Summer 2007 Acorn Newsletter - Salt Spring Island Conservancy

8/8/2019 Summer 2007 Acorn Newsletter - Salt Spring Island Conservancy

1/12

attention disorders and depression in children and howexposure to nature (even in city parks, gardens and vacantlots) may be the best cure.

For me, the most memorable story that Richard Louvtold was about how he was asked to give a lecture to a highschool in a large city in the US. He arrived expecting to acehundreds o dgety, whispering teenagers who would barelytolerate his presentation. He was amazed when he spoke ortwo hours and the room was so silent that you could heara pin drop. Aterwards, he asked the biology teacher whoinvited him why he thought the students were so attentiveThe teacher said that it was because he gave them hope.

The message o Mr. Louvs lecture was that we have buila civilization on ossil uels, coal and oil. We know that weare ast approaching the end o this civilization. He said thathis is a tremendous opportunity or every child because weneed to now build a new civilization; to invent and developnew orms o sustainable agriculture, power generationcommunity plans, transportation systems... and that thenext generation is the one who must do this. The childreno today will have jobs thatwe havent even heard oyet. But, Richard added,how will these children do

this, this huge exciting tasko rebuilding a civilization,without a knowledge andconnection to the placewhere they live, to theirown ecosystems?

So, at the Royal Roadsconerence, I was luckyenough to join 60 people:proessors rom UVIC,

Acornthe

The Newsletter of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy Number 35, Summer 2007

http://saltspringconservancy.ca

Last Child in the Woods

Last month I attended a talk at the University o Victoria byRichard Louv who has written a book called Last Child inthe Woods, Saving Our Children rom Nature-Defcit Disorder.It was a thought provoking talk and I was lucky enough tobe invited to a conerence at Royal Roads University, overthe next two days, where 60 people discussed the questionHow do we better engage children with nature?

Richard Louvs book is about how so many older people

grew up exploring their natural environment unsupervised.Most people rom the Baby-Boom generation and older havestories to tell about exploring the ponds, seashore, orestsand elds around their homes and cottages. Stories aboutthe bonds made with riends, the risks taken and the thingslearned. It seems that because o many reasons, -- RichardLouv believes or the most part because o ear (o strangers,injury, litigation) -- the current generation o children aremissing out on this critical orm o play needed or healthyhuman development, time spent in nature. This bookbrings together the research on the growing trend o obesity, Continued on page 10

Inside:Presidents Page .................2Directors Desk ..................3Events

Calendar .........................7Event Notes ....................7

FeaturesLand as Legacy ................4

Inside SSICWhat Happened? ............8

StewardshipProtect Your Land ...........9

Essential Details ..............11


2/12 The Acorn - Newsletter o the Salt Spring Island Conservancy

Someone amous said it or was made amous by saying it:The map is not the territory. The model is not the reality.

A map made by the Islands Trust Fund this winter lieson my desk. Within the amiliar outline o Salt Spring Islandmost areas are the blank white o clueless paper, blurred grey

by myriad sharp-shouldered lot lines. Where politics and lawhave set places apart rom the general run o human aairs,Protected Areas are emblazoned in colour. Community parksare soccer-jersey uchsia. Provincial parks are compromisegreen, Mt. Maxwell watershed land is casket purple. CRDregional parks are the hue o old-growth r.

Under the bright veneer each Protected Area is dierentin the words dening purpose and guiding administration,in the orms o nature it includes, in priorities or use and instrength o protection. Provincial parks, or instance, whichmake up a good two-thirds o the coloured acreage, arecoloured alike. However, our blocks are Ecological Reserves,

o-limits to almost everyone, while Ruckle Provincial Parkprotects picnics, sheep pastures and a orest recovering roma thorough thrashing.

Community parks span the range rom soccer elds totiny remnant bits received in exchange or higher prots ordevelopers, to a valuable natural area nestled in a cluster oCrown and Conservancy lands.

Little logic but a whole lot o historic opportunismexplains our collection o Protected Areas. Its an old storyin North America. Protecting places against the food tideo progress is an aterthought. Tides food low ground and

leave the high, which is where parks mostly perch. Areasare Protected with unallocated tax dollars and philanthropy,both o which are somewhere other than rst in line.

Opportunism? To one excessively attached to reason itmay leave a bad taste, but pursuers o causes who ignoreopportunities are, at the very least, stupid. I a pioneer armamily oers 1100 acres or a park, do you reuse becauseit isnt in the plan? I an owner calls with an invitation totalk about a 20-acre conservation covenant, do you say no?I Vancouver venture capital parachutes onto 2600 acres oorest and sets the public on re, do you, or dont you, ridethe wave and end up with a really big bunch o Protected (i

partly scalped) Areas? You say yes! and let natures resilienceand your own later eorts ll in the orest and connect theblocks to make more eco-logic as time goes on.

The uncoloured areas on the map on my desk arethe pool containing all that latent opportunity. Its a seao whimsy, or sure. Ocial Protected Areas have theirshortcomings, mostly errors o omission, but the attitudesand programs that protect them are relatively stable. Privatestewardship, by contrast, can be rock-solid or years, thenchange overnight. The old olks love the home place, kidshave other interests, parents die, kids sell. Or: youngsters

leave home, hoping to come back, but a postcard announcesthat Mom and Dad met with a realtor. They bought an RVand are parked in Quartzite, AZ playing checkers in a grittywind and going to unerals or a chance to dress up.

