Bowen Island Undercurrent May 20 2021

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REAL ESTATE EDITION: See what’s for sale on Bowen Island STARTS PAGE 9

$1.50

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A1 inc.

GST

THURSDAY, MAY 20 , 2021

CHOIR CONCERT

VOL. 47 NO. 20

BIUndercurrent

BowUndercurrent www.bowenislandundercurrent.com

How was the May 8 event possible?

SEE PAGE 16

Clear waters AFTER 24+ YEARS OF EFFORT, COVE BAY WATER TREATMENT PLANT IS COMING ONLINE

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

ERIN NEIL / RE: UNITED PHOTO

ON BOWEN: Filming started last weekend in the Bowen Bay area for Re: Uniting, an independent “irreverent drama”

set and filmed on Bowen. It stars the island’s own Michelle Harrison (pictured above) and features a slew of other local talent.

See the story on page 20.

Bowen/Lions Bay COVID data released

59% OF ADULTS IN AREA HAVE HAD FIRST DOSE BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

For the first time, we have local(ish) COVID-19 details.

As of last Wednesday, the BC Centre for Disease Control started releasing community health service area-level data. This means that instead of having only general West Vancouver data,

there’s data for the combined region of Bowen Island, Bowyer Island, Hutt Island, Passage Island, Brunswick Beach and Lions Bay. As of the 2016 census, this area had a population of 5,090 people.

There’ll be many Snug Cove residents raising a glass this week – a glass of clear, non-yellowy, water.

Cove Bay Water System’s new $9.3 million water treatment plant is set to come online later this week for the 600-odd connections in the water system.

This is a quiet launch with Bowen Island Municipality planning to hold a grand opening later in the summer.

Back in 2014, Vancouver Coastal Health informed BIM that the Cove Bay system treatment was susceptible to pathogen contamination and that it didn’t meet watershed protection requirements. (The Greater Vancouver Regional District also identified the need for Cove Bay water treatment in 1997.) This week, the new plant replaces a dilapidated shed a few hundred metres away from Grafton Lake – the Cove’s water source. Until now, water from the lake has gravity fed into the shed, had dirt and debris screened out, been injected with chlorine for disinfection and then has flowed its way to Covians’ taps. Chlorine can kill a lot, but there are still pathogens – like the diarrhea-causing Cryptosporidium parvum – that can slip through.

The province advises that people with compromised immune systems boil water from ground or surface sources that hasn’t been boiled, filtered, distilled or treated with UV. This ceramic membrane ultrafiltration system does away with any boiling need for Cove Bay, said BIM’s director of engineering, Patrick Graham.

In water systems, there’s ideally a double barrier – in this case filtration and disinfection (chlorination). In the new system, after the water’s fed from the lake through the filters, it’s chlorinated and pumped into the giant reservoir beside the building.

CONTINUED ON P. 3

Your private 4-acre park–with a hiking trail! Award winning design with heavy timbers and vaulted wood ceilings.

Oversize French doors open to a south-facing patio with a sports pool and hot tub. Three levels, 4 bedrooms, and 6 baths, plus 2 bedrooms in the cottage. Walking distance to the ferry, shopping, schools, and beaches.

527 COLLINS ROAD

CONTINUED ON P. 21

Live above the fray with captivating views from every room across the Queen Charlotte Channel. Very private and lovingly maintained. 4 bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths, 2-car garage, detached artist’s studio. Suite potential.

$4,489,000.

Timothy Rhodes REALTOR®

604-341-9488 rhodesonbowen.com tim@rhodesonbowen.com

722 CHANNELVIEW DRIVE

$2,213,000.

A2 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

RFP - Public Works Yard Design

2021 Property Tax

Events

Property tax notices will be mailed the last week of May, 2021. Property tax payments are due July 2, 2021.

May 25, 2021 6:15 pm Regular Council Meeting

Due to COVID-19, Council has amended the penalty schedule on late payments. A penalty of 2% will be applied on July 3, 2021 to any unpaid taxes, and a further penalty of 8% will be applied on September 1, 2021 to any unpaid taxes.

All meetings are online via Zoom and

open to the public, unless noted otherwise.

BIM has issued a REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL for Design for Service Yard Upgrades.

SUBMISSION CLOSING DATE & TIME 2:00 PM local time Tuesday, June 1, 2021

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/rfps-and-tenders

Island Plan 2021

Do you claim a home owner grant?

Help slow the spread of COVID-19:

From 2021, municipalities can no longer process home owner grants.

The Island Plan is an annual publication that outlines Council’s strategic commitments for the term. We invite you to peruse our priorities for 2021.

Claim your home owner grant on-line at gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant or call 1-888-355-2700.

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/reports-publications

Home owner grants must be claimed by July 2, 2021.

Unclaimed home owner grants are considered unpaid taxes and are subject to penalties.

Do you defer your taxes?

Since 2020, municipalities can no longer process deferments.

Stay home if you’re sick

Apply on-line at gov.bc.ca/propertytaxdeferment or call 1-888-355-2700.

Deferement applications and renewals must be processed by July 2, 2021 to avoid penalties. www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/property-taxes

Clean your hands frequently

BIM is looking for a temporary full-time Planner I to join our team immediately for a contract period of 8 months, covering a statutory leave. The position offers an opportunity for you to work on a variety of projects and The Bowen Island Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC) is excited initiatives relevant to guiding the growth and direction of a to announce an open call public art opportunity for the refurbished community-focused municipality.

Open call for artists: lock-block wall

2 m or 6 feet

Keep a safe physical distance

lock-block wall at the entrance to Bowen Island.

Commissions are supported by the Bowen Island Municipality through the Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC), as well as through a generous donation offered by Sangre de Fruta Botanical at Artisan Square.

Wear a mask in indoor public spaces

This program aims to foster artworks that define and express the spirit of place that is Bowen island.

Proposals should be submitted by 5 pm on June 1, 2021.

Register for a vaccine when it’s your turn

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/public-art-advisory-committee

Contact Bowen Island Municipality PAID ADVERTISEMENT May 20, 2021

Phone: Fax: Email: Website:

We’re hiring - Planner I Temporary full-time

604-947-4255 604-947-0193 bim@bimbc.ca

Bowen Island Municipal Hall 981 Artisan Lane Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G2

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday to Friday Closed statutory holidays

Reporting to the Manager of Planning and Development, the Planner 1 will process development applications and other related Planning applications; conduct preliminary research and analysis with regards to a future Land Use Bylaw update; provide support and research for Council Strategic Initiatives; develop material and support facilitation for community engagement; support Planning Technician inquiries regarding planning and building pre-application inquiries and building plan reviews; and provide excellent customer service to internal and external agencies and groups. www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/jobs

Find us on Facebook Bowen Island Municipality

Subscribe to our mailing list bowenislandmunicipality.ca/subscribe

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Bowen calls to RCMP down 10% but that’s less than in other jurisdictions & other 2020 stats BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor

Cpl. Adam Koehle of Bowen Island RCMP presented the year-end report for the island’s detachment, including statistics, at Bowen Island Municipality’s May 10 council meeting.

Here are some highlights: Canada Border Services has been on Bowen quite a bit for COVID enforcement, said Koehle. There have been a number of U.S. vessels in the area and RCMP have checked several U.S. or dual citizens, who’ve come to Bowen, for compliance with the quarantine act, he said in an email later. (Some home owners, some visitors.) Most people complied but there was one ticket issued for non-compliance, he said.

In 2019, the RCMP statistics reporting changed in the definition of “founded,” affecting how many assaults, sexual assaults and uttering threats are included in the stats. “Founded” now includes incidents where police determine a reported incident took place or where they found no credible evidence confirming the incident didn’t happen.

Bowen had two sexual assaults in 2020 reported in statistics, down from three in 2019. There was one “founded” sexual assault in each of 2017 and 2018 (pre-statistic change).

Domestic violence flags were stable in 2020 – six – the same as 2019. This is down from a peak in 2016 when statistics show 11 domestic violence flags.

Between 2018 and 2019 mental health flags jumped from 24 to 44. In 2020, there

were 43 mental health flags. “It’s been predominantly teens that I’ve noticed having significant mental health issues and requiring treatment,” Koehle said at the meeting. “That’s anecdotal. I don’t have statistics based on the age of the people and it’s just what we’ve seen locally. But there has been an increase due to the pandemic and due to some of the challenges associated to it.”

Koehle estimated – in an email to the Undercurrent – that half to two-thirds of the 43 flags in 2020 involved teens.

Assault reports have trended downward since 2016 – despite the “founded” change – with 14 reported in 2016 and eight reported in 2020.

Mischief to property and theft were down by more than half from 2019 (30 to 14 for mischief; 13 to five for theft).

But, fraud rose from four to 13. There’s a huge increase in telephone fraud, said Koehle. “Those scams don’t seem to be going away.”

While bike theft appears up in the statistics (four), two of those bikes were returned, said Koehle at the meeting.

While other jurisdictions saw significant drops in call volume due to COVID19, Bowen only had a 10 per cent drop in calls for service last year, despite the lack of visitors, said Koehle.

There were 45 charges laid in 2020, 27 charges in 2019, 59 in 2018 and a drop-off to 14 in 2017 and 13 in 2016. Koehle puts the increase in charges down to “diligent policework” rather than an increase in crime.

Read the entire report: bowenisland. civicweb.net/document/243704.

Can’t get enough of Bowen stories? The Undercurrent has a new weekend edition newsletter.

Start your Sundays by catching up with your community. We bring you just a little more context, a few more jokes, a lot more Bowen – sign up at bowenislandundercurrent.com/ account/mailinglist.

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A3

More Bowen-related COVID-19 details CONTINUED FROM P. 1

The data from last week showed that as of May 10 in the Bowen Island/Lions Bay area: • 59 per cent of all adults 18 and older have had their first dose of a vaccine.

• The percentage of residents with one dose rises to 84 per cent for those 55 and over.

For the week of May 4 through May 10 in the Bowen Island/Lions Bay area: • The average daily rate of new cases reported per population of 100,000 was 7.8.

• The change from the previous week in average daily case rate was 2.8.

• The test positivity rate was 9.6 per cent.

• The absolute change from the previous week in test positivity was 7.1 per cent.

