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Comox Valley Nature lecture addresses Salish Sea history

Howard Stewart lecture takes play Sept. 15
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Indigenous graveyard, Comox - circa. 1890s (photo: undetermined) (courtesy of BC Archives collection, call number NA - 39711

Comox Valley Nature is hosting Howard Stewart for a talk entitled Views of the Salish Sea: 150 Years of Changes Around the Strait of Georgia.

The lecture is on Sunday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m. in the Rotary Room of the Filberg Seniors Centre, 411 Anderton Ave., Courtenay.

Stewart will present a journey through the past, present and future of the Strait of Georgia, the splendid inland sea at the heart of modern British Columbia that is a highway and a barrier, a colonized and contested space, a once-rich resource mine, a valuable waste dump and a treasured playground. The presentation will be followed by a discussion on how we could better care for this ecologically diverse and rich region.

Stewart was born and raised on the shores of the Strait of Georgia or north Salish Sea. He has lived and worked in many other places but always returned to B.C.’s inland sea. His great grandparents settled in Comox in the early 1880s. He and his partner live on Denman Island, where they’ve been off and on since the early 1980s. After decades of churning out reams of “dreadful grey” literature and a few academic pieces, he published an environmental history of the Strait of Georgia in 2017.

This is an excellent opportunity for the public to learn more about the environmental history of the Salish Sea.

Comox Valley Nature is a non-profit society affiliated with BC Nature, consisting only of unpaid volunteers. CVN fulfills its educational mandate by hosting monthly lectures, organizing free weekly guided hikes for members, and a free monthly walk open to the public. Comox Valley Nature also supports specialized groups (Birding, Botany, Marine & Shoreline, Conservation, Garry Oak Restoration, Wetland Restoration, Photography and Young Naturalists Club) which have separate monthly activities. Membership in BC Nature and Comox Valley Nature is $30 per adult or for a family.

Founded in 1966, it is one of the oldest environmental societies on the North Island. Meetings and lectures of the Comox Valley Naturalists Society are held on the third Sunday of most months at the Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Ave., Courtenay. Meetings and guided walks are open to the public, including children and youth.

Lecture is free, though a $4 contribution from non-members is appreciated. New memberships are always welcomed.

Anyone interested in this lecture or participating in CVNS activities can also contact us at the website http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/