The reverse happens, too. An owner tough on nature

moves to Surrey; the new owners are itching to spend savingsrestoring the land.

The condition o nature on these thousands o privateholdings spans the imaginable range plus one. Samplingthem is like dipping a spoon into a mulligan. One dip revealsdisaster, an uncaring owner abusing vulnerable land. Thenext suraces a pearl, a nature-gited landscape whose ownerslove it. Mostly what you get is average-palatable turnips, landthat is a pretty good home or people and whatever orms onature get along there. Lorquins Admirals. Coopers hawksBanana slugs. Trees tattooed by sapsuckers.

Our little arm is somewhere in that common range. One

acre o 16 is smothered by buildings and driveway. An acre isa ormer gravel dump merciully hidden by a thorny hell owild rose and blackberry, beloved by quail. A jewel o a pondcollects seepage at the start o a creek. Tonight the shoutingtree rogs rival the old Soviet Army Chorus and Band singingKalinka. The creek winds among mint and hardhack andloudly possessive wrens and yellowthroats. Plants who ownus control ve acres o orchard, lawn, fowering perennialsand edible garden. Hay rom some elds sweetly scents ourbarn, a donkey paddock, and the orchard again, in sequence A copse o rs stacks carbon in 80-oot-high vaults. It

unspectacular but we love it. Take care o it as best we can,not wrenching it out o shape, letting time and nature mostlyalone. We stick to basics: let it be diverse, keep it greenlycovered, dont poison it.

As I said, private lands are the pool rom which utureProtected Areas will be drawn. I hope we are proactiveopportunists, spreading the word about land gits, covenantsReady when lightning fickers. The Islands Trust Fundcalculates that 18.6% o the Island is in Protected Areastoday. (They include community parks and Ruckle armlandwhich are doubtully protected or doubtully natural.) Iremaining Crown lands were designated or protection the

total would be about 23%. I, as well, we were able to securenow-vulnerable sensitive ecosystems (also mapped) thagure would rise to 30% or more. Its a good goal.

While we work on that we need to be energetic inour programs to upgrade stewardship on all private lands You cant buy the Island. Ill wager that eective peddlingo the message o skilled care will make nature saer andmore diverse in the long run than costly, come-by-chanceadditions to Protected Areas.

Its not the map that matters, its the territory. Bob Weeden

The Map Is Not the Territory

Presidents Page


3/12 Summer 2007

Eco-Home Tour Volunteers NeededLast summer, the second annual Salt Spring Eco-HomeTour was a huge success when 600 residents and visitorsparticipated in tours to 10 Eco-Homes led by the homeowners/builders. This tour could not be possible without theoverwhelming support o the dozens o volunteers who help

each year. Volunteers spend a hal day with a partner assistinghomeowners with parking, checking tickets, passing outhome inormation sheets, and giving general inormation onthe tour, maps, and Salt Spring! We have a great volunteertraining party beore the tour, and every volunteer receives aticket to tour the homes or the hal o the day that they arenot volunteering. Please let Karen know i you are interestedat the Salt Spring Island Conservancy oce: 538-0318, orby email: [email protected].

Sunday, June 17, 10am 4pm

This years tour will ocus on what each person can do tohelp turn the tide o climate change by reducing their energyuse through adoption o at least one idea that they see onthe tour. The tour will ocus on the actions the landownershave taken to reduce energy and resource use through sucheatures as solar power, hemp straw bale walls, insulation,masonry heating, Energy Star appliances, water-catchment,and grey water systems. Salt Spring Island has a reputationas a unique place where innovative individuals live amongnature, but our reputation is growing as a community thatis leading the way by embracing increased energy eciency.

The homeowners, who in most cases built their own homes,will explain the many cutting edge eatures incorporatedinto the home designs. On the tour is an a masonry heaterwith built-in bake oven and plumbing or hot water, theislands rst legally permitted cob dwelling which has wallsmade rom sand, clay and straw, and insulation made romrecycled blue jeans; a water catchment system; and a hempstraw bale home. Straw bale walls are highly insulative (upto R40) and sound proo. The homes are packed with ideasto reduce energy and water usage, and associated operatingcosts.

Tickets will be available May 17th and are $25 each, ora carpooling group can buy a 4 tickets or $90. Discountswill also be available at the Conservancy oce to driverso hybrid, biodiesal and Smart cars, as well as cyclists.Carpooling and cycling are highly encouraged and thehomes on the tour this year are being selected or ease oaccess. You can also meet at Gul Islands Secondary Schoolto park your car, and orm carpools at 9:00am. All proceedsgo to support the operations o the Conservancy to educateschoolchildren, the public, and landowners about landstewardship and conservation. Co-sponsored with the SaltSpring Earth Festival Society and I-SEA.

Volunteers are also needed or the rst annualTransportation Options Fair on Saturday, June 16, inand around Ganges. The air is being organized by theCommunity Energy Strategy Task Force as part o ongoingattempts to raise local awareness o issues around energy

conservation, and ecient transportation alternatives. Plansor the day include inormation and tips or energy-ecientravel, and workshops on bicycle tune-ups and maintenanceThere will be a special car show o uel-ecient models. Aselection o lung-riendly, silent electric bikes and scooterswill be available to test-ride. A ree-or-all demonstration odecorated, altered, and just-plain-weird bicycles will be paro an organized critical mass ride through Ganges. I youwould like to volunteer, please call Christine Atkinson at537- 4400 or email [email protected]. Karen Hudson

Directors Desk

The Rokeby-Thomas residence on the 2005 Eco-Home Tour

Annual General Meeting May 11Salt Spring Island Conservancy members are hereby notiedo the Annual General Meeting at the Lions Hall, 103 BonneAve, o Drake Rd, Ganges, at 7:00pm on Friday, May 112007

Members will elect new directors or two-year termsCandidates standing or election include: Jean BrouardRobin Ferry, Jean Gelwicks, Maxine Leichter, Steve Leichterand Jane Petch.

