatively few are interested in smoking – vaporizers are popular for those who prefer the quick action of inhaled cannabis, while edibles like capsules, tinctures, chocolates and THC- or CBD-infused honey are most popular among the seniors.
practitioner, psychiatrist etc.) although for some chronic conditions, medical documentation confirming the diagnosis will suffice. Full membership details are available on Warmland’s website, www.warmlandcentre.ca.
Members are using cannabis to treat a wide range of conditions, ranging from arthritis, chronic pain and sleep disorders to more severe conditions such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. In general, a recommendation is required from a registered health care provider (physician, nurse
Warmland is open 10am6:30pm, 7 days per week year round except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Inquiries are welcome... The centre can be reached at info@warmlandcentre.ca or 250-929-5588.
Warmland’s members are predominantly middle-aged and older, with seniors comprising the fastestgrowing demographic.
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Age Less, Feel GREAT!
CONTOURS Aesthetics Announces New, Enhanced Services!
Organically Based, with Proven Advanced Technology and Sea Enzymes (The healing power of the ocean) Book a Dr. D. Schwab facial in April & May, and receive a GIFT CERTIFICATE for $40 towards another facial! The Perfect Mother’s Day or Treat Me Gift! Our new state of the art facials are the creation of International Spa Consultant, DeeAnn Lensen, the winner of the Canadian Spa and Wellness Education Award.
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The Cold Laser Experience
“C
old Laser is a noninvasive facial treatment with accumulative, long term results.” shares Jane Knight, owner of Skintastic Spa. “Thanks to the promise of no redness, no skin damage and no downtime, a new spa treatment called Cold Laser Facial, has found fans in celebs from Sharon Stone to Sting. Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) or Cold Laser, is a revolutionary breakthrough in corrective, anti-aging, and skincare health maintenance. By oxygenating tissue cells, LLLT dramatically increases DNA/RNA synthesis for faster cellular renewal, while simultaneously stimulates new collagen production. LLLT also detoxifies and heals your skin, leaving it supple, radiant, and youthful.” Having a cold laser treatment is as relaxing as having your favourite facial. You lay in the warm peaceful spa environment that Jane has created, wrapped in luxury. A conductive gel is applied to your target areas areas with wrinkles or spots and various cold laser wands are applied on your face. It has the benefit of over-all
toning booster, which gives you the “youthful lift” that we are all looking for. After my sessions with Jane, my skin feels like it did 20 years ago, and it lasts! With each treatment my skin feels more plump, yet more toned, and ugly ‘spots’ are lightened. Each person’s results vary depending on your skin and skincare regime. Personally, I have been very tough on my skin my whole my life, and am thrilled with the changes with brighter and firmer skin. Being a clinically trained skin specialist, Jane is able to provide world class service. With a background in Health & Wellness, she offers a well rounded solution and holds a special certification in Cold Laser Therapy. She is mindful of the origins of the products she carries, as well as the impact the harvesting and manufacturing have on the global environment. For more info visit www. skintasticmedicspa.ca
Submitted by Adrienne Richards, mother of two and sales liaison for Cowichan Valley Voice Magazine.
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Spring Presents An Excellent Opportunity For Bodies To Lighten Up!
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Penelope Griggs Nutrition Advisor and Manager, Supplements Department Country Grocer, Cobble Hill
espite the ongoing daily cleansing capacity of our organs, our bodies accumulate toxins over time. Due to suboptimal dietary choices, environment and stress levels, some bodies call for some extra help in elimination, especially if symptoms of sugar-loving yeast overgrowth are present. Yeast organisms, namely Candida, are normally present in our intestinal tract in small amounts. The ideal ratio of yeast to bacteria in the human body is 1 yeast organism to 1 million bacteria[1]. However, this balance is easily upset. Antibiotics kill not only the bacteria we want to destroy, but also the good bacteria in the digestive tract. Other drugs which can affect this balance include anti-inflammatory, cortisone, and birth control pills. A poor diet containing too much processed foods and refined carbs, stress, and nutrient deficiencies can also lead to Candida overgrowth. Yeasts are parasitic organisms that deprive us of nutrients and create toxic waste. When Candida grows from its yeast form into a fungal form, it creates disruptive waste products known as ‘mycotoxins’ and grows long roots called ‘rhizoids’ that puncture the intestinal lining, leading to a condition called Leaky Gut Syndrome. When the digestive tract has holes
in it, Candida and undigested food particles leak through these holes and enter the bloodstream. To the body, these are foreign invaders and, unchecked, can result in inflammation, food allergies or sensitivities, and autoimmune disease. As mycotoxins become abundant in the body, more serious and chronic conditions can develop. Toxins tend to settle in the organs and tissues of greatest weakness. As everyone has a different area of genetic or acquired weakness, each individual can manifest a different disorder. This explains why Candida symptoms can be so variable. Symptoms manifest primarily in five areas of the body – the digestive system (bloating, gas, cramps, alternating constipation & diarrhea, multiple food allergies, difficulty losing weight), the nervous system (brain fog, abnormal fatigue, anxiety, mood swings, memory loss, depression, insomnia), the skin (psoriasis, eczema, acne, fungal nail infection), the urinary tract and genital area (PMS-like symptoms, recurrent bladder & vaginal infections, low libido, jock itch) and the endocrine system (thyroid & adrenal problems)[2]. Correcting bacterial imbalance involves eliminating sugar and sugar-forming foods from the diet, promoting a die-off of Candida with the help of a broad spectrum of antiantifungals and replenishing the good bacteria with
[1] http://www.renewlife.ca/conditions/candida-overgrowth/ [2] Martin, Jeanne Marie, Complete Candida Yeast Guidebook 2nd Ed, p21-23
HELLERWORK STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION MASSAGE STRETCH THERAPY SOMATIC COUNSELLING 50% off first session for new clients
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#4 -5777 Trans Canada Hwy, Duncan BC 250.748.2056 www.soulescape.ca probiotics & prebiotic foods that good bacteria love. When our choices begin to serve what our bodies truly need for balance, symptoms fall away and wellness arises. If this resonates with you, come see me in the store. Happy Spring!
