Taking a Stand for Goldstream Park and Treaty Rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJx5luCX7xc Many close friends in Victoria love Goldstream Park with its majestic forest and river ecosystem. (Its original name is SELEKTEL in WSÁNEĆ.) Friends carry an understanding about this region as being part of the WSÁNEĆ... Read more
Repeal (or amend) BC Bill 44 to Restore Public Hearings and Municipal Powers over Zoning
We the signed residents of British Columbia, call upon the Province of B.C. to repeal (or amend) BC Bill-44 (2023), in order to restore public hearings and municipal powers over zoning, which are being taken away by the bill. Sign the petition here. We do so, because... Read more
The Inconvenient Facts Carney and the Premiers Ignore
Prime Minister Mark Carney wants Canada to be an energy superpower, including in “conventional energy” (read fossil fuels). Far from being the climate-action champion we expected him to be, he seems to have swallowed his principles…
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Suing Canada’s Largest Pension Investment Manager Over Alleged Climate Risk Mismanagement
Ecojustice announces the first case of its kind… they are representing four young Canadians taking on the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), one of Canada’s largest financial institutions, for putting our pensions at risk. Learn more about this... Read more
International Peace Charter Petition
This Victoria, BC based non-profit initiative just launched. Green Party MP Elizabeth May is willing to bring this forward to the House of Commons. Only 500 signatures are needed. Please sign the petition at InternationalPeaceCharter.org Read moreBeyond VIMY Débuts in Sidney – CBC Interview with Show Producer Frances Litman
Beyond VIMY is a multi-platform production, featuring the Juno award nominated band The Fugitives, which will be débuting at the Mary Winspear Centre on October 25th. We spoke with producer Frances Litman on why she created the show to honour the Canadian National... Read moreElectoral Reform Committee Consultation Results Are In – 93% for Proportional Representation!
RESULTS ARE IN! 93% of submissions to the BC Democratic and Electoral Reform Committee committee called for proportional representation. Please share now! Dear Frances, The BC NDP and BC Green Party’s “Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord” included an... Read moreThe Problem is Income Inadequacy, Not Affordability
Food Banks Canada just released its annual report on poverty in Canada. Its key findings are that one in 10 Canadians are living in poverty, over 40 per cent are paying more than 30 per cent of their income…
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Protect Goldstream Salmon Now
I think that saving the salmon spawning area of Goldstream River is a very important cause. If people even know about this highway expansion, they probably don’t know that nobody will get to their destination any sooner. The highway will still be single lane... Read more
Save the Tsitika! Take Action Before Sept. 30th
The Tsitika Valley is home to beautiful ancient trees and countless animal kin. Along its beaches, where streams from the Tsitika watershed meet the sea, lies one of the only places on Earth where killer whales are known to rub their bodies along the shoreline... Read moreDraw The Line – Sept. 20 Global Day of Climate Action
Communities are mobilizing across the country, demanding that Prime Minister Carney and the Canadian government pick a side: injustice, violence, and climate destruction— or a just and safe future for all of us. Find your local event here Prince George,... Read more
Save the Garry Oaks And Tree Canopy on Lynnfield Crescent
The historic Garry Oaks on Lynnfield Crescent are more than just trees; they are living monuments to our shared heritage and an essential part of the urban canopy that enriches our community. These majestic oaks, some which have stood for over two centuries, not only... Read moreSilver Lining
There exists a Greater Awareness that exists in every moment, if we choose for it. Our daily experience can transform rapidly from one of separation to one of unity and wholeness. Using tools to guide you is essential.
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Vast Tree Removals Set For Victoria, and Victoria’s OCP Update Means Significantly Fewer Big Trees
The following was posted on the Friends of Vancouver Island Facebook page: Friends of Vancouver Island | Tree Removal Notices Appearing Across Victoria | Facebook “Tree Removal Notices Appearing Across Victoria If you’ve been walking around Victoria lately, you... Read more
National Tree Day 2025
Celebrated annually on September 24, National Tree Day is a holiday dedicated to recognizing the importance of trees in our lives. Initiated in 2011 by Tree Canada, this day serves as a tribute to the beauty, resilience, and crucial role of trees across Canada’s... Read more
Let’s Have a Conversation About the Future We Want for this Region
Last week I suggested we need a national People’s Well-being Commission to craft a new vision for Canada, one focused on how we become a society committed to equitable health now and for future generations while living within planetary boundaries.
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Beyond the Curb: Recycling Simplified
Let’s keep recyclables out of the landfill! Victoria’s new Beyond the Curb pilot program makes it easier to recycle flexible plastics, foam packaging, and small appliances and electronics. Visit Victoria’s weekend recycling hub at 1234 Yates Street on Saturdays and... Read more
Cougar Sculpture Blocking Logging Trucks in Upper Walbran Valley
Press Release: Defenders Call for Protection of one of BC’s Last Intact Old-Growth Watersheds August 25, 2025 — Upper Walbran, Tree Farm License 44 —A 15-foot tall cougar sculpture has been erected to block logging trucks on Monday morning from actively logging in the... Read more
Let’s Talk About Becoming A Well-Being Society
Last month I noted a growing recognition that the many challenges we face, from environmental degradation to concentration of wealth, structural inequality and exclusion, are a product of the economic and other societal systems we have created.