The Board proposes one motion or membership approval1) to set the number o directors at 14 or 2008/2009: ourBylaws set a minimum number o directors (5) but allow themembership to establish a current maximum. To allow us tohave a set number o directors as a target or our nominationsprocess in early 2008 (or elections at May 2008 AGM), weask members at the 2007 AGM to set a maximum number o14 directors or 2008/2009.

Guest speaker Blair Hammond (see page 4), HabitatProtection Biologist with the Canadian Wildlie Service andEnvironment Canada, will give a presentation on the FederaEcogits Program.



The tax advantages o conservingecologically sensitive lands

Natural habitats across much o Canadas settled landscapesare under signicant strain. The loss o wetlands, woodlands,

grasslands and other ecosystems is o signicant concernto governments and land conservancies, particularly inlandscapes dominated by private land ownership.

Private lands tend to be disproportionately importantor wildlie. This is because places that are good orestablishing towns and cities (areas with good soils, reshwater, timber and mild climates) also tend to be very rich

and diverse ecosystems. Many o Canadas most biologicallydiverse ecosystems are in landscapes dominated by private

lands. Thus to protect some o Canadas most importantwildlie habitat it is necessary to engage private landownersin stewardship and conservation.

Fortunately, there are many landowners who wish to seethe natural eatures o their land protected in perpetuity andthere are now signicant income tax incentives available toenable landowners to protect habitat on their properties andleave a legacy or uture generations.

Under Environment Canadas Ecological Gits Program,landowners can choose to donate ecologically sensitiveland, a partial interest in such land (a covenant, easement

Land as Legacyor servitude) or, in common law jurisdictions, a remainderinterest resulting rom a lie estate, to a qualied recipient. InQubec, instead o a remainder interest a donor may donateland but reserve supercies ownership o a building on theland.

To date, over 500 ecological gits have been completedacross Canada. Some are small properties protectingimportant habitat or species at risk, others are thousandso hectares in size and protect signicant landscapes. Thesegits protect lands o local, regional, provincial, national andinternational signicance. Together, they total over 47,000hectares and are valued at over $155 million. Nearly 80percent o these donations have been made by individuals oramilies, with the remainder given largely by corporations.The Tax Advantages o Ecological Gits

As with other charitable gits under the Income Tax Actecological gits by individual donors are eligible or a non-

reundable ederal tax credit o 15.25 percent o the rst$200 o the air market value o the git and 29 percent othe balance (plus any corresponding provincial income taxcredits). Corporations may deduct rom income an amountup to the air market value o the ecological git.

For donors o certied ecological gits there is no limitto the total value o the donation eligible in a given yearor the deduction or credit, and donors o ecological gitsmade ater May 2, 2006 are not subject to tax on any capitagains accruing in respect o the property (land donationsthat proceed outside o the Program are subject to a taxable

deemed capital gains inclusion or income tax purposes). Anyunused portion o the donors gits may be carried orwardor up to ve years.

Two additional benets provide donors with peace omind about their ecological git. First, using inormationprovided by the donor, the ederal Minister o the Environmencerties the value o an ecological git or all tax purposesIn Quebec (in accordance with the Quebec Taxation Act)ecological gits must also be certied by the Quebec Ministero the Environment.

Second, or donations made to registered charities andlocal governments, long term security or ecological gits

is provided by Income Tax Act provisions that require theauthorization o the Minister o the Environment or theMinisters designate or any change in use, or dispositiono an ecological git. Failure to receive this authorizationwill result in a penalty o 50% o the propertys value at thetime the change in use or disposition takes place, providingrecipients with a strong incentive or maintaining ecogits asconservation lands in perpetuity.How Does Ecogiting Work?

To qualiy or treatment as an ecological git the ederaMinister o the Environment (or designate), must certiy

Features

AGM Speaker Blair Hammond


5/12 Summer 2007

the donations ecological sensitivity, approve the recipientorganization and determine the air market value o thesubject property. In Quebec the Minister o SustainableDevelopment, Environment and Parks is responsible orcertiying the ecological sensitivity and recipient, and

also signs the Statement o Fair Market Value issued byEnvironment Canada, which certies the market value o theecogit or income tax purposes.

Ecologically sensitive lands are dened as areas or sitesthat currently or could, at some point in the uture, contributesignicantly to the conservation o Canadas environmentalheritage. Areas o remnant native habitats in southernCanada will typically qualiy as ecologically sensitive. Inmost cases, a representative o Environment Canada willvisit the property as part o the certication process. Areaso purely cultural or agricultural interest will not qualiy asecologically sensitive.

Recipients o ecological gits may include governmentagencies (e.g., national and provincial parks departments,and local governments) and over 150 eligible charitablenature conservation organizations; a list o these charities isavailable on the Ecological Gits Programs website. It is therecipients responsibility to ensure that the ecological git ismanaged or its conservation values in perpetuity.