The statements in this article are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Seek the advice of a competent health care professional for your specific health concerns.
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Master herbalist Sheila Wray
Outdoor Workshop
YOGA with Lilian Bianchi
Honouring
and compassion. The gift of giving is fundamental to creating change and shifts in consciousness. When we give of ourselves, we strengthen the bonds to one another, our community and the planet. During the uplifting and inspiring event, wisdom keepers and facilitators will host forest walks, give inspiring talks and offer insights about this exquisite planet we all share. New this spring elcome to ROOT! Be inspired and enlightened amidst the sacred is an afternoon of forest rewilding for children, as well as an opportunity for forest; deep roots that connect us to all to contribute to a collective art piece. mother earth and the wisdom she has A marketplace will host exhibitors, to offer. We are all part of a collective, healers and readers, and a magical co-existing on this beautiful planet café by Ingredients will offer delicious through the practice of mindfulness fare. ROOT is also a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance and Surfrider, two organizations that work tirelessly to protect our sacred old growth forests and precious oceans and beaches. Come celebrate and share all that our community and local sages have to offer!
Root & Ancient
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The ROOT event is nestled in the enchanting coastal forest at Goward House. It launches on the Friday “Spring a new Season, how will I receive it, what will I accomplish with this season of growth” Namaste Meditation Wednesday 7 PM Thursday 9 AM 250. 710. 7594
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BODY, MIND & SPIRIT
Lilian Bianchi has been teaching Yoga since 1982, in Rio de Janeiro, Vancouver, and in the Cowichan Valley for the past 20 years.
SPRING SESSION April 3 - June 29
• Beginners, Intermediate and Ongoing levels • Gentle Yoga • Restorative Yoga • Yoga on Chairs • Yoga Sutras of Patanjali • Partner Yoga Workshops Lilian is registered with the Canadian Yoga Alliance as a RYT Gold. She is also an honorary member of the International Federation of Yoga. Morning and Evening classes held at Namaste Yoga Studio and other locations in Duncan.
250-746-0327
www.namasteyoga.ca evening with a beautiful vegetarian meal, accompanied by local island musicians. Enjoy, connect and reconnect with inspiring people! Join us for a lifechanging weekend, happening Apr 7.8.9 at Goward House in Victoria!
April Retreat - A Day of Faith, A Day with the Buddha’s - Sat. 22nd full information at www.VIRetreats.com/2017 Retreats Nichiren Buddha Center
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
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n y s y y d y w y s t m a t t n o t a m
YOGA FOR WELLNESS
THE UNITED STATES OF THE JOYFUL Paulina is a memeber of the Forest yogini Collective and teaches weekly classes at the Hub and the CVRD. paulinakee@gmail.com
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agle arms is good medicine for those days when you’re not quite rested or relaxed, your lower back is stiff, your shoulders and face are tense, and you’re just not present. Perhaps you even resent what you are doing. Eagle arms changes your state of mind because--as when you practice any pose-you participate in changing the state of your body which leads to a change in your state of mind. Practicing eagle arms on a regular basis helps to release the tension that builds up daily-tension that the body just doesn’t need. It also gently releases other “stuff” that has been held there for too long. To benefit as much as possible, breathe mindfully as you practice. When
100% of you is involved 100% of you benefits. To practice, find a place where you feel safe. Sit or stand tall. Lift your heart. Lengthen the back of your neck and align your spine - bring the crown of your head, base of the skull, and tailbone into one straight line. Breathe in and lift your arms by your sides to shoulder height, breathe out and hook your right arm under your left in front of you. Bend the arms and bring the palms together in front of your nose, or as close as you can. If that is too intense, cross your arms and place your hands on the opposite shoulders. Unless your hands are on your shoulders, let the elbows rest on the chest and the head and hands
rest together. Soften your gaze or close your eyes. Move your awareness from your mind to your shoulders and upper back and then eventually the entire back. Breathe. Practice sending the inhalation to places you feel are constricted. When you exhale, practice softening what feels bound. Breathe slowly and invite the breathe to reach a little deeper into your back. Lengthen your exhalations to calm the nervous system. Soften the muscles on your face. Breathe for three to five cycles. Repeat on the other side. Use the power of your attentive breath. This attentive breath can journey to the most tense places and with gentle care and patience it can clear out knots in your muscles and joints that are caused by trauma or stress. To come out of eagle arms lift the fingers up to the sky, uncross your arms, circle them back and bring them down to your sides. Emerge from the pose gradually by sitting or standing quietly for a few moments adjusting to whatever changes you notice. Connect your feet to the earth. Remember that the state of your body can direct the course of the day, so for the rest of the day, notice if slouching and tensing up your face and shoulders affects your state of mind. Instead, consciously relax your shoulders, lengthen your spine, lift your heart, and breathe. This helps your mind to be present and your nervous system to be calm. In this calm and present state we are more comfortable in our bodies and we move with more ease. In fact, we are more joyful. And who doesn’t want more of that?