Data analysis from Dave Pollard

Bowen’s Dave Pollard worked with epidemiologists as a data analyst after SARS-1.

He took last week’s BC CDC numbers and used them to compute the probable actual incidence of COVID-19 on Bowen: “Since we have about 3,800 people on Bowen, the BC CDC’s reported average daily new case rate of 7.8 per 100,000 for the Bowen/Lions Bay CHSA works out to an average of 2.0 new cases on Bowen per week. Research from the University of Washington’s IHME suggests that only about 53 per cent of actual B.C. cases are being reported (since many are asymptomatic), so actual new cases might be running closer to four per week on Bowen.

The Harvard Health guideline suggests those people may be contagious for up to two weeks.

“That four per week estimate is just an average, and because the disease spreads often in clusters, week-to-week fluctuations could be substantial. This data is by place of residence, by the way, so it does not include visitors who live off the island.

“B.C. is currently reporting about 3,500

new cases a week (as of May 17), so Bowen’s two per week represents only 0.057 per cent of the province’s total. If Bowen’s share of the province’s cases to date is the same 0.057 per cent, that would suggest that about 80 of B.C.’s 140,000 reported cases to date are Bowen Islanders. Including asymptomatic and unreported cases might increase that to about 150 Bowen Islanders (about four per cent of our residents) infected to date.”

Vaccination clinic May 29

Bowen Island will have its first vaccine clinic in more than a month on May 29 at BICS. As of last Sunday, everyone 18 and over in B.C. is eligible to book a vaccine appointment. News is to come as to when and how kids 12 and older can get the vaccine.

The Undercurrent has received questions asking if second shots will be available at the Bowen clinic. The answer is complicated. There’s an up to 16 week window between doses in B.C. If you are registered (getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca/s/ or call 1-833838-2323) you’ll be notified when you can book your second shot.

Register for your second shot

Even if you’ve received your first dose of the vaccine, you may not be registered for your second dose. Vancouver Costal Health advises that if you received your first dose of any COVID vaccine: • before the provincial booking system launched on April 6 (this is all of the Bowen Island clinics except the last one April 10); • as a health-care worker or priority frontline worker before May 3; • at a pharmacy; • in long-term care or assisted living; or • at a community outreach clinic in Whistler or Squamish, you need to ensure you’re registered to make sure you’re notified when you become eligible for the second dose.

out of the blue boutique 455 bowen trunk rd

A4 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

VIEWPOINTS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We need some island positivity DEAR EDITOR: What is happening on Bowen these days? Is it just the fact that COVID has had us immobilized for so long that our outlook on life has been negatively affected? Is is because we can’t speak face to face so our emotions just simmer until we get access to a keyboard?

This year, so far, we have lost the potential of having a gathering place, a farm, acres of waterfront access and an opportunity of having a first class retirement/ aging in place centre at the Cape.

We have gone through an exercise that has turned neighbours (and those who will never be affected) against each other because of an apple orchard and cidery.

This is just not the Bowen Way! The wonderful thing about Bowen is how passionate we are about our island. We may have different ideas about how we would like to see things done. All I ask is for you, not to agree with everyone, but to please respect your neighbours and their opinions.

We elected a municipal council that has finally had the opportunity to accomplish goals that previous councils were unable to do. We have finally done something with some of the surplus lands. We have land being developed for a much needed fire hall. A health centre is now on the immediate horizon. Bowen Island Resilient Community Housing (BIRCH) is able to see the land where new and exciting housing is going to be available. We finally have some rental housing being built on some of those surplus lands. We will have a community hall with meeting rooms, a performance centre, an efficient municipal hall accessi-

ble to all (including a gym that I’m not overly excited about since we do have a number of private gyms that could be run in cooperation with the recreation department but that’s just me) that will have access, parking and gathering spots. We have potable water distribution system that may, one day, reach all the way through Eaglecliff. We finally have the true start of a safe cross-island trail for pedestrians and bikers.

We now have an uproar against access to a rocky postage-stamp sized beach!

Bowen…let’s celebrate the positive. Get online and comment how wonderful our island community really is.

Sure there are things that you disagree with, but that is why we have such a huge gathering each November 11…to commemorate those who lost their lives to give us those freedoms. We have the freedom to disagree but once decisions have been made, just go with the solution and find something in those decisions that you can celebrate! In the surveys conducted a few years ago by the Economic Development Committee, the word community was the number one reason so many of us moved to and love this island.

Don’t let the last loudest (negative) voice to be heard. Celebrate the positive. Comment here in the Undercurrent and online in “everything else” about how awesome this island is. Don’t let negativity fill our eyes and ears. I for one, am so thankful we live here on Bowen during these troublesome times. Where better in Canada could we be? Positivity is so beneficial to your physical and especially your mental health.

Murray Atherton

EDITORIAL I’m finally booked to get my COVID-19 shot. I’m not sure if I’m numb to the excitement of the jab now that we’re two months into mass vaccinations or if I can’t quite believe it’s happening, but I didn’t feel the swell of relief I thought I would. Maybe when I’m actually sitting in the chair at BICS it’ll sink in?

I am relieved, however, that I can get my shot at BICS. I’ve long been concerned about the accessibility of the vaccine for Bowen Islanders, particularly Bowen Islanders who don’t drive. I hope that for second shots, Bowen Island has regular clinics.

There are certain compromises we make living on an island but having to pay for a taxi on the mainland (if you’re a vulnerable person and don’t want to take public transit) or even ferry car fare (which isn’t covered by the TAP program for vaccines), possibly taking time off work (no, the provincially guaranteed paid three hours isn’t enough time to make it to West Van Community Centre and back) while budgets are already critically strained, is gross. And inaccessible.

As publisher Peter says whenever an election rolls around, ‘We’ve got to make some noise or they’ll forget about us’ (I’m paraphrasing). Let’s not let them forget about us, Bowen.

Bronwyn Beairsto, editor

I saw some confusion about the Metro Vancouver indoor wood burning ban, the story on last week’s front page. So, for clarification, the phased bylaw adopted last year has four parts: 1. Already in place is a requirement for everyone in the region to follow best burning practices (see the Metro Van site). Bowen is included.

2. As of 2021, there’s no indoor wood burning allowed in the region between May 15 and Sept. 15.

This includes Bowen. BUT, there is an exception for off-grid homes outside of the urban containment boundary. (The Metro-designated boundary is where population and planned growth are generally concentrated. Areas outside of the boundary tend to be agricultural, conservation or rural lands. Bowen is outside of the boundary.) Homes that are wood heat only are also exempt from the indoor burning ban. In other words, wood burning is allowed in off-grid homes/those without other heat sources on Bowen. It’s not ok for everyone else on Bowen from May to Sept.

Phases three and four of the bylaw – coming into effect in 2022 and 2025 respectively – have to do with registering wood-burning appliances within the urban containment boundary. These don’t affect Bowen because we’re outside the boundary.

THE WRITE STUFF. The Undercurrent encourages reader participation in your community newspaper. You must include your full name and a daytime phone number (for verification only). The editor reserves the right to edit for clarity, legality, brevity and taste. Please try to limit to under 500 words. HERE’S HOW: To submit a letter to the editor, fax 604-947-0148 or mail it to #102, 495 Government Rd., PO Box 130, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0 or email editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com.

All Advertising and news copy content are copyright of the Undercurrent Newspaper. All editorial content submitted to the Undercurrent becomes the property of the publication.

The Undercurrent is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, art work and photographs.

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ISSN 7819-5040

National NewsMedia Council.

EDITOR Bronwyn Beairsto editor@bowenisland undercurrent.com

ADVERTISING Tracey Wait ads@bowenisland undercurrent.com

CARTOONIST Ron Woodall

PUBLISHER Peter Kvarnstrom publisher@bowenisland undercurrent.com 2011 CCNA

CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2011

SPECIAL THANK-YOU Audrey Grescoe

The Undercurrent is a member of the National NewsMedia Council of Canada, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please email editor@bowenislandundercurrent. com or call 604-947-2442.

If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A5

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

What if they held a public hearing and nobody came?

WHEN THE OCP WAS AMENDED TO ALLOW TUPS ACROSS THE ISLAND, NOT ONE WORD OF SUPPORT OR DISSENT WAS REGISTERED – WHY?

DEAR EDITOR: We are approaching the second COVID summer in a row and with it the usual seasonal slow-down in municipal politics. Whether this summer becomes as focussed on self-preservation as the last one remains to be seen. But it is fair to say that in 2020, as the pandemic was ramping up, Bowen Islanders turned very much to their own affairs rather than paying copious attention to municipal politics and decision making. How else could it be explained that not a single public comment was received as municipal staff, mayor and council initiated, drove and concluded a bylaw process that is the equivalent of an open-heart surgery on Bowen’s Official Community Plan (OCP). In less than five months bylaw 521 was approved, which amends policy 235 of the OCP to include a designation of the entire municipality as an area where temporary use permits (TUP) may be issued and to remove language requiring that a TUP be issued for a use that is “short-term or seasonal.”

A paradigm shift is defined as “an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way.” In other words, there’s a distinctive difference between the realities of the “before” and the “after.”

Bowen’s paradigm shift occurred during the public hearing on August 27, 2020. The last stop for public comments on the road to a new Bowen order. The video recording of the hearing is worth watching: (youtube.com/watch?v=CqTTPVkvfis). The eight-minute clip evokes the sense of desperation and loneliness portrait in low-budget sci-fi movies like John Carpenter’s Dark Star. Like the crew of the deteriorating starship Dark Star, the four attending council mem-

bers are alone in the vast and empty space of their municipal mission and it is heartbreaking when Acting Commander David Hocking calls three times “Is there anybody out there?” and the only reply is the deepening sound of silence.

In the “before,” the OCP considered TUPs “…as short-term or seasonal in nature and as long as they did not create an unacceptable negative impact upon the natural environment or the character of the neighbourhood…,” reasonable restraints that provided guidance and protection for the island’s neighbourhoods. However, in accordance with the Local Government Act, a municipality can only issue TUPs in formally designated areas. The 2011 OCP did not indicate specific areas. This omission surfaced in early 2020 during the heated controversy surrounding a TUP application for a school in a residential area. A solicitor, retained by opposing interests, notified BIM about substantial legal issues which rendered the school TUP unlawful.