When the donor is ready to have the ecological sensitivityand recipient o the git certied, he or she needs to contactEnvironment Canada or its designated authority. When thedonor is ready to have the air market value o a proposed

ecological git determined, he or she applies to EnvironmentCanada. Under the Appraisal Review and DeterminationProcess, a narrative real estate appraisal provided by theapplicant is subjected to the review by outside real propertyexperts, who make a recommendation to the Minister o theEnvironment as to the value. Typically, the determinationprocess takes less than 90 days rom the time o application.I the donor disagrees with the determined value, he or shecan apply or a Redetermination.The Signifcance o Ecological Gits

Ecogits include some o the highest value charitabledonations in Canada and comprise a substantial portion o

the total value o charitable gits given to the environmentalsector. Although corporate and high net worth donorshave made signicant ecological gits, a substantial numbero ecogits come rom middle class donors who have astrong desire to protect cherished amily lands or uturegenerations. Because ecological gits oten involve complextax and nancial considerations or donors, well inormedproessional advisors are extremely important to thePrograms success.

Ecogits are also signicant rom a conservationperspective protecting habitats and eatures that are locally

to internationally signifcant, including habitat or a varietyo species across Canada. Ecogits have been made in everyprovince in Canada.

For more inormation on the Ecological Gits Programvisit the Website at http://www.cws-sc.ec.gc.ca/egp-pde/ or

contact the National Coordinator at 1-800-668-6767. Alisting o regional coordinators is available on the Website.Ecogifts and Split-Receipting

Drat amendments to the Income Tax Act issued mostrecently in July 2005, but not yet enacted, permit the issuanceo donation receipts in circumstances where an intention tomake a git is present but some beneft (or advantage) isalso received by the donor. These amendments permit thepractice o split-receipting, by which a qualifed recipienwill be able to issue a donation receipt reporting both the airmarket value o property transerred to it and the eligibleamount o the git, which is the dierence between the air

market value o the property transerred and the value o anyadvantage to the donor. Under these proposed amendmentsthe donors proceeds o disposition will generally be computedbased on the air market value o the property transerredwhile the donors donation tax credit or deduction is basedon the eligible amount o the git.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has releasedguidelines which discuss the proposed amendments and areavailable on the CRA website at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/itnews-26/itnews-26-e.pd. The guidelines indicate thatpotential donors may rely on the guidelines even thoughthe proposed amendments have not yet become law. The

Canada Revenue Agency has confrmed that it is possibleor split-receipt donations to qualiy as ecogits and theEcological Gits Program has a act sheet on split-receiptingavailable at http://www.cws-sc.ec.gc.ca/egp-pde/deaultasp?lang=en&n=D85A0090.Ecogifts of Remainder Interests

In Canadas common law jurisdictions, i a donor donateshis or her land to a qualifed recipient but retains a lieestate or grants a lie estate to someone else such as a amilymember (allowing that person to occupy the property or theduration o their lie), the donor has donated the remainderinterest to the recipient. Gits o remainder interests in land

ollowing the granting o a lie estate, are eligible to be ecogitsi they meet ecogit certifcation requirements and CRArequirements as described in IT 226R, Git to a Charity o aResidual Interest in Real Property or an Equitable Interest ina Trust. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it226r/READMEhtml

Instruments similar to lie estates, called superfciesare available under the Civil Code (C.C.Q.) or landownersin Quebec. Provisions or the establishment o superfciesare contained in section 1110 o the C.C.Q. The agreemen

Features

Continued on page



Continued on page 10

Features

usually includes provisions or the various terms andconditions regarding use o the subsoil by the superciary,the duration o the agreement, the rights and obligations othe parties as well as the ate o the constructions, works or

plantations when the supercies ends. For more inormationon gits involving remainder interests or supercies, pleasesee the Ecological Gits Program act sheet Retaining the Rightto Use Land Donated as an Ecological Git -- Lie Interests,Supercies, Licences and Permission Agreements.

When a donor makes an ecological git involving aremainder interest or supercies, the recipient must takereasonable steps to protect the land during the tenure o thelie tenant so that the ecological values are protected until therecipient takes ull ownership and possession o the property.This could be accomplished by way o an agreement betweenthe donor and recipient or any other parties involved.

Ecogits o Partial InterestEasements, covenants and servitudes are instruments by

which a landowner grants to another person or organizationrights with respect to that landowners land. In commonlaw jurisdictions in Canada easements and covenantsare authorized by either common law, statute or both. InQuebec, the Civil Code o Quebec makes provision orsimilar instruments called servitudes.

Most jurisdictions in Canada have made legislativeprovision or conservation easements or conservationcovenants agreements designed or conservation purposes,

usually taking the orm o a voluntary, written agreementbetween the landowner and an easement/covenant holder inwhich the landowner promises to use the land only in specicways. Most statutory conservation easements / covenantscan both restrict activities and oblige the landowner to carryout certain activities. The agreement is registered againsttitle to the property, ensuring that it binds uture ownersin perpetuity. For more inormation on these instrumentssee Report No. 04-1: Conservation Easements, Covenantsand Servitudes in Canada - A Legal Review at http://www.wetlandscanada.org/pubs.html. .Who Donates Ecological Gits?

Land can be a signicant, and cherished, asset in manyportolios; oten land is the most valuable asset a donor has.Given the value o these lands and the need to nd a goodmatch with an organization willing and able to receive andcare or them in perpetuity, ecological gits should be plannedin advance. Most ecological gits are given by individualssingly or jointly (~80%), with the remainder being corporatedonations (~20%) and a ew estate donations. Proles oseveral ecogit donors and the orm o their donations areonline at http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlie/ecogits/proles-e.html

One conservation easement donor, Lorne Almack, hassaid Landowners should pass natural capital on to the nextgeneration. I the government makes it easy to get a tax break,all society benets - everyone wins. But more importantly,or the rest o our lives we can view this beautiul part o

Ontarios landscape and observe the wildlie, knowing thatit is protected orever.