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with Lilian Bianchi Namaste Yoga The Yoga Sutras written by the sage Patanjali is the original text of Classical Yoga. They were composed around 200 BC, or 200 CE (scholars disagree about the exact dates). Containing four chapters and 196 aphorisms, Patanjali’s Sutras bring light to the meaning and gifts of Yoga, offering a practical eight fold path to lead the sincere practitioner to Self Realization. I call it the Map of Yoga, an invaluable source of guidance and inspiration. A series of classes with Lilian Bianchi will be held on Friday mornings, starting on April 7. These classes will involve reading, discussion, reflection, and meditation on the Yoga Sutras. For more information please contact Lilian at 250 746-0327. Lilian is registered with the Canadian Yoga Alliance as a RYT Gold. She is also an honorary member of the International Federation of Yoga. www. namasteyoga.ca
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welve years ago I couldn’t even spell Realtor, now I are one ☺ I’m kidding of course, but although I could certainly spell Realtor, I didn’t really appreciate what they did. So, why should you use a realtor when buying or selling a house? Experience, knowledge and protection. I’m very aware of the perception that we are expensive, but in actual fact, we will be saving you more in actual dollars, stress, inconvenience and sleepless nights. If you are selling your house: A good realtor will get you more money for your house than you will in an identical situation on your own. That’s difficult to prove, but if you are selling your own house you have to know the full market value otherwise you could be leaving money on the table. If someone does make an offer you will need good negotiating skills to get the maximum amount of money for your home. A realtor has that skill. A realtor will also tell you what you must disclose about your house and what is not necessary to disclose. Selling a house is not a trivial matter, if you hide a serious defect that isn’t easily discovered by an inspection, you might find yourself on the wrong end of an expensive lawsuit. A real estate agent offers a lot of protection for both sellers and buyers. Qualifying buyers
and knowing exactly who they are before you let them into your house is extremely important. You may be letting in a thief or much worse. Scary stuff I know, but this is the reality. Convenience: No one wants to leave work or school at 2.30 in the afternoon, to let a stranger come and look around their house just in case they may want to buy it. No one wants a total stranger ringing your door bell at 7.00am because they saw your sign on the front lawn. Realtors take care of all those issues by making sure that the people we bring to your home are real buyers and financially qualified. Also we will show your home when it’s most convenient for you (most of the time). If you are buying a house: A good Realtor will negotiate a lower price and much better terms when he or she is representing a purchaser. Again, that is difficult to prove. But, things like getting the roof replaced or having the septic repaired can be negotiated. They will also do a lot of the foot work for you. For example: They will have the well water tested for you if necessary, organize a septic system or building inspection. He or she will go to the municipal hall to check the building file for zoning, building permits and occupancy certificates etc. The Realtor will also write
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the offer for you and make sure that if the building inspection or some other major issue comes up, you can walk away with no worries. A good agent should know a lot about the local area and will help you make a decision as to whether or not the area is suitable for your needs and wants. In the case of strata properties, the realtor will likely be able to tell you a lot about how the strata is managed and the sort of neighbours you will have now, and possibly in the future.
What does a Realtor do for you?
What if the listing Realtor is also the sellers Realtor? This situation (known as Dual Agency) has some advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the Realtor usually knows what both parties want and can usually find a way to put the deal together. The disadvantage is that you probably don’t have someone looking out for just you, and only you. The Realtors mandate in Dual Agency is that they must be impartial with both clients in all matters. Some people consider it a conflict of interest for the agent to represent both parties. It is quite legal for the Realtor to represent both sides currently, but the Superintendent of Real Estate is in the process
of changing the rules to stop Dual Agency in the future, because of ethical concerns. In general terms, buying a property is a higher risk proposition than selling. With that in mind a buyer must do his or her due diligence to ensure that they are getting what they are paying for and avoid any pitfalls. The best way to eliminate that risk is to use an experienced and professional Realtor.
Nick Brown is a Realtor, Managing Broker and a Property Manager. He can be contacted through Pemberton Holmes (Duncan) Ltd.
