A Koksilah River Information Night is scheduled for Thursday, March 1, from 6:30-9 p.m. at the HUB at Cowichan Station (main hall), 2375 Koksilah Rd.
All are welcome. It’s free and there will be treats, too.
Co-Hosted by the Cowichan Watershed Board and CVRD Area E Director Alison Nicholson, the event will feature a Cowichan Tribes welcome with comments Tim Kulchyski (Cowichan Tribes) on the importance of Hwulqw’selu to First Nations people and the need for cooperation.
The big picture – interconnected water stress and climate; local roles in preparing for the future – will be given by Tom Rutherford (Cowichan Watershed Board)
Nicholson will speak on the CVRD’s role, the Area E Official Community Plan and proposed water service.
Emily Doyle-Yamaguchi (Koksilah Watershed Working Group) will talk about a Koksilah Ecosystem-Based Analysis — an ongoing citizens’ initiative.
Then, at 7:30 p.m., there will be time to discuss water quality and quantity studies, low summer water flow issues, volunteer conservation efforts this summer and resulting flow improvements measured in stream, what leads to temporary protection orders under the Water Sustainability Act and how those play out on the Koksilah. Then those attending will hear the initial results from 2017 Koksilah water quality testing from Dr. Dave Preikshot.
A Q & A session on how can we work together to improve Koksilah water issues will end the event.
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Culinary truffles have long been prized for their heady aroma and unique flavour.
Depending on the species, when ripe they can bring to mind the pungency of garlic, the rich fruitiness of cocoa, ripe figs or pineapple, and an earthy muskiness all their own.
Northern California, Oregon and Washington have a well-established industry harvesting truffles seasonally. Annual truffle festivals in Oregon and Napa Valley bring together hundreds of landowners, farmers, foragers, chefs, foodies, winery representatives and the curious to learn about trufficulture and sample cuisine highlighting the use of truffles.
Considerably more modest in scale, the Truffle Association of British Columbia is hosting its third annual festival this February to grow awareness of local truffles and raise funds for maintenance of a small truffle orchard at UBC Farm. Events include a local foraging excursion where participants will hunt for truffles with truffle dogs and their handlers, an educational talk with harvesting demonstration and truffle sampling at UBC Farm, a cooking with truffles demonstration and tasting in the Cowichan Valley, and a gala dinner showcasing local truffles at Burdock & Co restaurant in Vancouver.
The Cowichan Valley event features Chef Robin Jackson and Toivo Heyduck giving a truffle cooking class and tasting, featuring local Vancouver Island cultivated and wild truffles. It takes place Saturday, Feb. 24, from 12 p.m.-3 p.m. at Cowichan Green Community in Duncan. The ticket cost is $85.
So what’s the fuss about truffles?
Scarcity drove prices of the highly coveted fresh Italian Alba White Truffle to stratospheric levels last autumn, reaching record prices of well over $200 per ounce (over $8 per gram), reinforcing its reputation as culinary gold. Current asking prices for fresh Perigord Black Truffles at $75 per ounce locally look like a bargain in comparison.
One of the key reasons for this difference in price is that the Alba truffles only occur in the wild which makes them wholly dependent on nature, while the Perigord Black Truffle can also be cultivated. Other species have also been cultivated successfully and there are now truffle orchards in the Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island that are sufficiently mature to start producing Perigords, the Italian White Bianchetto and Summer Burgundy truffles with some regularity.
Few know there are also naturally occurring culinary truffle species growing in southwest B.C.
Due to the nature of the truffle festival events, space is very limited and if last year is any indication the tickets will go quickly. For more information and to purchase tickets to any of the events, visit bctrufflefest.ca.
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Nominate a youth for a Leaders of Tomorrow Award.
This is your opportunity to nominate youth (age six to 24) that demonstrate leadership through their volunteer efforts. This event acknowledges the efforts made by each volunteer in their own way.
The LOT Team is seeking nominations for the Leaders of Tomorrow Awards.
The awards event to be held on Friday, April 20, during National Volunteer Week at the Island Saving Centre.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 2.
For more information email: “mailto:gotoallthingsvolunteer@gmail.com”gotoallthingsvolunteer@gmail.com
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The Ts’ewulhtun Health Centre is offering at free workshop at Cowichan Tribes that helps families re-learn healthy attachment between parents and children that were impacted by residential schools.
The Circle of Security, presented by facilitator Nancy James, promotes healthy parenting and attachment using Elders and traditional teachings, in addition to modern parenting techniques.
The seven-week parenting series runs every Thursday from noon to 4:30 p.m., on March 15, 22, and 29, and April 5, 12, 19, and 26.
The series invites moms, dads, grandparents, aunties, uncles, expectant mothers, caregivers, foster parents and more.
This group will combine culture and healing. Participants will learn how to bead and learn about strengthening your relationship with your child.
At times all parents feel lost or without a clue about what a child might need. Imagine what it might feel like if you were able to make sense of what your child was really asking from you. The Circle of Security Parenting program is based on decades of research about how secure parent-child relationships can be supported and strengthened.
Learning objectives of the training include understand your child’s emotional world by learning to read the emotional needs; support your child’s ability to successfully manage emotions; enhance the development of your child’s self esteem; and honor your innate wisdom and desire for your child to be secure.
A meal will be provided, but there will be no transportation or child minding services.
Those interested should register with Arlene or Chris at 778-422-3122.
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Nobody should walk alone — that’s the idea behind the call to create a team for the Investors Group Walk for Alzheimer’s in the Cowichan Valley, which is coming up in May.
According to a recent survey, more than 50 per cent of the Canadians affected by dementia have felt stigmatized or discriminated against; for many, it’s a lonely disease. Cowichan Valley residents can help change this. Show them you stand with them by creating a team and participating in the Investors Group Walk for Alzheimer’s on Sunday, May 6. The Cowichan Valley Walk will take place at Cowichan Sportsplex at 10 a.m.
The Walk is a fun and family-friendly way to create a movement, while sending a message of inclusion and hope to the estimated 70,000 British Columbians currently living with dementia, and the people who care for them. Each Walk across the province is dedicated to an honouree, someone who has been affected by dementia, or who has valuably contributed to the lives of people living with the disease. The Cowichan Valley Walk honours Hughie Edwards. Participants are also encouraged to walk in honour or memory of someone in their lives who has faced dementia. One powerful way to do this is as a team.
“Teams bring such energy and vibrancy to the event, and it’s so powerful to see people walking and fundraising together to make a difference. We encourage anyone who is interested in attending the Walk to set-up a team,” says Emily Pridham, who is the Alzheimer Society of B.C.’s regional manager of Vancouver Island.
The Walk aims to inspire Cowichan Valley residents to unite to create a world without dementia. To set up a team, go to walkforalzheimers.ca and follow the prompts. Need an extra incentive? Teams that raise $500 as a team by Feb. 28 will go into a draw to win $500 worth of Amazon gift cards.
The funds raised through the event will make a world of difference to people affected by dementia in Cowichan Valley. They will directly fund support, education and learning opportunities so people affected by dementia can live their best lives possible. Funds will also help enable research into the causes of and the cure for the disease, so we can look to a world without dementia.