In a knee-jerk reaction, staff, mayor and council went about to “fix this” (problem).

Did the band-aid solution go too far when the safeguards of “short-term and seasonal” were dismissed and all of Bowen Island was declared a designated area? By definition, TUPs suspend existing zoning restrictions and permit activities that may disrupt neighbourhoods for up to six years (an initial three-year term with the option for renewal) before proper rezoning must be considered. Does the soil of this quick-fix solution contain the seed of a new problem?

The fallout from bylaw No. 521 has already left one neighbourhood on Bowen deeply divided over the issue of a cidery. After a subjective discussion on the appropriateness of a cidery in the specific neighbourhood and a confusing debate over details of the planned operation council decided in favour of the TUP. The study of related staff reports, council meetings, votes and public input raises urgent questions of the adequacy of the TUP approval process. Has public input been appropriately considered and evaluated, or did it fall on deaf ears? And most troubling, is bias and arbitrary decision making the new normal?

We need a lock-block wall surgeon DEAR EDITOR: I am concerned about the blocklocked wall mural project as presented

by Bowen Island Public Art Advisory Committee. It is not my intention to present any objection in the pertinence of public art on Bowen but I would simply like to make a few practical points, one of them being safety.

I think we all agree that the wall is ugly or at least not attractive. Past councils attempted to find solutions to remedy the situation and in my mind they all failed.

• BICS kids mural was a cute idea that soon became tacky and was removed.

• The long mural mounted on some weather-treated plywood commissioned by a previous municipality only lasted a few years before it started to swell and the paint flaked off and it too was removed. It had also been “vandalized” by sharp objects dragged on its entire length.

• More recently the wall was painted and in my mind looked like a military training camp (but that is subjective) and paint soon started to peel off.

Now we are presented with the idea of artists painting on panels and I have

no doubt that rain, sun and vandals will be at work again and that once again no permanent solution would be found.

The other point I would like to make is about safety. The area is a passageway for people walking to or coming off the ferry. I have been concerned about the narrowness of the “path” for a long time.

Over the years, I have seen people coming off the ferry and running to catch a bus or a ride or simply being impatient with pedestrians walking slower than them and I have witnessed a few times people stepping over the concrete blocks dividing the path and the road. With vehicles unloading and driving at a fair speed, that was a very dangerous thing to do.

If pedestrians (visitors…) were to linger to look at the art works I think this situation would be even more dangerous.

I believe it would be time to stop applying “bandages” to the problem and to finally call a “surgeon” to take the ugly wall down, widen the path and build a permanent natural rock retaining wall and let nature do its thing.

Let’s not spend more money on temporary solutions and more importantly, let’s keep people safe.

Babette Deggan Island resident of 20 years

Digging deeper into the story of amending Bowen’s OCP in 2020, one is left wondering what went wrong. In 2020, public health orders imposed a range of restrictions encumbering traditional public participation initiatives that rely on in-person interactions such as public meetings, face-to-face council meetings and public hearings. The permission of e-participation presented new challenges to ensure a meaningful dialogue with the public, the cornerstone of sound, democratic decision-making.

What was the thought process of using a very broad brush to paint “TUP” all over the island without consideration of the existing diversity of zoning on Bowen? Was council aware of alternatives, and the trouble an island-wide rollout would bring to neighbourhoods?

Ultimately, why did council not show grave concern and reflect on the absence of public comments during the bylaw process? Ignoring the importance of inclusive engagement risks amplifying existing biases and results in ineffective planning.

To be clear, there were no formal omissions in informing the public about the bylaw No. 521 process. But only customary channels were used to ask for input from the public.

Was that enough? Surely, on Bowen, where everything from birds to bees, from docks to beaches causes a debate, an amendment of the valued OCP would cause some reaction from the community.

However, not a single word of support or dissent was registered on public records.

Did this atypical indifference of its citizens not strike anyone on council as unusual, or is it possible that Bowen’s elected officials were simply too Zoomed-out to notice? Or was the sound of silence the hoped-for answer as council moved and seconded a development agenda that – in normal times – would evoke an intense and inclusive debate?

Richard Wiefelspuett Property owner, Bowen Island

On behalf of Re Uniting Productions Inc, we are providing advance notice that a local Bowen Island Director, will be directing a low-budget feature film called Re:Uniting starring Bowen Island resident Michelle Harrison. We will be shooting from May 15th - May 31st.

During production times, you can expect: -

Proper Covid Safety Protocols will be in place including having our Covid Compliance Officer on set everyday and appropriate PPE. - Some scenes are being shot indoors or outdoors at our locations, minor lighting set ups, traffic control, some minor noise from crew communication, and parking considerations/placement.

We are thrilled to be contributing to the local economy by hiring locals where possible including lunch from local restaurants and working with artists and companies within the community.

The production company has all the necessary permits for this film shoot. Please note that the public is not permitted to visit the private location during filming.

Dr. Midge gave our little dog a new life after we were certain he was dying!

She is a rock star level veterinarian, human being and has wonderful staff too.

Taz is our tiny 10- pound Tasmanian moosehound.

Lenny Gagnon

We will be shooting at 2 private locations on Arbutus Point Rd, the marina (for one scene), a private residence on Berry Rd, a private residence near Tunstall Bay, the parking lot of The Little Red Church and The Bowen Island Golf Course.

The producers and municipal government recognize that there are sometimes inconveniences associated with a location shoot, but we are working hard to ensure that your day-to-day schedule is not disrupted.

Thank you. Your cooperation will help make this film shoot a success, and we hope that the love we’re feeling already from the community will continue to grow.

A6 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

OPINION

Creating belonging

WHY KIDS SHOULD PAINT THE LOCK-BLOCK WALL

EMILY VAN LIDTH DE JEUDE

The Nex̱ wlélex̱ m/Bowen Island lock-block wall, as it was once painted by local kids.

There’s been a small Facebook debate about what kind of mural should go on the lock-block retaining wall that acts as the de-facto welcome sign to our island. This is the plain concrete wall that, for generations, has welcomed commuting adults and teens, newcomers and old-timers as well as untold numbers of tourists. Sometimes it sports blackberries trailing down to catch on our shoulders, sometimes obscene graffiti, and almost always an assortment of hardy edible weeds in its crevices. But most noticeably, it’s a boring grey wall of lock-blocks.

Once this wall had a vast mural painted by local kids; another time a mural of the island and local information, painted with IPS students. Yet another time, the wall was the stage for a temporary piece of art by a local artist. For a few years, it’s been just a boring grey wall.

So now there’s a call for proposals from artists who would like to paint it and a debate about whether it should have been offered to the island’s children. I’m an artist; I’d love to have my work up in my community. But I’m going to champion kids’ art for this wall. I think the many benefits of a mural by local kids far outweigh those of a more polished “adult” mural.

One essential attribute of a healthy, sustainable community is that its children grow up with a sense of belonging; of acceptance in and responsibility for their community.

We care about things we feel ownership of.

Kids feel ownership of their artwork– espe-

cially artwork they designed, developed and then was displayed publicly in their community.

Why not just put their artwork on the fridge? Because it’s not the same as being given the respect of being welcomed to paint our most visible wall. Being welcomed by one’s community is, of course, the nature of the meaning of “home,” and we want our kids to feel at home. We want them to feel seen; to feel responsible; to feel that what they do makes an impact on their home and future. We have to give them that responsibility and trust them with it. Giving our trust engenders trustworthy behaviour.

Imagine how it feels to children who painted the wall, say, in grade five, to then walk past it twice every weekday as grade eight high schoolers. Some will tease each other about it; some will feel embarrassed, some will ignore it and some will feel a quiet or even loud sense of pride. Almost all of them will feel connection; belonging.

Maybe they’ll move away and come back to find their marks still here, a few years later.

As a parent and educator I’m horrified by how children are silenced in our culture. Their ideas and skills are unvalued, as they’re seen as “still developing” in the system that is meant to develop them. Have we forgotten the meaning of development? It means growth. Children are not vessels into which we dump our own ideas for 18 years and then trust to follow along like good little

Contributor

SINGNE PALMQUIST PHOTO

citizens. Children are growing people with their own ideas and skills and values and they learn from experience – experience like painting the most visible wall on our island.

Why can’t they paint the school walls?

Why does this painting have to make a visual chaos of our manicured community?

Because growth, development, and learning need chaos to thrive. It was the chaotic and random assortment of elements that evolved to become life. It was and is a chaotic assortment of peoples, places, climates and experiences that make humanity. It was the chaotic rambling experiments of toddlerhood that gave our children the chance to develop skills they now depend on, like language, social skills, gross motor skills and dexterity. They learned all of that from observing and experimenting, free-range, under our benevolent supervision. They didn’t learn them in a school, from textbooks. They learned them because they felt at home in their homes and made big messes and had big accidents. Our homes were chaotic. Now our kids are older, and it’s time for them to be out in their wider community.

We used to have an old cherry tree near the lock-block wall in the Cove. Kids would climb it and hang out there, waiting for their commuting parents to walk off the boat. But eventually someone injured himself falling out of the tree and then the tree was deemed too old, so was surrounded by fencing, off-limits to our kids. Now the area has been beautified as part of an effort to create

a more visually pleasing entrance to our community. There are all sorts of gorgeous plants there. I love them. But do the kids? Do they care about a tidy garden that they were expressly excluded from and forbidden to play in? I asked my kids. My daughter says, “It’s just another place you can’t go.”

How long before that garden is a dumping place for their litter and midnight beer cans because it was never something they cared about in the first place? We look after what matters to us.

Our children are part of our community and they are our community’s future.

Instead of being tucked away, seen and not heard, they need to feel they are part of it, so they can grow and thrive here, and we adults can look at a wall painted by them and feel proud that we are a community that raises children well. If we want our kids to grow into responsible adults who care about their home, then we need to make them a part of it, now.

I’ve managed a few kids’ murals in the past and am now an explorative learning/ education consultant, so have been asked to put in a proposal to manage a kids’ mural for this wall but unfortunately my health will not allow me to take on such a large project right now. I will heartily support anyone who has the ability to propose and manage such a project, though, and could make myself available for consulting on how to engage kids in designing and painting this space.