Tips from the Pro’s
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’ve polled my staff and gathered some of their favourite “tricks of the trade” to pass along to you. • There is a tendency to get distracted when cleaning your own home by the things you come across or you find yourself beginning to sort and organize instead of clean. To be more productive in less time, set a time limit for a particular cleaning task or room and use a caddy or bucket to carry your supplies in to save trips running back and forth. • Stainless or chrome bathroom fixtures - use a microfiber cloth and hot water, ring the cloth out, the taps and should still be hot and will just evaporate the water off leaving taps and faucet looking polished. • Stuck on food in the microwave • put a microwave safe mug of water inside and run it on high for 1 minute. The steam will loosen baked on food particles, wipe clean. • Stainless steel appliances – a dap of plain mineral oil on a dry microfiber cloth gets those sticky prints off, be sure to wipe in the direction of the grain. • Crumbs stuck between the
stovetop and counter – that little space that holds last weekend’s toast crumbs and pancake batter drips can be tough to pry food out of with a butter knife. If you have an electric range take the elements and drip bowls out and you’ll find your stovetop lifts straight up allowing access to that tricky little space. While your drip bowls are out, soak them in hot water with a splash of citrus.
“Live the Island Dream” Nick Brown
Realtor/Associate Broker Pemberton Holmes 23 Queens Rd, Duncan, BC 250-710-3732 nickbrownrealestate@shaw.ca
• Ring around the toilette – a wet pumice stone rubs those mineral stains right out of porcelain toilettae baowls. Or pour white vinegar into the bowl and let it sit overnight, scrub with baking sods in the morning for a shinny finish. • Streak-free wood floors – the key is using really hot water with a damp, not wet, mop pad and be sure to mop in the direction the boards run. Effective products and cleaning supplies are such a benefit. I know I’ve touted the merits of microfiber in the past, but they are so good it’s wroth repeating. Invest in good quality microfiber cleaning cloths and a mopping system. Pay up for good ones, they will last a long time and won’t be a frustration to use. Our favourite cleaner is an organic concentrated orange cleaner, available under various labels. By diluting it at different rates it is a perfect all purpose cleaner, degreaser, floor product, stain remover and even glass cleaner. Of course our favourite tip for a clean house is to hire professionals like us!
Tracey Hanson local mompreneur and owner/operator Clean Choice EcoFriendly Cleaning Services cleanchoicecleaners. com
250 715 6174
Fuzzy the hawt dawg guy is now Fuzzy The Realtor
• Residential • Agri Business • Strata I www.fuzzyrealtor.com I (250)748-5000
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public need to step up. I know things might not be that simple but together, you and I have a stronger voice. If you want to try, I encourage you to join One Cowichan. Check us out at onecowichan.ca. You can sign up on our mailing list, join a community team or attend one of our meetings posted on our event calendar. Take whatever step feels best for you to get started. During this election we will be creating conversations around voting, encouraging citizens to get registered, get informed, meet our candidates, ask hard questions and of course, vote on or before May 9th. Register & find how to vote at elections. bc.ca.
Voting Made Easier Over 70 local citizens attended a community conversation on the upcoming BC election earlier this year, many of which are preparing to engage citizens to vote. The US may be spoiling politics for some, but for this crowd it was motivation. We can and must, do so much better in BC and especially in Cowichan. As a citizen’s group, we have decided to continue to be as nonpartisan as possible. That doesn’t mean we will go easy on the parties or candidates, we need to ask them tough questions. It’s easy to feel like there is no point in voting or that none of the parties can be trusted. I certainly have moments when I feel that is true. What keeps me getting out of bed is this amazing community we live in. The good work we all do every day is the example we set for our elected officials. It is up to us to hold these folks to account during elections and everyday afterwards. So my question to those who don’t want to participate: how well do you know your MLA, MP, municipal council or area director? If you don’t like what you see, then we as the voting and tax paying
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We want to hear from you. Get involved, meet new people, share ideas with others in the community. We might not be able to solve all of the world’s problems, and no party or candidate is perfect, but we can at least make voting easier by connecting and working through it. That’s what makes living in Cowichan so great. onecowichan.ca Rosalie Sawrie is the lead organizer for the citizen’s group, One Cowichan.
WEBSITES, EMAILS AND VERBAL LINT By Rick Dennis BLASTS FROM THE PAST: “Everyone has memories of things they collected, things they cherished,” says Bernie Kramski, “ things that bring back warm memories ....”. He would know. Together with his partner Dallis Macrae he has been collecting antiques, jewellery, DVDs, vinyl records, comics, vintage issues of “LIFE”, “VOGUE”, “MAD” and other magazines (to mention just a few of the items) and now the cream of the proverbial crop is available for sale at their shop, Soulful Memories. The majority of items have come from estate sales, auctions, garage sales and global travels (Bernie and Dallis have journeyed to Cuba, Peru, Morocco and Europe, to mention a few destinations.). Inevitably the collection became huge and the pair began to sell some of the inventory on eBay and at flea markets until setting up shop in downtown Duncan in July of 2015. Of course, antiques and collectibles alone won’t pay the bills so the shop began to import swords, helmets, armor and various artifacts obtained through contacts from the pair’s world travels. There are so many fascinating revelations when you go deep into the research and history of various items, Bernie says enthusiastically, and he is more than willing to pass on his insights to his customers. For complete details browse the website at soulfulmemories.ca The shop also has its own Facebook page complete with some rave reviews from satisfied customers. BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE (THE BELLYDANCE SHUFFLE)... Dallis Macrae is also an accomplished belly dancer. Now there is no need to go somewhere else for your gear. Dallis has imported costumes and other accessories for the many belly dancers on the island.
of Environment staff responding to countless letters and requests from the community, monitoring of the site, plus the lawyers’ fees, the number must be high.