Octogenarian Hiram Nelson, who grew up in TutsCove, Nova Scotia, donated title to two arm propertiesthrough the Ecological Gits Program. His ecological git onearly 200 hectares o coastal barrens and orest was worthhal a million dollars, and orms an important buer toDartmouths advancing subdivisions.

In terms o the process, ecogit donors Elizabeth and Victor Allistone stated In completing our transactionwe were aided by the clear and concise procedures ordonations o land having an ecological value established by

Environment Canada and the Ministre de lEnvironnementdu Qubec.

A surprisingly high proportion o ecogit donors areeducators rom elementary school teachers to universityproessors. For example, one retired proessor donatedover 50 hectares o lake and orest to his local ConservationFoundation with the goal o creating a public conservationarea. He simultaneously donated a remainder interest(retaining a lie estate) in the residence to the local universityto be maintained or use by artists or art historians.Income Tax Advantages o Ecogits

Certied Ecogits receive the ollowing income taxadvantages: Elimination o taxable capital gain on the disposition

o the property. Non-ecogit donations or sales o landattract a 50% inclusion rate or any deemed capital gain

Not subject to the non-ecogit income limit o 75% orcalculating the tax credit (individuals) or deduction(corporations) allowing more o the receipt to be used,earlier

Like other donations, unused portions o the donationreceipt may be carried orward or up to ve years

Other advantages include:

Provides a means to protect a treasured amily legacy inperpetuity

Donations air market value is certied by EnvironmentCanada

Potential donors who want certainty about the value otheir intended donation can request that EnvironmentCanada determine the value BEFORE the donation ismade

Charitable ecogit recipients are reviewed and approvedto ensure such organizations are dedicated to protecting

Continued from page 5


7/12 Summer 2007

Event Notes

Conservancy Events

May 5th and 19th (Saturday): Enjoy Spring Birds!Bob Weeden will trade bird-watching tips with anyonewanting to join in. Meet at the end o Garner Rd. at9am with binoculars. Please pre-register by calling theoce, 538-0318, or Bob 537-5403. You can also e-mail:

[email protected] 11th (Friday): Salt Spring Island ConservancyAnnual General Meeting. AGM with guest speaker BlairHammond, Canadian Wildlie Service, EnvironmentCanada, who will speak about Eco-Gits. 7pm, LionsHall.

May 18th (Friday): Frog Threats? Amphibians othe Southern Gul Islands: Whos At Risk, and HowAre They Studied? Wildlie Biologist, Brent Matsudawill share his knowledge o BCs amphibian auna andprovide us insights into how amphibians can be observedand studied, using some o his research experience with

the Tailed Frogs and other species. This is a chance tolearn more about what we know, and dont know, aboutSalt Springs rogs and salamanders. 7pm, Lions Hall.

June 16th (Saturday): Sustainable Transportation Fair.

Upcoming EventsEnjoy Spring Birds!

Bob WeedenSalt Spring Island Conservancy

On, May 5th and 19th (Saturdays), Bob Weeden will tradebird-watching tips and amble around one o Salt SpringIslands best birding places, Ford Lake, with anyone wantingto join in. Bob likes to use ears, eyes and knowledge o locabird behaviour and habitats to identiy all those lovely butrustrating brush skulkers. Meet at the end o Garner Rd. at9am with binoculars.

Please pre-register by calling the Salt Spring IslandConservancy oce, Tuesday-Thursday rom 10:00am to3pm: 538-0318, or Bob Weeden at 537-5403. You canalso e-mail: [email protected]. You must be amember o the Conservancy. Annual society membershipsare $10-$35, and support our education and stewardshipprograms locally.

Eco-Home Tour - June 17thThe Eco-Home Tour will be held on June17th rom 10am to 4pm. Plan now orthis unique opportunity to visit ten o SaltSprings eco-homes.

Attention Hikers: In case you missed this notice in the Dritwoodthis includes the Manzanita Ridge Nature Reserve and route toMt. Erskine rom Toynbee Road:

Overhead Line ConstructionConstruction is taking place on the existing transmissionline right-o-way between Salt Spring Substation (locatedat Atkins Road and Rainbow Road) and Sansum Narrows

(in the vicinity o Maxwell Pt.) on the western shore o SaltSpring Island.

To maintain public and worker saety, there will beno public access to the transmission line right-o-way orhiking, or other purposes during the construction period asnoted below.

Temporary construction encing and gates will be usedto ensure the public, residents and stakeholders are keptat a sae distance rom construction activities. In order toexpedite the completion o this project, construction willtake place up to seven days a week (including weekends andholidays), or up to 12 hours per day.Construction Activities ScheduleSite preparation March - May 2007- surveying and site clearing- drilling, blasting and removal o debris- installing concrete oundations or new transmission polesRemoval o existing structures - March - June 2007- removing existing overhead wires and transmission polesInstallation o new structures - April - July 2007- installing new transmission poles, overhead wires and

buried ground wiresFor more inormation: www.bctc.com



Yesterday, they were called hippies, tree-huggers, back-to-landers, nutters and pinko commie radicals. And i theybelonged to the Chamber o Commerce, it was worth theirpolitical uture to admit to being an environmentalist.