SAIL AWAY ON YOUR OWN PRIVATE SAILING ADVENTURE 1/2 day and full day sailing adventures in Beautiful Howe Sound, BC

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Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A7

Finding wellness in a pandemic Find Bowen’s new Seniors’Hub online MARY LETSON CHARTS HER PATH BACK TO HEALTHY HABITS

MARY LETSON

Contributor

Just in case you think health and wellness professionals have it all together all the time with their selfcare, I’m here to tell you that we can get it wrong too. I recently described to my Zoomed group strength class the pitfalls I’ve experienced balancing my health and wellness over the course of the pandemic. There were smiles and nods followed by a general sense of relief that I too was vulnerable to the vagaries of stress. I have found myself getting it wrong more often than not since the world shut down last March. When the pandemic hit I slid into some habits that were not necessarily healthy – like pouring a gin and tonic at 6 p.m. and turning on CBC radio to soak up all the bad news. Every night. The evening drink was then more regularly than not accompanied by perhaps a glass of wine along with a more caloric main course, and more often than not topped off with some devilish, homemade dessert. Like profiteroles. Choux pastry (so fun to make) filled with whip cream. Other people made sourdough. I made profiteroles.

Predictably, the shift in alcohol intake combined with a richer evening meal played havoc with my sleep (and waistline). As any menopausal woman will attest, bagging a solid uninterrupted sleep is a bit of an art form. Mess around with this balancing act and you are guaranteed to wake up at 4 a.m. staring at your clock, debating whether to just get up and start the day. The trajectory from here is predictable: the following day is sluggish as my system works harder to process the interrupted sleep, the whip cream and other accumulated no-nos. By 3 p.m., my energy dips and I’m craving a sweet with my cup of tea (a childhood family ritual that worked just fine when I was a carefree

eight-year-old sprinting around all day). A sweet is the last thing my body needs but I have it anyway. 6 p.m. arrives and the whole process starts again. Fortunately, through all this my drive to embrace fitness for both my business and my personal enjoyment has maintained its fervour throughout the pandemic. Everything else however was fraying at the edges and was messing with my overall sense of wellness.

I realized enough was enough. It was time to turn this ship around and focus the same coaching techniques I’ve used with great success over the years in my professional life on myself. I took a step back and sketched out what was working and what was not. I looked at the selfcare triptych of rest (sleep, restorative activities), fuel (nutrition) and expenditure (exercise) and penciled out a plan of how I could better support each of these areas throughout my day. I pegged small, manageable changes. I used an app to start tracking my fuel for accountability. I loaded the fridge with healthy snacks (hardboiled eggs, homemade hummus and bean dip, washed and cut carrots and celery) and tweaked my fuel intake. There was an immediate impact on my sleep quality, which in turn made for better energy the next day, reduced my coffee intake and reduced the 3 p.m. dip. The overall magic was a brighter head space, which in turn gave me a leg up on feeling in charge of my wellness. To support my restorative activities, I took up guitar lessons with Ellen MacIntosh and now have swapped out a gin and the 6 p.m. bad news cycle with the joy and focus of singing and practising guitar.

All of these small changes add up to a big wonderful shift and how I feel. The pre-pandemic Mary has resurfaced happier, healthier and better equipped to soldier on through this crazy world!

SUSAN MUNRO

Snug Cove House Society

We have some good news to report from the Snug Cove House Society. While we continue to work toward our vision of supportive seniors’ housing here on Bowen, we’ve in the meantime developed an online Seniors’ Hub. It can be found on both the Snug Cove House and Caring Circle websites: snugcovehouse.com and caringcircle.ca.

The Bowen Island Seniors’ Hub is a onestop information source for Bowen seniors and their families, friends, and caregivers.

The Seniors’ Hub is a directory of programs, practitioners, businesses and services serving Bowen seniors. The hub includes helpful information on health, housing, financial and legal issues, education, volunteer opportunities and much more. Relevant resources from the North Shore, Lower Mainland and provincial and federal governments are also included.

We’re planning to update the hub regularly; web information changes frequently, so we’ll be doing our best to ensure that we stay current.

Snug Cove House has partnered with the Caring Circle to deliver the hub. For ease of access, a link to the hub conveniently appears on both our websites. Snug Cove House is tremendously grateful to the Caring Circle staff and board for their support.

The Seniors’ Hub arose from ideas from Carol MacKinnon and the late Ida Goodreau. We’re grateful to Jordyn Zirk, Sue Ritchie, and Denise Lawson for their good work on this project. Many thanks also to the Bowen Island Community Foundation for funding the Seniors’ Hub; this reflects the foundation’s commitment to seniors as part of a vital and sustainable community.

This is an important time for the Snug Cove House Society; watch your mailboxes, the Undercurrent, and our website for more news and information about our plans over the next few weeks.

NOW THAT YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR PARENT’S PLACE,

GO AS FAR AS YOU CAN

There’s over $20,000 in Scholarship and Bursary funding available for university, college, and trade school students.

DEADLINE: JULY 5, 2021, 11:59pm. bowenfoundation.com/grants/ scholarship-and-bursary-application/

A8 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

OPINION

The measuring tape of life ROB WYNEN’S MUSINGS ON TURNING 50: ‘YOU BETTER GET TO IT’

ROB WYNEN

Contributor

We all have activities on our back burner we want to get to, when time permits. For me it is getting back into photography, a hobby I was into while in university that got sidetracked when everything went digital. While I have bought a decent digital camera, its usefulness outside of holding up a stack of books is limited. With a full time job, long commutes, my council duties and keeping our gardens from going back to the wilds, time just doesn’t seem to allow for it now. I relayed this to Bob on the ferry a while back who proceeded to pull out a measuring tape, I wasn’t going to ask him why he carries a measuring tape with him. How old do you think you are going to be before you wind up in the memorial garden he asks. 85, I say. Bob proceeds to extend the measuring tape out to 85 inches and asks me to point to where I am at now, I just turned 50 last week.

It was an instant visual representation of how short life is. The mes-

sage, you better get to it.

It is something most of us who have crossed the over the hill mark can relate to, as with skiing, going down is much faster than the up journey. Time flies and before you know it you begin to wonder where it all went. It is so easy to just put yourself in cruise control, let the days role by. A client of mine, Peter, in his early 80s remarked on how easy it is to not appreciate the everyday moments of life, to not appreciate the things we do on a day to day basis. It is so easy not to have the awareness and give into the daily grind. Peter showed me how he avoids getting into this mindset. He pulled out a small note book where he writes down some simple events of the day, and scores them on a scale from one to 10, with 10 being an incredible day and one being a day he would rather forget. I didn’t see any ones or 10s, which is to be expected, life rarely shifts from despair to fireworks, but there were lots of sevens and eights – not bad – but days that are easy to forget if you are not paying attention. Peter also had a habit of planning something new

for the next day, what a great way to break up the monotony of life.

It also focused him to not get into worrisome, non-productive, anxiety producing thought patterns.

I was recently sitting in my woodshed overlooking our garden, my cat was playing with some poor critter and our rooster was cockling away at full volume and here I was thinking about some Telus bill that I still needed to get sorted out. If you had asked me for my most desirable scenario on Bowen, I pretty much was living it yet here ROB WYNEN PHOTO I was thinking about a most incon- The life-sized mannequin of Abraham at the Wynen house. It’s a Dutch sequential task, not enjoying what tradition that the family puts a mannequin in front of the house to indicate I had right in front of me. How did the 50th birthday.

I let my brain get here and how do I get off of this brain wave. If when we have it so good. Living in esting experience. My Facebook this beautiful moment can’t get the moment seems like the right ads have changed significantly, me into the moment, what will? thing to do, but can be challeng- hair loss products, early retirement I sometimes wonder if we have ing. Worrying about the future can plans and electric vs push pedal a worry centre in our brain that often creep in, even when we can’t bikes now jump out at me when just needs to be fed. At least it was do anything about it in the present. searching social media. Seniors only an irritating phone bill, my It requires trust that we will be able no longer say, “oh you’re still so problems could be much worse. to handle it when it needs to be young.” I get a lot more, “welcome The problem of course is when handled. As the saying goes, you to the club.” In my Dutch culture, this worry centre becomes too can only see as far as your front 50 marks a turning point in a man’s big, starts to eat away at our other headlight, but trust that you can life that is symbolized by the figure thoughts and begins to occupy too make the entire journey that way.

Abraham, a sign of becoming wise. much of our day to day lives, even Turning 50 has been an inter- We’ll see if that happens.

ZOOM THROUGH TIME! Virtual Exhibits and Open House

Wednesday, June 2nd | 7-8 pm A menagerie of online exhibits from the arts and individuals & societies curriculums.

JOIN US ONLINE

islandpacific.org/events

Patient of the Week OAKLEY Meet Oakley. Oakley is a senior girl who has visited us for a few reasons recently. With

REGULAR HOURS Tuesday to Friday 9- 5 Saturday 9- 1 Closed Sunday and Monday

our senior animals, regular vet checks are super important as it allows us to keep on top of their health as they enter their

LEARNING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. INSPIRED TO MAKE WAVES.

golden years.

To schedule appointments, please call

604.947.9247

or email reception@bowenvet.com

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A9

• SUMMER 2021 •

BOWEN ISLAND REAL ESTATE GUIDE • WHAT SOLD WHAT’S NEXT

564 Holdings Road

564 Holdings Road 564 Holdings Road is a modern timber frame walk out waterfront retreat. Spectacular 270 degree unobstructed coastal views and luxurious finishing come together in this inspiring work of form and beauty.

$5,850,000 FRANCES FROST & FELICITY BUSKARD • bowenislandrealestate.info • RE/MAX Crest Realty - Bowen Island

604.947.9090

A10 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

67568.pdf The file is missing!

Hobby farm haven! 3 bed 2 bath 2.02 acres

Boat access 0.69 acre waterfront lot

Boat access 0.51 acre waterfront lot

1379 MOUNT GARDNER ROAD NEW PRICE $1,199,000

1280 WATERFRONT $319,000

1268 WATERFRONT $319,000

JUST LISTED

118 private acres to build your dreams!

SW low bank waterfront 9.88 acre lot - priced below assessed value

3 bed 2 bath + suite + separate studio

SL 19 SMUGGLERS COVE ROAD $2,331,000

1820 CAPE DRIVE $3,580,000

1222 Miller $1,249,000

JUST LISTED

JUST LISTED

SOLDS FOR 2021 SO FAR

Rare west side water view acreage!