What It Took - How Shawnigan Won “The end of this story has been written, because there is only one ending acceptable to the people of Shawnigan – that this permit is revoked and the site is cleaned up. We will persevere until this outcome is reached. We will persevere no matter how long it takes, no matter what it takes. We will persevere because we are on the side of what is right, we are on the side of justice, we are on the side of clean drinking water, and we are on the side of the future of Shawnigan. We will not give up.” - Sonia Furstenau, speaking to the Save Shawnigan Water rally at the BC Legislature.
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ecently, the Shawnigan community received the news we’ve been waiting for nearly four years to hear: Cobble Hill Holdings’ permit that allowed them to dump 5 million tonnes of contaminated soil into our watershed was - at long last- cancelled by Minister of Environment Mary Polak. This decision was pivotal for a community that has long been worried about the safety of its drinking water. No longer would CHH and its various operators be allowed to dump a total of five million tonnes of contaminated soil on top of an un-mapped aquifer. No longer would volunteers be spending countless hours of their time monitoring the site, gathering evidence of non-compliance, alerting the government to it, figuring out creative ways to protest it, taking
This obscene process, where profit is privatized, and the taxpayers pick up the tab for everything else, has to end. We haven’t even talked up clean up and removal of the soil. Who will pay for that? The taxpayer, again?
While the news was welcome, the personal cost to the community has been enormous. It is unbelievable that in this day and age, and in Canada, we have had to fight our own government to protect our drinking water. Losing faith in the very institutions designed to protect us is profoundly disturbing, and left unchecked, has deep ramifications.
Perhaps the only difference between Shawnigan and other communities in BC facing similar issues is this: we were able to effectively organize and challenge the status quo. Out of roughly 100 key volunteers, 13 groups were formed, with the team leads forming a core group that kept us going forward under Sonia Furstenau’s direction. Special mention must go to the research team that has gone above and beyond, putting in countless hours to counter, with fact and science, the government’s opinion that everything was just fine.
People are disillusioned with our government. Until the day the permit was cancelled, not once did it seem that the provincial government was in Shawnigan’s corner. The tone was set the day that 15,000 signatures against the permit were brought to the legislature and both Premier Christy Clark and Minister Polak walked out during its presentation. Nothing could have signalled more strongly to the community what we were in for.
It is difficult to convey how much time, effort, and heart the community has put into fighting this. It truly has been a massive. Outside of the core group, hundreds have helped out - from the smallest of ways to the biggest, and with many donors of all stripes. It would almost be ridiculous but for the silver lining - how much stronger the community is for it all. We know what it takes. We know what it means to have each other’s backs. We are the forces of know,
the story forward again and again, keeping media informed, and generally putting their lives on hold.
The fight has been costly from every perspective. The Shawnigan Resident’s Association and the Cowichan Valley Regional District both filed BC Supreme court challenges, with combined costs approaching $2 million. We don’t even know how much the provincial government has spent fighting their own citizens, but when you consider the judges, bailiffs, court recorders, Ministry
and we’re not going away. Every group has to have a leader. It would be remiss to not mention the one one key player throughout it all who kept the ball rolling, who didn’t give up, who displayed hope and courage when we were hit with setbacks, and led with integrity. Sonia Furstenau spent four years rallying the community, reminding us to never give up hope, fighting hard for what she believed in, and always promising that the outcome we desired was within our reach, as long as we persevered. It was the ultimate symbiotic relationship. Here’s the last word: “This victory is a testament to what can be achieved when a community decides to truly work together. By focusing so much of our energy on the positive – the community building, the compassion and love at the centre of our efforts – we were all able to support each other through even the darkest moments of this fight. Shawnigan is the example that proves that a group of committed citizens who choose to be rooted in integrity, honesty, and kindness can indeed change the world.” Sonia Furstenau Laura Colpitts is a photographer and storyteller splitting her time between Shawnigan Lake and Calgary AB. She is a key contributor to the Save Shawnigan Water Community Action Group, and is involved in the campaign to elect Sonia to the legislature. This article is entirely her own opinion, separate to the election.