But suddenly today even our Prime Minister who

nixed Kyoto is sprinting to the ront o the burgeoningenvironmental parade, shouting Im green, ollow me!The environment is nally in.

Looking at the signs, who would argue that ourconsumer society is in the throes o a paradigm shit? Ourcatalysts or change are rightening and unpredictable -climate fuctuations, water scarcity, and species extinctionto name a ew. The updated list was released in Paris onFebruary 2 by the 2500 member Inter-governmental Panelon Climate Change.

Not that we werent warned.Rachel Carson, in her 1962 book, Silent Spring, rst

shook Americas aith in the wisdom o industry whenshe described the deadly eects o DDT. Scourged by thechemical industry, her motives and sanity under attack,Carson was nally vindicated by President Kennedys ScienceAdvisory Committee.

Out o her research, came the public acceptance thatindustry must be regulated to protect the vulnerable naturalworld. Environmentalism was born.

Or reborn. In North America, aboriginal culturescertainly knew that their survival and ood supply dependedon a healthy ecology. And a visionary German Benedictine

nun, Hildegard de Bingen, still reaches across 900 years, totell us in her meditations that to injure the earth is a sin.How did we orget this practical wisdom? Perhaps

we got the metaphor wrong. Our place on this earth is ametaphor that suits our consumer society and relieves us oresponsibility.

Being on the earth, like a cup or bowl o fowers thatsit on a table, implies no sense o inter-connectedness to theearth itsel. There is no need to limit growth, in terms opopulation or economic activity, and no need to concernourselves with the health o the planet. It will x itselwithout us.

The metaphor o being on the earth, and thereoreseparated rom it, has allowed us to go about our consumerbusiness in ignorant, i uneasy, bliss. But that perspective ischanging and ast, as the legs o the table crumble underneathus.

There is some relie in our new galloping realizationthat we are not on the earth, but o it, and that ourhuman interventions are rapidly changing the very nature othe earths balances and cycles. We are nally waking up tothe act that we are seriously, i not irreparably, endangeringthe existence o animal and plant lie on this planet.

What Happened?

Inside SSIC

This new knowledge is horriying, not only in its scopebut in the realization that our individual power to changethe uture course o events is minute. We will see great angerat the government agencies that allowed this environmentadegradation to happen, at the corporations whose greed was

stronger than their sense o public responsibility, and mostlywith our own selves because we didnt care, or werent payingattention.

At the same time, I think this same anger will energizeus to take the small steps, the things we can do. The SuzukiFoundation spells it out: Cut down on your energy userecycle, turn down your thermostats, wear more sweaterssite your house acing south to maximize solar energy, buyenergy ecient appliances and lightbulbs, buy a hybrid caruse the bus, cycle when you can. Minimize your carbonoutput.

Cut down on packaging, demand green products

conserve water, vote or environmental policies, buy locallymade and grown products to cut down on transportationcosts. Change your liestyle, get rid o your car, and movecloser to town i you cant take a bus, stop buying stu youdont need, rethink the energy-heavy plane trips, grow apesticide-ree garden. And join a lobbying group to pressureyour government reps to take action on climate change.

Anchorage Cove B&BBaker Beach CottagesBalmoral By The Sea B&BBarbs Bakery & BistroBarnyard GraxBeddis House B&BBlue Horse Folk ArtBold Blu RetreatBootacomputerCedar Mountain StudiosCreekhouse Realty Ltd.Don Jenkins Excavating

Duck Creek FarmElsea PlumbingFlat Earth PhotographyGreen Acres ResortIsland EscapadesIsland Star VideoKaren Dakin, AccountantMouats Trading Co.Morningside Organic

Bakery & CaeNeil Morie, Architect

Thank you to our business members:

Murakami Auto Body &Repairs

PharmasavePretzel MotorsRaven Isle GraphicsRock Salt CaeSandra Smith, Royal LePage

Salt Spring RealtySalt Spring Adventure Co.Salt Spring BooksSalt Spring Centre o YogaSalt Spring Centre School

Salt Spring Coee Co.Salt Spring Island Chamber

o CommerceSalt Spring KayakingSalt Spring SeedsSaltspring SoapworksSpindrit at Welbury PointSprague AssociatesStowel Lake FarmTerra Firma Builders

Windsor Plywood

Continued on page


9/12 Summer 2007

Kate Emmings

Stewardship

Protect Your Land - and Save TaxesSound like a good deal? Well, it is and it can be done inseveral ways. New programs established by the Islands TrustFund (ITF) and Environment Canada oer enhanced taxbenets to land owners who wish to protect all or a portion otheir land in its natural state. So you can protect the eatures

o your land you cherish or the uture, while enjoying a taxbenet now. Read on to learn more.Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program

This program, called NAPTEP, was established by theITF in 2005 and applies specically to the southern GulIslands. It provides island land owners with the opportunityto receive a 65% property tax exemption on whatever portiono their property is protected through a NAPTEP conservationcovenant. A conservation covenant is an agreement betweenthe land owner and ITF (and possibly a second conservationorganization, such as your Conservancy), registered againsttitle and designed to protect natural, geological or culturaleatures o the land in perpetuity. The program is intended toencourage land owners who wish to do so to use conservationcovenants to protect areas that give the islands their charmand biological richness. Several Conservancy members havealready taken advantage o the program.