Private 23561.978 Sq ft acreage, drilled well, view potential!

1724 Bowen Bay $1,699,000

SL 6 Grafton road $1,065,000

FRANCES FROST & FELICITY BUSKARD

892 SCHOONER LANE 413 CARDENA DRIVE 1353 MOUNT GARDNER ROAD 962 WINDJAMMER ROAD 1139 LENORA ROAD 1317 HILLCREST ROAD 211 HIGHLAND TRAIL 1141 LENORA ROAD 971 SEAVIEW PLACE 427 CARDENA DRIVE 1234 OCEANVIEW ROAD 1117 MILLER ROAD 1604 WHITE SAILS DRIVE 1006 COWAN POINT DRIVE

MLS R2477935 MLS R2517330 MLS R2568085 MLS R2511744 MLS R2559811 MLS R2573867 MLS R2528272 MLS R2535181 MLS R2522392 MLS R2580402 MLS R2574349 MLS R2535084 MLS R2540510 MLS R2512227

bowenislandrealestate.info • 604.947.9090 RE/MAX Crest Realty - Bowen Island

2016/17/19

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Remainder DL 3042 • $2,999,000

1542 Whitesails Drive • $926,000 This sunny Whitesails home is a fantastic opportunity for buyers looking to get into the Bowen market. One bedroom up, and three down, with an ocean view from the deck off the living room, and a large flex room for an office or hobby room. Outside, the yard is a blank canvas ready for your landscaping ideas.

47 acres of bare land in Bluewater. Subdivision/ development potential, or could be an exceptional private forest estate. Features view points and trails, and close to Clipper and Crayola Beaches, as well as trails up and around Mount Gardner.

279 Jason Road • $499,000

949 Arbutus Bay Lane • $4,190,000 This exceptional and exclusive 1.45 acre estate is a rare opportunity.

The home is a 5725 sf marvel that features an exquisite living room with stunning beams and a high vaulted ceiling, four bedrooms, home theatre, covered/heated outdoor dining, a chef’s kitchen, and a southern ocean view. Additional office/conference room sits above one of the double garages, and a two bedroom guest suite rests above the other.

This 1/3rd acre building lot is largely flat, close to the Cove, very private, and within quick walking distance of Miller’s Landing Beach. Views of the North Shore Mountains to the east, and a filtered view of the ocean to the south. Plenty of room for gardens, and in a great family neighbourhood.

Frazer’s Recent Sales

207-726A Belterra Road

202 Highland Trail

1353 Mt Gardner Road

808 Valhalla Place

1271 Scarborough Road

1681 Whitesails Drive

FRAZER ELLIOTT Realtor®

604.910.3401

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A11

COMING SOON!

Specializing in BOWEN ISLAND and HOWE SOUND

felliottbowen@gmail.com | bowenhomes.ca Top 10% of Realtors in the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

2020

A12 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

1.8 Acres

Personal Real Estate Corporation

Just SOLD on Bowen by Whittall Real Estate Team

1429 Eagle Cliff Road

496 Spyglass Road

With limited supply of active listings on Bowen Island, now is the time to list and take advantage of our LISTING INCENTIVE! Touch base with us for a free market evaluation.

Kim Coy Whittall: (604) 720-3659 Sean Whittall: (604) 880-9400 www.WhittallRealEstate.com The strength of teamwork... the reputation for results.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Enthusiastic.

Responsive.

Personable.

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A13

Knowledgeable.

“Mary Lynn was referred to me by a friend and she had her work cut out for her as I was a reluctant seller as I was selling due to a change in my personal situation.

After following all of Mary Lynn’s recommendations and seeing the finished product, I was so impressed that if I didn’t already own the home, I would have been interested in it myself.

buyonbowen.com

Her communication was excellent as she kept me informed at each step of the procedure as to what was going on and what to expect. Mary Lynn’s marketing skills resulted in an offer that far exceeded my expectations.

2020 AWARD of EXCELLENCE in sales

I would recommend Mary Lynn to anyone who is interested in buying or selling property on Bowen”.

-D. K.

971 Seaview Place

202 Highland Trail

$929,000

SOLD

SOLD

Buyer’s Agent

$1,950,000

427 Cardena Drive

207-726A Belterra Road

$449,000

AVAiLABLE 0.54 acres •

SOLD

Buyer’s Agent

One of the last buildable lots in Valhalla Estates

921 Valhalla Place

604.220.7085

•

$875,000

Easy access with flat driveway in place • Excellent sun exposure all day

SOLD Buyer’s Agent

1455 Tunstall Boulevard

$299,900

$1,699,000

SOLD

Buyer’s Agent

A14 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

/ '8<&'?$; 3"+&&+ 8$ !&"' =)A"A& :") 4+?@;:A %& )? %@3: ,?6 8$ "))8)A8$; ?A:&+) 98A: 4@68$; "$( )&''8$; " :?%&2 #"))8?$"A&> *$?9'&(;&"4'& "$( &738A&( A? 4& " 5"+A ?< 6?@+ ,?@+$&6 9:&A:&+ 8A-) " <8+)A A8%& 5@+3:")& ?+ " <8$"' (?9$)8.&2 01% :&+& A? ;@8(& 6?@ A:+?@;: A:& %"+*&A> &(@3"A& 6?@ ?$ A:& 5+?3&)) )? A:"A 6?@ <&&' &%5?9&+&( A? %"*& 8$<?+%&( (&38)8?$)2

ANGIE KIRK

6 0 4 - 9 1 6 - 3 4 2 9

www.angiekirkrealestate.com

One of Vancouver’s Top Performing Realtors is now based on Bowen.

BOWEN ISLAND SPECIALISTS! QUALITY SERVICE GUARANTEED! Short on Space? Call our Place!

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bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A15

Record setting pace on Bowen Island continues

The island is losing its reputation as one of Metro’s more affordable municipalities

YoY at 30 April

CChange YoY

+42.8%

t i ti COVID-19 Restrictions

1 400k

TIMOTHY RHODES Contributor

1 200k 1 100k

+30.3% +45.6%

1 000k

900k

03-21

01-21

09-20

Average Sold Price - Month of April Bowen Island $1,262,430 $ 870,429 $ 873,750

YoY: Year-over-Year represents previous 12 months activity.

2 https://www.rebgv.ca/content/rebgv/en/MarketingInformation-and-Statistics/residential-statistics/mediastats-package.html 3 https://www.bcrea.bc.ca/economics/bcrea-2021-secondquarter-housing-forecastprovincial-housing-market-on-arecord-setting-pace/

1

Timothy Rhodes, REALTOR® rhodesonbowen.com Angell Hasman & Associates Realty Ltd. MLS® detached home data only. Data source © 2021 Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. Data deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

07-20

05-20

03-20

01-20

11-19

09-19

07-19

05-19

03-19

01-19

11-18

09-18

07-18

05-18

800k

11-20

Average Sale Median Sale MLS® HPI

months and could balance out over the second half of this year.”3 The increase in the mortgage stress test to 5.25 per cent in June is not expected to have a dramatic impact. With the continued low inventory on Bowen, the seller’s market continues.

Average Sold Price - YoY $1,410,790 $ 987,677 $ 1,073,443 0

250k

Carmen Dives

Percentage Change YoY MLS® Home Price Index 2020-21

Highest

2019-20

Highest

2018-19

2018-21

Highest

Highest 5.5%

Burnaby

COVID 19 R

1 300k

The benchmark price for Bowen Island increased 45.6 per cent YoY1 and 7.9 per cent MoM to $1,359,800—more than double that for Metro Vancouver where the benchmark price increased 20.9 per cent YoY and 3.2 per cent MoM to $1,755,500.

As Bowen real estate becomes increasingly more expensive, the island is losing its reputation as one of the more ‘affordable’ municipalities in Metro. Traditionally in the 20 per cent of municipalities with the lowest benchmark prices, Bowen is now in the middle of the pack with an MLS® HPI® of $1.36 million, within $60,000 of the mean HPI of $1.42 million for Metro municipalities.

“Record low interest rates, increased household savings, a strengthening economy and a continued focus on living space during the pandemic are all factors that are helping to bolster demand while steady price growth is encouraging more sellers to list their homes”2 (Keith Stewart, REBGV’s economist) While the current market is exciting for sellers, buyers are being caught in multiple offer situations, and the sale of detached homes is exacerbating the decades-long difficulty of finding rental accommodation on Bowen.

“However, there are early signs that markets are calming from the frenetic pace of recent

Metro Vancouver

MLS® HPI vs Average Sale vs Median Sale

500k

750k

1 000k

1 250k

3.1%

Richmond West Van

-1.0%

Vancouver

1.7%

New Westminster

7.9%

Coquitlam

13.3%

North Vancouver

10.5%

White Rock

13.4%

Lions Bay

19.3%

Pitt Meadows

23.6%

Port Moody

20.1%

Surrey

26.9%

Port Coquitlam

20.4%

Langley

28.4%

Langley City

24.1%

North Deta

27.8%

Maple Ridge

26.5%

Belcarra

34.2%

Anmore

24.4%

Bowen Island

37.0%

 2021  2020  2019

0

25

50

carmendives@gmail.com

www.bowenislandproperties.com

604-802-8267 JUST LISTED

946 WINDJAMMER ROAD $949,000

We have been working with Carmen for a while to find and buy our first home. Carmen was thoroughly engaged for the whole time, working tirelessly even while we were saving for our down payment and not yet in a position to buy. By the time we had the money to seriously look Carmen had houses lined up for us to see.

It is impossible to work with Carmen without being charmed by her enthusiasm and work ethic. She was always responsive to calls and texts. She was always cheerful and clearly well connected with the housing market. She knew what houses were coming onto the market and shared that information with us so we were always “in the loop” to jump on new listings. She has good relationships with other real estate agents which helped in price negotiations. She recommended excellent inspectors and an amazing mortgage broker.

Our family can’t recommend Carmen enough. She puts you first, is professional and well connected, and always delightful. We would never have found and closed on my our house without her.

1410 MOUNT GARDNER ROAD $1,425,000

Dennis, Adrienne, and family.