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Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
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A T i y y a Y i y y m m w o m o y o
T T c w w T t y a “ y “ c M y W c t w t
G T p w w m a a o f y t w y i t a f i t
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Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Georgia Nicols M.A. is Canada’s most popular astrologer. A Buddhist, this Vancouver-based astrologer is featured in regional papers across Canada, the United States, and New Zealand. www.georgianicols.com
Aries (March 21-April 19) This month the Sun in Aries is your chance to replenish yourself for the rest of the year! Focus on your world and your needs. It’s okay. You’re not being selfish. This is your chance to look at yourself and discover what you need. The Sun also makes you project yourself more forcefully onto the world. You’ll be PowerPoint on steroids! Admittedly, you might come on too strong for others. Keep this in mind if you see the hair blowing back over their ears. Taurus (April 20-May 20) The Sun is hiding in your chart this month. It’s offstage waiting to make its entrance when your birthday arrives. This means now is the time to get in touch with your unconscious impulses and tendencies. There is a “public” you and a “private” you. If your public and private “you” are too far apart, it’s confusing for you and others. Meanwhile, your personal year is coming to an end. Why not give yourself a report card? How are you doing at the art of living? Define goals with deadlines. Deadlines – that’s the kicker. Gemini (May 21-June 20) This month the Sun is in the part of your chart that deals with friends and groups, which is why you will be more social! You might join a club. Friendships will play a more important role. Get out there and socialize! Be friendly. Attend meetings. (If you’re in the room, they can’t talk about you.) Establish who you really are with your friends. Because your idealism will be aroused, this is a good time to think about your hopes and dreams for the future. Share your ideas with others to get their feedback because their
feedback will help. “What? You want a pony and you want to be a ballerina? Get real, you’re 50! ” Cancer (June 21-July 22) This is the only time all year when the Sun is at the top of your chart making you high viz. with bosses, parents, teachers and VIPs. And you look attractive to them! Don’t question this. Just smile. Take all the credit. If you’re asked to assume increased responsibilities – accept! You will dazzle them. This is the power of the Sun. However, don’t fake anything. Don’t pretend you are anything that you’re not. Just go with the flow because people are impressed with who you actually are. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Now you want to travel. You want to expand your world. You want to study and learn something new. You might take up a hobby or learn a new language. Many of you will explore religious, metaphysical and spiritual disciplines. Please note: Your desire to learn and study is not just curiosity. It’s because you will find the process of studying and learning rewarding and satisfying. I think it was Julius Caesar who said, “Vini, vidi, velcro.” (“We came, we saw, we stuck around.”) Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) This month the Sun is in the most intense, powerful part of your chart. Hence, you will feel intense and powerful, especially in your sex life. But you will also feel just as intense about shared property, inheritances, wills, taxes, debt and how your wealth impacts others or how their wealth impacts you. But everything will be favourable. People will give you things – cash or gifts. Naturally, this month will be perfect to ask for a loan or a mortgage or to get the keys to your parent’s car or someone’s condo in Whistler. Try it!
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) This is the only time all year when the Sun is opposite your sign. It lasts for four weeks. Because the Sun is your source of energy (symbolically in your chart) this means your energy will be low because the Sun is as far away from you as it gets all year. Therefore, you need more sleep. This oppositional Sun will also make you study your closest relationships more deeply. You will wonder if these relationships fulfil your needs and wants. But what about the flip? Do you fulfil their needs and wants? Hmmmm. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) You are energized this month because the Sun is in Aries, which is similar to Scorpio. Until Pluto was discovered in 1930, Mars was the ruler of both Aries and Scorpio. That’s why you will have abundant energy. You want to be productive! You want to be efficient! However, expect to work for others because you have to offer service to someone. This doesn’t mean you have to be a doormat. You are never a doormat. It simply means that you will have to meet some obligations. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) It’s fun city for you this month because the Sun is in a part of your chart that urges you to party, have a good time and socialize. Since you want to express your creative talents, enjoy musical performances, the theatre, movies, the arts and sports events. You will also enjoy playful activities with children. Naturally, one of the things associated with fun and socializing is romance! Relationships will be fun this month. New love might begin. It’s time to kick up your heels and just be who you are.
APRIL FORECAST and your inner world. This is why many of you will choose to be by yourself or cocoon at home. It doesn’t mean you’re being antisocial. You simply want time to reflect and time to relax in familiar surroundings. Focus on on redecorating projects and home repairs. Family discussions will be important. Create a solid base for yourself. George Burns said, “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You will hit the pavement running this month as your daily pace accelerates. You’re busy with appointments, meetings, errands plus increased reading, writing and studying. Many will take short trips and devote more time to siblings, relatives and neighbours. But you will like the pace because it feels right. Ironically, it’s also a good time to take a vacation if you can fit this in. Conversations with others will be lively Busy you! “I thought I was dancing until someone stepped on my hand.” Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) “Show me the money!” This month you’re focused on cash flow, earnings and how to attract money into your life. Trust your moneymaking ideas. You are geared up to this whole mental process of wondering about your earnings, and even your values in life. Fair Venus will attract moneymaking situations to you. Sweet! You will also spend money on beautiful things for yourself. You want to have greater control over your life through your assets and your earnings. www.georgianicols.com
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) The Sun will be at the bottom of your chart this month, which means you are more concerned with your private life, your home, your family
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DIRECTORY OF LOCAL SERVICES
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Contact Adrienne Richards for more info 250 510 6596 or by phone to adrienne@cowichanvalleyvoice.com
Deadline April 12 for May 2017 Issue 102 Bookkeeping
Beauty
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SKINTASTIC FACIAL SPA and Organic Spray Tan Studio www.skintasticmedispa.ca
PUT YOUR FACE IN MY HANDS Jane Knight 250 514 2223
Contracting
Computers Repair
ROOFING & CONTRACTING INC. Roofing • Fences • Landscaping • Home Renos
Glyn Williams 250-466-5201 white.rhino@outlook.com Concrete • Polished Concrete • Placement & Finishing
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Counselling
Anxiety, Depression,Trauma, Chronic Stress, Self-Esteem, Life Transitions Alison Etter RPC, RTC, MEd 250-324-3040 www.breakthroughcounselling.ca
• Decorative Concrete • Leveling and Repair
Call For A Free Quote
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Education and Tutoring
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139 Station St. 250-748-3311 ssgfs@telus.net
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Professional Framing •Local Art •Unique Gifts
infinitemind.org
Help Wanted
Garden Design
Arborvitae Garden Design
ECE teacher sought, part time/full time, with a current 5-year certificate for a Montessori school in Duncan.