On April 9, 2007, the Conservancy hosted a talk on theNAPTEP program by Kate Emmings, a consultant or ITF.For more inormation on the program, see the ITF website atwww.islandstrustund.bc.ca or call them at 250-405-5186.

The Federal Ecological Gits ProgramThis program is designed to promote the protection

o privately owned, ecologically sensitive land. Under theprogram, donors who give ecologically sensitive land to aqualied registered charity (such as the Conservancy) or to

a local government authority or who grant a conservationcovenant over such land can qualiy or two signicant taxbenets. First they receive a charitable donation receipt othe ull value o their git. Second, they pay no capital gaintax on the deemed disposition o the land that is donated orprotected by covenant (capital gains tax will otherwise bepayable and with the signicant increase in land values inthe Gul Islands over the years can be a signicant sum).

The program can be very useul to amilies who wishto pass land on to the next generation and wish to see itprotected in its natural state but who ace the reality ohety tax bills in the process. Too oten in the past, amilie

have had to sell part o the land to pay these bills. Thisprogram provides an alternative by eliminating the capitalgain on the portion o the land that is donated or the valueo the covenant, and providing a charitable receipt or theull value o the git that can be used to shelter the gain onthe rest o the land passed on to the next generation. Todate, over 500 ecological gits have been completed acrossCanada, including several on Salt Spring Island.

Come to the Conservancys AGM on Friday, May 11th2007 at 7 p.m. at the Lions Hall to hear a talk by BlairHammond, Pacic and Yukon Regional Ecological Gits Co-

ordinator who will explain the ins and outs o the programAlso, an article by Blair which discusses the program in moredetail appears elsewhere in this edition o the Acorn. Seeyou at the AGM on May 11th! Ashley Hilliard

In some ways, its a pathetic list. A drop in the globabucket. And it doesnt address the poverty and suering inthird world countries dealing with the same climate changewe helped exacerbate. But it is a start. And i everyone doesit, including the new consumers in China and India, we canmake a dierence.

It shouldnt be that dicult. Many o the heroesphilosophers, writers and scientists that we admire todaylived civilized lives without electricity, oil, plastics orengines.

It is not the time to play with words, or green polls. Ourchallenge now is to pay attention and to act and, as RachelCarson wrote nearly ty years ago, to prove our maturityand mastery, not o nature, but o ourselves. Do we reallyhave a choice? Jane Petch (new resident o SSI)A version o this story originally appeared on the Friday AM.

Continued from page



Continued from page 1SFU, UNBC, the CEO rom Mountain Equipment Coop;representatives rom the aboriginal community and churchcommunity; teachers, people rom parks and the Ministryo the Environment and people rom various environmental

groups rom as ar away as Toronto. As we discussed thequestion How do we better engage children with nature?I ound mysel speaking out about the things we have onSalt Spring - we have schools with natural play areas wherechildren can orage berries and nettles and build orts. Wehave many teachers at many schools that are passionate aboutplace-based nature education. We have school greenhousesand butterfy gardens. We have daycares and preschoolssurrounded by nature.

At the end o the conerence, we set individual and groupgoals to help engage children and their amilies in nature.There was much discussion around a goal that every childshould have a meaningul experience in nature by the timethey are 13 years old. Hopeully, through this experiencethey will be inspired to spend more time in nature and reapthe benets. This goal is quite easy or me because I workor the Salt Spring Island Conservancy with Cate McEwenas coordinators o their Stewards in Training program. Thisprogram has provided eld days or every student on SaltSpring, aged 9 to 12, over the last three years.

This program is unded in part by the Parks and Peopleprogram, an initiative o Nature Canada and Parks Canada.Thanks, thereore, to Nature Canada and the Gaming

Commission, and special thanks to John Leebvre or hisgenerous donation to this years program. Without thesedonations and grants our program would not be possible. We are expanding the Stewards in Training program sothat every child on Salt Spring between the ages o 7 and13 will be oered a ree eld day to study the ecosystemso our island. At the Royal Roads conerence we discussedstewardship, mentoring, getting amilies involved, visitingpublic parks, providing study o ecosystems, using all o yoursenses, and providing time or quiet refection. The Stewardsin Training Program provides all o this. The Salt SpringIsland Conservancy has done a great job, in what one person

attending the lecture called Phase 1 o the EnvironmentalMovement: protecting some o our natural places or uturegenerations. Now they have moved into Phase 2, getting kidsoutside to engage those children with nature so they can ullydevelop their brains, bodies and spirits and be prepared orthe lie ahead o them.

I you would like to be a volunteer or our Stewards inTraining programs we are running this April and May, pleasecontact the Salt Spring Island Conservancy oce at 538-0318 or [email protected]. Sarah Bateman

Canadas natural heritage Tax penalties can be imposed on charitable and municipa

recipients o ecological gits who dispose o title or changethe use o a donation without Environment Canadas prior

authorization An ecogit involving certain partial interests may reduce

the property tax burden.ResourcesEcological Gits Program Website:

www.cws-sc.ec.gc.ca/egp-pde/Green Legacies Website:

www.greenlegacies.caDonor proles:

www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlie/ecogits/proles-e.htmlConservation Easements, Covenants and Servitudes in

Canada A Legal Review:

www.wetlandscanada.org/pubs.html. .Canada Revenue Agency guidelines on split-receipting:

www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/itnews-26/itnews-26-e.pdCanada Revenue Agency Remainder Interest interpretation

bulletin:www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it226r/README.html

West Coast Environmental Law Association publications:Giving It Away: Tax Implications o Gits to ProtectPrivate LandGreening Your Title: A Guide to Best Practices orConservation Covenants

www.wcel.org Blair Hammond and Leslie Dunn

Blair Hammond is a Habitat Protection Biologist andthe Pacic and Yukon regional Ecological Gits Coordinatorwith Environment Canadas Canadian Wildlie Service. He isbased at the Pacic Wildlie Research Centre in Delta, B.C Contact him at [email protected] or 604-940-4647.