RECENT SOLDS

SOLD 340 CREEK ROAD

SOLD 1271 SCARBOROUGH

I am super happy to introduce Adrienne, Dennis and their family to our wonderful community. Adrienne is a High School Teacher and Dennis is a Lawyer that will raise their three lovely daughters on Bowen. Please say Hi! to them when you see them out and about.

Thank you Dennis and Adrienne for being such a pleasure to work with.

Carmen :)

A16 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Swiming around Bowen (sort of)

The little car choir that could

DETAILS OF SWIMBOWEN’S 2021 UNEVENT

MARY LETSON

SwimBowen

JANE KELLETT

Bowen Island Community Choir

What a difference a year makes!

It was over 14 months ago that the NBA and NHL teams stopped playing and the Bowen Island Community Choir held its last rehearsal. But like the professional sports teams and many other organizations, the Community Choir found a work around, and we were able to sing together in spite of the pandemic. And no, we didn’t have to quarantine in special bubbles, rather we used technology to enable us to sing as a choir.

Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime and other apps are great tools for communicating but they have a major drawback in that there is a lag time for sound. This is not important during conversations but it makes it impossible to make music together. The choir board with musical director Ellen MacIntosh looked at all sorts of options but nothing worked until late last fall when Cheryl Hutton heard of a technique using an FM transmitter, microphones and car stereos.

ELLEN MACINTOSH PHOTO

B.I. Community Choir held a ‘concert’ May 8 with the help of an FM transmitter, some dedicated volunteers and a whole lot of creativity.

We tried it and the Bowen Island Community Car Choir was born.

Since January, a group of 20 choir members have been enjoying singing together while safely distanced and following all of the B.C. health orders. It was not an easy process to get everything in place. Not only did we need to arrange for the equipment for our rehearsals and our concert, we needed to be prepared to re-schedule due to the vagaries of March weather. Electronics and rain do not work well together.

But we persevered. The choir held weekly Zoom practices with Ellen where we were all muted except Ellen, and then we had a couple of rehearsals in our cars. For the car rehearsals, we were accompanied by Sheilagh Sparks and for many of us, isolated in our cars having Sheilagh playing while Ellen directed was almost like being back in Cates Chapel.

All this work culminated in a “concert” on May 8 where a small

invited audience tuned in to the FM channel on their car radios to hear the results of our work. What a joy it was to sing together! And for our finale, we were joined for two songs

by Bowen’s own Maggie Davidson accompanied by Marc Gawthrop. It was truly a lot of fun.

As always after events, thanks need to be given. We would have been lost without Doug Fleetham who oversaw the sound board, mixing and ensuring that all our mics were live for all the rehearsals and concert. And we were fortunate to be able to use the Tir-na-nOg Theatre School parking lot.

A special thanks to Ellen who maintained her positive demeanour even during the Zoom rehearsals and to all the volunteers who made it happen. And finally thanks to the choir members who were willing to try out this new way of singing together. We truly did become, as Ellen said, “The little choir that could.”

WherReK

O W u o Y e c n e r e f if D a s e k a M

I started my swim training this week with easy laps back and forth across Bowen Bay. As always, it’s taken extra focus to get my swim habit train out of the station, squeeze into my wetsuit (a workout in itself) and submerge into the cool saltiness of our Salish Sea. But as always, the moment I drop into the rhythmic pattern of reach, pull, roll, exhale – I feel at ease. It’s like coming home. I flip onto my back after each lap to rest, surrendering briefly to the gentle roll of the waves and the perfect arch of sky. 1.5 km down, 30.5 km to go!

A full, in-person swim event is again not possible this summer.

However, we are undeterred. We will keep the SwimBowen and Cancer Care Fund fires burning with this year’s Unevent epic goal to swim a total of 32 km (the distance around Bowen) over the course of the summer. The swims will be in random areas around Bowen (for me mostly Bowen Bay ‘cause it’s across the street) with every swim distance recorded throughout the summer until we have reached 32 km. To be clear, we are not actually circumnavigating Bowen,

however we will log the same distance as if we had!

Inspired? Share your swim stories and be entered to win some cool SwimBowen swag. Email us a photo along with a description of what lights you up about your ocean swimming. What gets you in the water? Where’s your favourite place to swim? What’s your favourite workout? We can’t wait to hear from you.

The SwimBowen Society’s mission is to support Bowen Island residents enduring the fulltime work of cancer treatment. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, donors and participants, to date the Cancer Care Fund has gifted an incredible $34,500 to Bowen Islanders enduring the much more epic work of getting through cancer treatment. Swimming 32 km is a swim in the park in comparison.

Love what we do? You can support SwimBowen Society’s Cancer Care Fund with an online donation. Want to sponsor SwimBowen’s goal to bag Bowen’s circumnavigation between now and Sept. 1? Note in the comments section of your online donation who you are sponsoring to swim 32 km!

Contact: swimbowensociety@ gmail.com.

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bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A17

Looking for adventure on Bowen this summer? Look no further! We’re excited to announce four weeks of day camp this summer at Camp Bow-Isle. Get your kids outside with activities like archery, rock climbing, kayaking, canoeing, crafting, hiking, fun games and more.

Session dates Week 1: June 21 - 25 Week 2: June 28 - July 2 Week 3: July 5 - 9 Week 4: July 12 - 16 ($400 per week) These day camp programs are open for kids ages 7-15 years old. Each session will run from Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Head over to our website to be notified when registration is open. www.bowisle.ca/outdoor-centre/ outdoorcentre@bowisle.ca 604 947 2500 Interested in rentals/private events? Give us a call!

Delivered to your island mailbox every THURSDAY for $55 per year 604-947-2442 ads@bowenislandundercurrent.com

$85 to off-island addresses

Thank you for your support of local journalism now and always.

A18 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

On the wild side

MEET YOUR SHY NEIGHBOUR, THE ENSATINA SALAMANDER

LOUISE LOIK

Contributor

It was 11 p.m. on a moonless night. With spring in the air, the chorus of Northern red-legged frogs calling from a nearby pond was intermittent but loud. I was accompanying a researcher who was documenting the location, quantity and variety of frog calls all over Bowen. We drove slowly, stopping frequently so that she could get out of the car and disappear off in the direction of the calls.

I always enjoyed these evening forays around the island. For many of us, there’s something mesmerizing about a frog chorus. We notice the sounds of the frogs, and we see the frogs, but what you may not realize, is that frogs are not the only amphibians that share this island home. Nearby are quiet cousins.

With the data collection done for the night, I turned the car back down the dead-end street and crept the car along at a walking pace for any last minute research.

As slow as I’d been going, my sharp-eyed passenger stopped me within a tail length of an almost translucent little creature on the road. We jumped out of the car.

While there is protocol regarding the handling of amphibians so as not to spread disease to them, this one was at risk of being run over.

It walked gently onto my hand, a perfect match in size between my hand and its full body length. We marvelled at the delicate Oregon ensatina salamander.

Unlike the nearby frogs, this amphibian was not a semi-aquatic species, but a forest-dweller who, like so many creatures that hide in our forests, is rarely seen. They

vanish from sight under decaying leaves, bark and fallen trees; venturing out only after the bright daylight has slipped away.

It’s the dampness of the forest floor and decaying plants that allows the lungless ensatina to absorb oxygen through its skin.

The damper and rainier, the more likely it is to come out on the surface without risk of its skin drying or freezing. The more extreme the heat or cold, the deeper these soft-skinned animals dig into the depths of the soft forest floor for protection.

Finding an ensatina on the road was a surprise. They prefer cover, and are sensitive to disturbances, like the knocking over of their log, or the raking up of leaves that provide protection. They will venture out from debris, mostly in the evening to munch on a variety of insects and tend not to travel far.

Adapted to dark conditions, their eyes are bulgy and big, while their bark-coloured skin helps them go undetected against leaves and twigs. This one was almost undetected because of the darkness.

The animal now looked around at the situation and reached out with long toes and long legs, intending to be on its way.

Seemingly unthreatened, it wasn’t excreting poison, which comes from parotid glands behind its head or from an the area on its tail. Nor was it arching its tail, trying to look threatening to any perceived threat. The tail in this salamander is distinctive, with a constriction at the base of the tail.

Another survival strategy to distract predators is to drop the tail.

It’s a desperate measure as the tail holds fat reserves to get the sala-

Get to know your neighbour NEXT IN OUR Q&A SERIES: JACKIE BRADLEY

Meet your neighbour: Jackie Bradley When did you come to Bowen? My husband, Phil and I bought land here in 1988. We were living on a boat in Vancouver at the time. We built a small home on the land in 1993 and spent most weekends and big chunks of summer here. We moved here full-time in 2004.

How did you come to be on Bowen? After living on the boat for many years we realized we wouldn’t always want to live on the water, so we decided we needed to invest in some land. I really wanted to live outside of the city in a more rural environment and Phil wanted to be close to the ocean. We looked at land on the Sunshine Coast and decided to also have

CHANTAL UNDERDOWN PHOTO

Ensatina salamanders prefer cover. They’re sensitive to disturbances: logs knocking over; leaves getting raked.

mander through the winter. If the tail drops in the fall, the loss of the fat stores is more harmful but the tail will regrow.

The salamander on the road may have been wandering in search of a mate. Like birds, our ensatinas lay eggs, an average of eight to ten that hatch in spring.

The females curl up around their eggs, guarding the pebble-sized spheres through to hatching for three to five months, taking breaks to feed until the young hatch at the end of summer. The offspring are a miniature version of the terrestrial parents.

There is a wide variety of ensatinas along the coast and slightly inland, but only the Ensatina eschscholtzii oregonensis is found on Bowen. It is vulnerable to people moving the logs and leaves and mulch under which they live.

They can be squished by heavy feet and hurt by sharp claws of pets that hunt, run through or dig in the forest, and by pesticides, herbicides, and anything that also harms the insects and insect habitat that hosts their prey.

The first time I saw an ensatina was in a partially developed

a look at Bowen Island. From the moment we drove onto and across Bowen Island, I knew this was the place I wanted to live. I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt like the land was saying to me, you belong here.

Where on Bowen Island do you live? We live on Adams Road a bit before you get to Bowen Bay Road.

Fill the ferry lineup gap or don’t fill the gap?

Definitely fill the gap as long as the lineup is not anywhere near the cut-off point.