C.A. Linklater 1-250 709 7114 arborvitaegardendesign.com
Opportunity for Montessori training. Contact (250) 737-1119 or inayat@intmontessori.ca
Custom Garden Design, Outdoor Living Spaces and Chillatoriums for Home & Business
Farms & Food
More than a Meat Shop
Gluten Free/Organic Pasta’s, Organic Meat, Homemade Sausage, International Foods. The Duncan Butcher 430 Trans Canada Hwy 250 748 -6377
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Mt. Sicker Family Farm
We supply these local companies • e3 Naturals: Sensitive Skin Therapy • Buddies Natural Pet Food
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Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
Health and Healing Acute or Chronic conditions • Substance dependency • Facial Rejuvenation • MSP & extended health coverage if applicable
Customizable Organic Mattresses, Pillows, Linens Locally made Platform Beds and Furniture
Wu Wei Acupuncture & Acupressure Clinic Frauke McCashin, R.Ac., Dipl.TCM 1 - (250) 710 3581 Mill Bay & Duncan www.worldwuwei.com
126 Station St. 250-597-REST (7378) www.resthouse.ca
ISLAND ROLFING
REALIGN YOUR BODY • better balance • increase flexibility• improve posture • re alignment • eliminate chronic pain and more NEW client special! - 50% off your first rolfing visit
BRETT HOLLAND I 250.920.8818 Reflexology Indian Head Massage
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Uniquely Tailored Explorations Into The Self
Enabling your body to heal itself, naturally. TO FEEL BALANCED AND CENTRED
Coaching, Counselling, Yoga Therapies & Bodywork
Asrael 250 597 3973 www.ayurvedicbliss.com
www.naturalheelingreflexology.com Call Helga 250-732-7988
Biomagnetism & Energy Healing Back from Mexico April 10
Certified Practitioner - Kathryn Lowther
250-891-5138 www.biomagcanada.ca
PRE NATAL CLASSES:
- 6 week series - weekend series - one day intensive workshops
Robin Gale 250 732 5859 Join Brett Holland for Jingui Golden Shield Qi classes every Wednesday 50% off your first month of Qi Gong!
Sol Centre, 5380 TCH, Duncan Ph: 250 920 8818
WWW.GOLDENSHIELDQIGONG.CA Horoscope
Natural Beauty
ASTRO GUIDE
Prudence
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2 locations!
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“It made me a happy millionaire” First contact/session FREE astroguide1936@gmail.com Arie:250-619-1277
• 5380 Trans-Canada Hwy, Duncan • 155 Craig Street, Downtown Duncan
www.prudencenaturalbeauty.ca
Photography Services
Raindog Camera Services Photos that help tell your stories. www.facebook.com/fotomatic5/ Pet Care Spacious suites, pickup and drop-off service, kitty cams
Cowichan’s Exclusive Boarding Resort for Cats
That Cat Hotel 250-749-3728 www.ThatCatHotel.ca
Debbie Wood Certified Animal Naturopath Carnivore Nutritionist
Support from the inside Monday-Thursday 250-597-7364
Interested in contributing to the Valley Voice? E-mail us at editor@cowichanvalleyvoice.com
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Rob’s Lighthouse Eatery & Art Gallery Fresh, friendly, affordable and pet-friendly! OpenED Daily 8am-6pm Heated patio or take out
*Award Winning Chowder* Grilled Seasoned Fish & Chicken Great Burgers, Fries, Wraps & More!
Dine In on our heated patio or Take Out! Cowichan Bay
CERCA says “NO” to a Re-zoning Application of Crown Leases located in the Cowichan Estuary
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ast year, Tidal Harmony Holdings, the Lessee of six Crown Lease related to the Westcan Terminal in the Cowichan Estuary, submitted a re-zoning application to the CVRD to allow for heavy industrial manufacturing that until now is not permitted according to CVRD bylaws. The Westcan Terminal and access road located in the heart of the estuary and residential areas were created in the early 1920’s through in-filling, constructing a dyke and lumber storage area that effectively cut the estuary in half causing detrimental environmental impacts. Today in view of climate change, biodiversity loss, and declining fish stocks, such massive intervention would be called a terrible ecological crime that never should have happened. The six Leases currently subject to re-zoning are affiliated with this area. They all were allocated to forestry companies which have ceased to exist for decades, their leases either abandoned or alienated but all assumed by Tidal Harmony Holdings in the early 1990s for a 50 year period for a fee of $1 per Lease per year (6 Leases for a 50 year period equalling $300 and that for 25 hectares in the center of the estuary!). Lumber shipment from the Westcan Terminal and Longshoremen contracts stopped years ago and the Westcan Dock facilities are falling apart.