Lesley Dunn is a biologist who has worked withEnvironment Canada since 1991. She specializes in habitatconservation and Great Lakes issues, and is the ormerEcological Git Coordinator in Ontario. She can be reached

at [email protected] with permission rom Git Planning in Canada. October

2007 Edition.

Continued from page

New SSIC Website!The Conservancy has completely revisedits website to allow more efcient updates.Check it out at our new URL:

www.saltspringconservancy.ca


11/1211Summer 2007

Editor: Elizabeth NolanLayout: Brian Smallshaw

Board o Directors:

Samantha Beare (Treasurer)Maureen BendickNigel DenyerCharles Dorworth

Jean Gelwicks (Secretary)Ashley Hilliard (Vice-president)Maxine LeichterSteve LeichterDeborah MillerLinda QuiringBrian SmallshawRuth TarasoBob Weeden (President)Doug Wilkins

The Salt Spring Island

Conservancy#201 Upper Ganges Centre,338 Lower Ganges Rd.Mail: PO Box 722,Salt Spring Island BC

V8K 2W3Oce hours : Tues/Wed/Thurs10 am - 3 pmPhone: (250) 538-0318Fax: (250) 538-0319Email:[email protected]

Web site:www.saltspringconservancy.ca

The Acorn is the newsletter o the Salt Spring Island Conservancy, a local non-prot society supporting and enablingvoluntary preservation and restoration o the natural environment o Salt Spring Island and surrounding waters. We welcomeyour eedback and contributions, by email to [email protected] or by regular mail. Opinions expressed hereare the authors, not subject to Conservancy approval.

Membership Application Youth (Under 16) 1 yr @ $15 _

Senior or Low-Income: 1 yr @ $20 _ 3 yr @ $60 _

Regular Single 1 yr @ $25 _ 3 yr @ $75 _Regular Family 1 yr @ $35 _ 3 yr @ $105 _

Group/School 1 yr @ $35 _ 3 yr @ $105 _

Business 1 yr @ $55 _ 3 yr @ $165 _

Name: ______________________________________

Address: ____________________________________

____________________________________________

Postal Code: _________________________________

Phone: ______________________________________

Email: _______________________________________

rPlease send me the Acorn via e-mail.

(We NEVER give out members email addresses to anyone!)rThis is a renewal or an existing membership

Donations In addition to my membership ee above, I have enclosed

my donation in the amount o:

$50 _ $100 _ $250 _ $500 _ $1000_ $2500 _ $5000 _

Other ___________

Tax receipts will be provided or donations o $20 or more.

Volunteer OpportunitiesWe have a Volunteer Application Form

that best describes areas you wish to

help in. For now, which areas interestyou? Please check o:

r Oce Work

r Landowner Contact

r Inormation Table at events

r Education Events

r Eco-Home Tour

r Inormation Table at SSI Fall Fair/

Crat Fairs

rJoining a SSIC Committee (Land

Restoration & Management,

Fundraising, Covenants,Acquisitions, Education,

Stewardship, or Environmental

Governance)

r Other: _______________________

Printed on 18% recycled paper

Essential details

Volunteer Position A great chance to get outside, hone your native planidentication skills, practice orienteering, and visit someo Salt Springs special places! SSIC is looking or volunteerecological inventory and monitoring technicians. The ideavolunteer will be available during the Monday-Friday work

week and be interested in protecting important habitats.Training provided, un expected, and humour guaranteed.Contact Karen Hudson, 538-0318, or more details.

Items Wanted:Donations o any o the ollowing grateully received.

Ofce Items Other Items Air Miles Saws, clippers

Speaker phone Canadian Tire $Field guides Hand secateurs

We would also appreciate donations o gits, such as newbooks or items related to nature or conservation, to give toour educational speakers, who volunteer their time.

Ofce UpdateGarry Oak SeedlingsThanks to a very generous donation by Paul Linton, theConservancy now has about 600 Garry oaks, gathered asnuts in 04, planted, and now potted in 8 pots in gooddirt. We are selling them as a undraiser or $10 each, or

3 or $25. We encourage Salt Spring landowners that livein current or ormer Garry oak ecosystems to plant oaks,and we can provide inormation on the best way to do so.Please call 538-0318 to arrange purchase o oaks, or ormore inormation about endangered Garry oak ecosystemson Salt Spring.

Small Things Help!Please remember to put your shopping receipt in the greenConservancy receipt box at GVM and you can get a ThrityFoods SMILE card at the Conservancy oce and 5% o yourpurchase will go to our School Program.. You can also credit

the Conservancy when you take back your bottles to the SaltSpring Reund Centre (Bottle Depot at GVM). Every little bithelps!

Ganges PO Box 722Salt Spring Island BC

V8K 2W3


12/12

40026325Ganges PO Box 722Salt Spring Island BC

V8K 2W3

Date post:	09-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	salt-spring-island-conservancy
View:	222 times
Download:	0 times

Summer 2007 Acorn Newsletter - Salt Spring Island Conservancy

Documents