What’s your favourite Bowen fact or story?

I don’t really have a Bowen fact or story, but what I love about Bowen is the land and the people. The land is so alive and many, many people are generous, kind, interesting and want to respect the land.

What’s your favourite COVID-19 balm or activity (aka what’s keeping you going during COVID)? Being part of BIFS (Bowen Island FoodResilience Society) and working at the Grafton Agricultural Commons. I love it that I get to be outdoors with other like-minded people. Even though we aren’t too physically

area with small single lane roads.

I peeked under a fallen log and thought that I was looking at some worms. Wonderfully, I realized I was looking at two small salamanders, sleeping together.

I quickly covered them back up before they had a chance to awaken. Unfortunately that habitat has since been blasted with explosives to make room for development.

On the west side of the island, where many types of amphibians could be previously heard and found easily, developers are clearing swaths of forest for roads and paths. Densification is taking its toll on species in ways that we may never know. While it’s true that new trees can grow around the edges of house lots and along streets, for the ensatinas curled up around their eggs, sleeping, or hiding under debris, dropping a tail doesn’t protect them from a bulldozer or tires.

What we can do:

Find ways to protect habitat.

Refrain from using herbicides and pesticides that kill the food required by amphibians. Refrain from using dirt bikes and ATVs,

PHOTO COURTESY OF RABIA WILCOX

and other things that damage the soft forest floor and mulched trails and instead find recreation on hard-packed gravel paths outside of the forest. Avoid going off-trail in the forest. Don’t let your pets dig after ground-dwelling species and try not to disturb rotting logs in the undergrowth.

Generally do what you can to reduce your footprint. Don’t release non-native animals into the wild and don’t dump fish tanks or tanks from pet-shop amphibians that could contain pathogens into the outdoors.

As a landowner developing one or multiple properties, consider leaving untouched forest as much as possible. Habitat loss is the biggest threat to island biodiversity.

Let tree branches, logs and leaves remain in the ecosystem following a cycle of decay and replenishment of the earth.

Though found commonly along the B.C. Coast, Vancouver Island and down to California, for the ensatina on this island, unlike its mainland cousins with more unconstrained territory, there is no genetic inflow to keep our native species replenished.

COURTESY OF ELLEN MACINTOSH

Sheilagh Sparks accompanies and Ellen close, it is such a life affirming experience. I MacIntosh conducts Bowen Island Community Car Choir May 8 in the Tirfeel extremely lucky. na-nOg lot. Story p. 16.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A19

Golf is for all ages: three to 93 LESSONS START UP AGAIN AT B.I. GOLF CLUB

CLIVE SCARFF

Teaching professional / B.I. Golf Club

As golf lessons start up again at Bowen Island Golf Club I am again getting the very common (and understandable) question, “How young is too young?” for golf lessons.

My pat answer is I teach all ages from three to 93 (the 94 year olds are too grumpy). In all seriousness the youngest student I taught last summer was indeed three years old.

And did better than two of the five year olds in his group.

A common follow-up question is, “What can you teach a three year old in golf?” And my answer is always the same. “To love the game.” At the end of the day golf is a game that involves hitting a ball with a stick, and what child does not love hitting a ball with a stick? Better yet, golf teaches kids to hit a ball with a stick, with some decorum!

My first introduction to golf was my dad taking me to a driving range at a private club only to be kicked off the range because I was too young. Not a great introduction to the game and I am so relieved that experience alone did not drive me away from golf.

Teaching young kids the game of golf is all about making the experience fun while, at the very same time, teaching them some

good habits. Like don’t hit people with the stick. Fun stuff like that.

We have always had a very good junior program at Bowen Island Golf Club and it is even better now that kids play for free. Yes, not a typo - Bronwyn would have caught it. Kids play for free. The goal is simple: to introduce the game of golf to as many kids as possible. It is good for the kids, and the course as well, as kids who play golf become adults who play golf. We have adults now at Bowen Island Golf Club who were just kids when I first started giving them golf lessons. A couple of them have even been Club Champions. Not Junior Club Champions.

Club Champions. And on top of kids playing for free, junior lessons are half price.

Golf is a rare game in that kids who play the game, can play with parents who play the game. And grandparents who play the game. I cannot think of another sport in the world so conducive to full family involvement. At home here on Bowen, or on travels all over the world. Remember travels? The moral of the story is there is no “too young” to learn the game of golf. Just keep those 94 year olds away from me.

For more information or to sign up for lessons, contact: clive@clivescarff.com.

Bowfest is virtual again this year Bowfest is going virtual again this year due to the continued challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bowfest Committee is planning a virtual concert and other fun online events again on the traditional date for this end-of-summer celebration, Saturday, August 28.

Bowfest would like to thank all the sponsors, partners, businesses, bands, organizations and participants who help make

Bowfest such a wonderful, memorable, creative and heart-warming experience each year. Bowen Island is an amazing community to be part of and we look forward to getting together to celebrate on the Bowfest field on August 27, 2022!

Look for details about the Bowfest celebration on Facebook, Instagram and in the Undercurrent in the coming weeks.

Joan Vyner, Bowfest committee co-chair

PATRICK WEILER MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR WEST VANCOUVER-SUNSHINE COAST-SEA TO SKY COUNTRY

@PatrickBWeiler

Happy Victoria Day patrick.weiler@parl.gc.ca Tel.: 604-913-2660 Fax.: 604-913-2664

Hello Bowen Islander, Looking for a long term house lease After retiring, in 2015, from a 26 year investment banking career I sold my house in Dundarave, West Vancouver, and have been leasing a very comfortable home on Bowen for the last 2.5 years.

This period has confirmed my enthusiasm for both the community and island lifestyle. I have recently purchased a lot and intend on building my Bowen home as owner contractor.

My lease is coming to an end in the next 6 months as my architect friend, and property owner, has decided to reclaim his home as a family vacation spot. As a result, I am wanting to lease a home or large apartment. I am not concerned about price if I like the property. I have a number of references, along with my profile/resume, which should make any home owner comfortable in writing a long term lease agreement with me. I am flexible with the timing of occupancy.

I can be contacted at the following co-ordinates; mgustav@uniserve.com email or preferably my cell phone 604-230-9876.

Thank you, Michael

A20 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

The movie built on Bowen FILMING STARTS ON THE BOWEN ISLAND-STARRING RE: UNITING

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor

Bowen Island has acted as small-town California, small-town Maine (how could it not), smalltown Washington, but rarely does the island play itself on the silver screen.

That’s about to change.

Cameras started rolling last weekend on a new independent movie set and filmed on-island.

Re: Uniting is a drama about a group who were best friends in college but have grown apart, says writer, director and sometimes islander Laura Adkin. They come together for their 25th college reunion weekend – on Bowen Island. “Secrets of the past come bubbling to the surface, everyone’s hiding something,” says the filmmaker. With inspiration drawn from the classic ensemble dramas of the ‘80s and ‘90s – The Big Chill, The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, Steel Magnolias – characters deal with some intense subject matter through witty, irreverent dialogue.

Adkin’s mother, Cathy, lives in Belterra and the filmmaker has spent a couple of years living on Bowen (but isn’t these days). “I love it,” she says. “I love the community feel.”

But Adkin and her mother are not even close to the only Bowen connections. Adkin wrote the lead of Re: Uniting for a friend of near-

ly 20 years – islander Michelle Harrison.

About a year ago, Adkin gave Harrison the script. “I read it and I loved it,” says Harrison. “That was the beginning of this whole journey that we’ve been on in the last year.”

Getting to film on Bowen is a dream for Harrison – she’s usually commuting to the mainland for roles like Nora Allen/Speed Force in CW’s The Flash – “I feel my happiest, my calmest, my most centered and my most self on Bowen,” she says.

Also in the cast are new islander Jesse L. Martin (known for playing Detective Ed Green on Law and Order for a decade), new islander Michael Carl Richards, and Harrison’s husband Matthew Harrison (not a new islander).

Then there’s costume designer Liz Nankin, make-up artist Melissa Roocroft and Cathy Adkin is doing craft service and is executive producer.

Then there’s also the community aspect. “Caro from Squirrel has been insanely helpful,” says Adkin. “The whole Belterra community is helping and doing different things.” Local band Ginger 66 (featuring both Harrisons) recorded a song for the film at Winston Hauschild’s Little Island Studio.

Then there are the Bowen locations: two local homes, the Little Red Church and the golf course.

A major concern is also COVID-

19 and Adkin says they’re going above and beyond the protocols.

“We’re doing a lot of stuff to make sure that everyone is being safe.”

While there’s money coming into the community, this isn’t a big-budget production.

“It’s what we like to call an ultralow budget,” says Adkin, “as in many things are being paid for on my credit card.”

As the producers and actors are all part of the Union of British Columbia Performers, they’ve created an ultra-low budget agreement meaning the film doesn’t have to pay the same rates of a big production. “Everyone knows what they’re signing on for. It’s a passion project,” says Adkin.

“It’s really great that we’re able to put a crew together,” she says – a cast and crew who’re regularly working on big budget American productions. “We’re all just like going to summer camp, basically, and making this film together.”

Like sleepaway camp, most everyone also has to stay on Bowen, making use of the pandemic-induced emptiness of many island accommodations. Producers are also using several of Bowen’s eateries for local catering. “We’re able to spread the love and go to lots of different places and give people money,” enthuses Adkin.

Harrison has acted as a Bowen liason for the film, particularly in given the trepidation surrounding welcoming visitors during the pan-

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EMMA NEIL / RE: UNITING PHOTO

Re: Uniting is set and filmed on Bowen Island, and stars Bowen actors.

demic. “Bowen is all about connections,” says Harrison noting how it would look on the Bowen Island Everything Else Facebook group with someone from off-island saying there’s a film shooting on-island. “You have to be connected to it and know that it’s good people that are coming, that they’re going to take care of the community, that they’re looking out for everybody and they’re going to represent Bowen in a really beautiful way.”

While Adkin and Harrison don’t want to spoil the film, Harrison sees echoes of Bowen experiences in Re: Uniting. “Some of the big topics in the film are things that our community has gone through, that we’ve all experienced with our friends,” says Harrison. “There’s something for me about making a movie about some of these topics, which I won’t name, that make it very personal.”