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although none is used for this purpose. The only operator on one of the Leases is Pacific Industrial Marine (PIM), manufacturing and fabricating structures, an activity not in compliance with CVRD bylaws, the Lease Agreements with the Government, the Official Community Plan for this area, nor the Cowichan Estuary Environmental Management Plan. PIM allegedly operates under a Sub-Lease that is not registered or approved by the Ministry.
The six Leases are still allocated to forest related activities,
Approval of the re-zoning application would not only legalize what has been illegal until now, it would throw us back into the dark ages. The Cowichan Estuary Environmental Management Plan clearly stipulates : “...that all industrial Leases in the estuary not any longer used for their allocated purpose (explicitly forestryrelated activities and stevedoring of forest products) should be returned to the Ministry of Environment to be re-zoned for conservation management.” The Official Community Plan (2012) applying to the Cowichan Bay Area which reflects the views and wishes of the constituents of Planning Area D shares the long-term view of the Cowichan Estuary Management Plan: favouring conservation management and tourism development for the estuary as economic drivers in Cowichan Bay. Please do your part to prevent re-zoning if you don’t want to see heavy industry destroying the estuary and our lifestyle. Write a letter of concern to the Area Director Lori Iannidinardo at liannidinardo@cvrd.bc.ca
Submitted by Dr. Goetz Schuerholz
Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley
employ twisted logic. Take a petition letter urging U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Faulty logic fuels fossil fools
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pparently, fossil fuel companies protect watersheds and rivers by removing oil. That’s according to comments on the David Suzuki Foundation Facebook page and elsewhere, including this: “The amount of contamination occuring [sic] from extraction is far less than if we just left the oil there to continue polluting the waterways.” The “logic” of climate change deniers and antienvironmentalists is often baffling. Although the person who posted that comment doesn’t appear to claim professional background or knowledge, Canadian anti-environmentalist Patrick Moore — who capitalizes on his science degree and long-ago association with Greenpeace to shill for polluting industries — told the Vancouver Sun in 2011 that oil companies are “leaving the soil cleaner than they found it because they’re removing the oil from it.” Those who coat their “alternative facts” with a veneer of “expertise” often
Letter author Richard Lindzen, a climate skeptic whose work has often been debunked, claims “more than 300 eminent scientists and other qualified individuals from around the world” signed the petition. What kind of “eminent scientists” would sign something claiming carbon dioxide “is not a pollutant but a major benefit to agriculture and other life on Earth” and that “warming from increased atmospheric CO2 will be benign”? The idea that CO2 is little more than plant food is common in denier circles, floated recently by the U.S. Heartland Institute, its affiliated industry promoters like Canadians Patrick Moore and Tom Harris, and others. In a 2014 book, two signatories to the Trump letter, retired Environment Canada scientist Madhav Khandekar and retired Australian geology professor Cliff Ollier, along with database marketing consultant Arthur Middleton Hughes, wrote the world should burn more coal “to produce electricity and increase CO2 in the atmosphere.” They also argue for more use of the pesticide DDT. We’ve addressed the debunked CO2 argument before. It ignores pollution from burning coal and other fossil fuels, and the complexity and interconnectedness of natural systems. Many plants do need CO2, but it doesn’t follow
that more CO2 is better, or that CO2 is the only factor in plant growth. Studies show rising temperatures often hinder plant growth and nutritional value. And droughts, floods and other increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather events brought on by climate change are not beneficial to agriculture or plant growth. We also need oxygen to live, but too much can be toxic. So, who are the “300 eminent scientists and other qualified individuals” who put their names to such unscientific nonsense? Like Khandekar, many are affiliated with the industry-funded Heartland Institute, which has promoted tobacco and compared climate scientists to the Unabomber and Charles Manson. A Desmog Blog investigation described the 300 as “medical doctors, mystery men, coal executives, petroleum engineers, economists, and think tank members. Only a small handful could be considered even remotely ‘qualified’ or ‘eminent’ — but not in the field of climate science.” Many show no academic affiliation or address. Canadians are represented by the likes of Khandekar and Moore. Moore once even claimed glaciers are “dead zones” that we’d be better off without! There’s that twisted logic. It’s true plants don’t grow on glaciers, but microorganisms and other life do. Saying “Ice and frost are the enemies of life” is absurd — especially for those of us who require water to live!
Another signatory, William Happer, is a retired physics professor being eyed as Trump’s science adviser. Greenpeace once caught him in a sting in which he agreed to write an article touting the benefits of coal and to fake its peer-review status. People posting nonsensical comments on Facebook might simply be uninformed or misinformed. But it’s hard not to conclude that many of the so-called “experts” are being deliberately deceptive. Any scientifically literate person who has examined the massive amounts of evidence for human-caused global warming and its consequences, collected over many decades from around the world, wouldn’t fall for such easily debunked claims. In this “post-truth” era, with a climate-change-denying U.S. administration, those who want to keep humanity wedded to outdated, polluting technologies have been emboldened. It’s up to the rest of us to cut through the misinformation and help humanity get on track to a cleaner, healthier future. David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and cofounder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor Ian Hanington. Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org.
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Valley Voice Magazine - Your Monthly Guide to Living in the Cowichan Valley