While Adkin wrote the film before the pandemic, the characters’ reckonings resonate with the past year. “One of the themes that

I don’t mind talking about is the idea of aging and growing and next chapters and next steps and moving through things,” says Adkin. “I think a lot of people, whether you live on Bowen Island or not, in the last year have gone through a lot of what is my life? What am I doing?

Do I like this? Is there a reason for this? Am I just existing and why?”

“There comes a point where you know that you have more yesterdays than you have tomorrows and that assessment of what you’re doing,” she says. “I like to call it the second coming of age.”

Adkin and Harrison want islanders to know that this isn’t a giant production coming to town.

“We’re really mindful of the community. We’re really grateful for the community. We really want to showcase case Bowen and support Bowen and we are really, really taking COVID seriously,” says Adkin.

When all this is said and done, Adkin plans to have a Bowen screening of Re: Uniting.

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5:50 am 6:50 am 8:00 am 9:05 am except Wednesdays 10:15 am 11:25 am 12:35 pm 2:20 pm 3:30 pm 4:35 pm 5:45 pm 6:50 pm 8:00 pm except Saturdays 9:00 pm 10:00 pm

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Note: Schedules subject to change without notice: Please check BCFERRIES.COM Schedule changes on statutory holidays

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A21

Couple of days for new water Bowen Island Garden Club’s bulb sale is back to replace old Cove water CONTINUED FROM P. 1

There’s approximately four or five days worth of water in the new reservoir, said Graham. Instead of the chlorinated water heading directly to homes, it sits. This means the water needs less chlorine than before as disinfection works through concentration and time – the longer the chlorine is in contact with the water, the less chlorine the water needs.

But, there’s also a requirement to maintain chlorine residuals throughout the water system to ensure there’s no regrowth of anything, said Graham. The health authorities require at least .2 milligrams of chlorine per litre of water. As there will be less chlorine in the water coming from the plant than from the old shed, there’ll be some adjustments to the rechlorination stations throughout the system. “It will take a little bit of time to work through that and have it running optimally,” said Graham.

Disinfection byproducts trihalomethane (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) produced when chlorine comes in contact with organic matter (like decaying leaves and vegetation) have been slightly higher than recommended in Health Canada guidelines in the Cove Bay system in recent years.

“That’s not going to be a problem anymore because the water is going to be filtered before it’s chlorinated,” said Graham.

“So the filtration will remove organic and inorganic particles and pathogens and viruses. It’s a very high level of filtration.”

Commissioning last week

For almost as long as this century has existed, thousands of spring bulbs have been planted on Bowen, thanks to gardeners who purchased bulbs first via Sheila Webster, and subsequently via the B.I. Garden Club. Huge quantities – roughly 14,000 a year.

Last year, because of the COVID-19 restriction on gatherings, there was a hiatus on the sale. But it is back. Even with COVID restrictions we are confident we know what to do.

This year, along with the taller King Alfred trumpet daffodils and the yellow and orange Tahiti narcissus, is a delightful white with orange centre narcissus named “geranium.” The shorter, hardy tete-a-tete has been

replaced with a beautiful double flower variety, called “tete-a-tete boucle.”

Other shorter offerings are blue forbesii, white fritillaria, purple and yellow fritillaria and a delicate pastel snow crocus. All but the snow crocus are “deer resistant.”

Bobbex concentrate, an effective deer repellent is also available.

By May long weekend you’ll see bulb sale posters at mailboxes all over the island, and in the June 24 issue of the Undercurrent there will be an ad with the poster. But if I were you, I wouldn’t delay in placing my order – supplies are limited. Once our pre-order is sold out, there is no guarantee of further supply.

THE PERFECT MATCH

The system’s newly filtered water will probably take a couple of days to replace the old water, said Graham.

“But it’s a little bit tough to tell because we’re still going through commissioning,” said Graham May 14. Last week, BIM and contractors worked through commissioning – running through all of the systems and controls. As they may need to do some additional testing, the system switchover will likely be later this week. “We have to make sure that Vancouver Coastal Health is satisfied with all the testing that we’ve done,” said Graham.

The main component of the plant – the filtration system – is supplied by a company in Ontario. While the company had people on Bowen last week, they left Friday, and there were still issues to work through. So to allow for remote support, a Starlink connection was set up until regular internet service can be put in.

LAURA MCGREGOR PHOTO

When you are planning your bulb order, why not add a few to tuck here and there throughout your neighbourhood in pots or in the ground? Let’s add our friendly greetings far and wide across this treasure we call home.

Joyce Ganong, Bulb Sale Coordinator, B.I. Garden Club

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New tax to pay for project

While the land was part of an exchange – BIM received the 0.8 hectare parcel as part of developer John Reid’s subdivision of the Grafton Lake Lands back in 2018 – Cove Bay users will be seeing a new parcel tax this year to pay for the plant’s construction.

When BIM received $3.89 million in government grant funding for the project in 2017, that was two-thirds of the project’s estimated cost. The municipality expected to contribute $1.95 million through reserves and borrowing.

In 2019, the estimated project cost grew to $7.6 million.

Taking into account Cove Bay’s $1.10 million in reserves, the discrepancy between grant funding and amount needed to fund the project grew to $2.53 million. Through an alternative approval process, Cove Bay users approved borrowing that $2.53 million to be paid back over 30 years.

Last year, the project cost grew to $9.26 million. Council approved extra funding – $485,400 from developer contributions and $1.15 million borrowed from its own general fund (the borrowing to be paid back over 10 years).

But Cove Bay users may get some help shouldering the cost of the plant. With the Grafton Lake Lands development, each new connection brings in thousands of dollars. There’s also talk of the Eagle Cliff water system joining into Cove Bay. And Graham said he’s had conversations with other east side residents who may be interested in connecting into the newly filtered system.

“It’s an exciting step,” said Graham. “And there might be a few little bumps along the way. It’s a dramatic change in the supply.

“It’s setting the standard for what level of service Bowen Island water systems should be.” (That doesn’t mean $9.3 million teatment plants across the island, Graham confirmed.)

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All advertising published in this newspaper is accepted on the premise that the merchandise and services offered are accurately described and wil ingly sold to buyers at the advertised prices. Advertisers are aware of these conditions. Advertising that does not conform to these standards or that is deceptive or misleading, is never knowingly accepted. If any reader encounters non-compliance with these standards we ask that you inform the Publisher of this newspaper and The Advertising Standards Council of B.C. OMISSION AND ERROR: The publishers do not guarantee the insertion of a particular advertisement on a specified date, or at all, although every effort wil be made to meet the wishes of the advertisers.

Further, the publishers do not accept liability for any loss of damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing of an advertisement beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by the portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred. Any corrections of changes wil be made in the next available issue. The Bowen Island Undercurrent wil be responsible for only one incorrect insertion with liability limited to that portion of the advertisement affected by the error. Request for adjustments or corrections on charges must be made within 30 days of the ad’s expiration.

For best results please check your ad for accuracy the first day it appears. Refunds made only after 7 business days notice!

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Run Spot Run!

604-653-7851 %-*))!,"#)&$*+(+"'

FLU SHOTS FOR OUR PATIENTS

To advertise please call 604-947-2442 or email ads@bowenislandundercurrent.com

bowenislandundercurrent.com

CALENDAR MAY 13JUNE 7

Ephemeral Horizons Hearth Gallery11 am-4pm Thurs.Mon.

FRIDAY MAY 21

Drive-through Legion dinner: Shepherd’s pie, salad and carrot

cake. Starts 4:30 pm. By donation.

SATURDAY MAY 22

BAA Farmers’ Market BICS parking lot 10 am - noon Made, grown, baked on Bowen.

Bring a mask, cash & follow signs.

Cynthia Albuquerque artist demonstration Catching Stars; 1:30-3:30 pm

SUNDAY MAY 23

Zoom 6:30-7:30 pm Meeting ID: 881 7431 4545; passcode: 491847

MONDAY MAY 24

Rotary Club talk: Liam Edwards, BIM CAO Zoom 7:30 pm Check bowenrotary.com for the Zoom invitation. Arriving during COVID with his family, Liam Edwards

Paula Love artist demonstration Catching Stars; 1:30-3:30pm Jilly Watson artist demonstrationCatching Stars; 1:30-3:30 pm

WEDNESDAY MAY 26

Caring Circle AGM

THURSDAY MAY 27

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • A23 took on the challenges of chief administrative officer of a small municipality.

SATURDAY MAY 29

Garden Club pop-up plant sale Legion parking lot 10 am to noon Lots of perennials, some deer proof and veggies seedlings and marigolds too!

BOWEN HOME SERVICES love the life you live NEW CONSTRUCTION RENOVATIONS RESTORATION ADDITIONS SECONDARY STRUCTURES UNIQUE OUTDOOR SPACES SUB CONTRACT WORK

I&I TOWING HAULING LTD

II

Vehicles • Construction Equipment Sea-Can Containers • Tiny Homes Bowen Island • Greater Vancouver Vancouver Island • Sunshine Coast

BUILT GREEN BC BUILDER CONTACT US FOR A FREE QUOTATION WWW.WHITEHART.CA ADDRESS 302-566 ARTISAN LANE BOWEN ISLAND, BC PHONE 1 (778) 999-3434

Michael Bingham • 604 947 1717 ianditowhaul@gmail.com

Window Blinds On Bowen

Now serving Bowen Island Free estimates

Licensed Electrical Contractor

778-995-1902

nelcan.ca 604.428.1119

Service calls, renovations, new construction

778.266.6465 www.bowenislandelectrical.com

Landscape Lighting Irrigation

Seascape Bruce Culver

Office: 604-947-9686

Certified electricians

Cell: 604-329-3045

live the life you love To reserve a spot on this page, contact us at 604-947-2442 or ads@bowenislandundercurrent.com

Bowen Islands Local Asphalt Paving & Repair Specialist!

Services we provide: • Asphalt Paving • Excavation & Grading • Driveway Repair • Drainage Installation Free Quote

604-921-6810 office@monarchpaving.ca

BOWEN ISLAND SPECIALISTS! QUALITY SERVICE GUARANTEED! Keep Calm and Call Econo

604.980.3333

991 West First Street, North Vancouver, BC www.economovingandstorage.com

A24 • Thursday, May 20, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com