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Saanich Community Gallery Program
Do you have a story to tell, a message to share, or a creative project that reflects the impact of your community work? The District of Saanich invites local non-profits, grassroots groups, and community organizations to apply for free exhibition space at Saanich... Read more
Petition that the District of Saanich Phase out Highly Polluting Gas Landscaping Equipment
A new petition for the District of Saanich, calls for the municipality to take the crucial action of immediately deciding to phase out highly polluting gas landscaping equipment.
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Stand Up for SELE₭TEȽ (Goldstream Park)!
We are writing to ask for you and your organization’s support for W̱SÁNEĆ community members and allies who are protecting SELE₭TEȽ (Goldstream Park) along the Malahat Highway from a “highway improvement project” Our request is that you write a letter from your... Read more
Callout for Goldstream
Dear Elders for Ancient Trees, Big appreciation to Victoria area Elders for your willingness to turn up to protect Goldstream Park. We’re hoping to build ongoing support that is manageable, given our busy lives. We are proposing the following schedule for Elders for... Read more
The Rider and the Horse
History shows us there is a fast and slippery road from the loss of freedoms into authoritarianism. If we allow our rights to be stripped away, we lose far more than we gain. Something incredible happens to humans when we go through hard or tragic experiences together... Read more
Biochar From Human Waste Could Solve Global Fertiliser Shortages, Study Finds
Charcoal made from human waste could help solve fertiliser shortages as well as reduce pollution and energy use, a study has found. Biochar is a form of charcoal made from organic matter treated at high heat…
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New Jersey Says 3 Chemical Makers Agree to ‘Forever Chemical’ Settlement Worth Up To $2B
DuPont and two other companies will pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle environmental claims stemming from PFAS, commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” the companies announced…
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Can Charred Wood Help Nova Scotia Farmers — and the Climate?
In a rolling field in the Annapolis Valley, the soil in one row of grapevines is littered with charred fragments of wood. Those unassuming bits of charred material don’t look like much, but the charcoal-like substance…
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We Can’t Grow Our Way Out of Problems Created by Browth
Mark Carney may not have called his Bill C-5 — now the Building Canada Act — a big, beautiful bill, but it does come out of much the same mould as Trump’s bill. Essentially, it says we can and must grow our way…
Read moreExposing The Dark Reality Of B.C.’s Wolf Cull
In August, we’re launching a powerful media campaign to expose the brutal scale of British Columbia’s wolf cull. Since 2015, more than 2,500 wolves have been killed and over $11.5 million in taxpayer dollars spent—all while critical caribou habitat continues to be... Read more
Exposing Canada’s Deep Water Shame
In June, Pacific Wild released a major two-year investigation uncovering the devastating impact of industrial trawling hidden beneath the surface of B.C.’s coastal waters. Our research found that over the past 13 years, just nine trawlers have collectively fished a... Read more
Save Our Saanich Isn’t Saving Money
I wish I could take credit for the term “Dysfunction-by-the-Sea,” but longtime readers of this newspaper will recognize it was Jack Knox’s acerbic term for Greater Victoria. But while Jack has retired — and is much missed…
Read moreGonzales Community Map
The Gonzales Community map features all remaining Garry Oak in the neighbourhood, the location of all little libraries, the history of the community including heritage houses, covenants and the original trolley line amongst other things.
Read moreBC Old Growth Forest Update
Dear friends and forest protectors, The Oceanspray (or Ironwood), KÁȾEȽĆ in SENĆOŦEN, is just past its full bloom. It’s strong and enduring. Like us. Strong and enduring and just past our bloom. We are still here, still loving the forests of this land, still working... Read more
As the Cliff Edge Looms, Governments Hit the Accelerator
Some may consider Prime Minister Mark Carney to be an economic guru, but he is either ignorant of or chooses to ignore two fundamental truths in his rush to build the nation by growing the economy.
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Good News For Long-Term Management of Toxic Biosolids
The Peninsula Biosolids Coalition and Biosolids Free BC, with whom Creatively United for the Planet Society has been actively collaborating, congratulates the CRD Board for making a historic decision to thermally convert biosolids into biochar employing the latest... Read more
Heat Dome Anniversary – BC’s Urban Trees Under Threat
June 23 marks the 4th anniversary of the 2021 Heat Dome, an occurrence that most of us remember vividly. What we may not be aware of is that the Chief Coroner of BC investigated the reasons for the 619 resultant, publishing a major Report. One of its key... Read moreSigns Of Heightened E-DMT
9 SIGNS OF A HUE•MAN BEING BEING There are no supernatural abilities. There is only the return of a hue•man being to being a hue•man being being and the re-awakening of our innate spiritual abilities. When we come to know the elemental forces of nature by heart, we... Read more
Improving Victoria’s Well-Being
This presentation highlights gaps in Victorian wellbeing that a group of Victoria youth have decided could be improved. The 3 suggestions aim to improve nature, transportation, and healthcare. Our group consists of 4 people, Ethan Lin, Beatrice Sharpe, Sebastien... Read more
Metamorphosis in the 2025 Emerging Local Authors Collection
Creatively United for the Planet Society is delighted that Metamorphosis: A Healing Journey book has been chosen by the Greater Victoria Public Library as part of its 2025 Emerging Local Authors Collection. Metamorphosis: A Healing Journey is a feast for the eyes and... Read more
Biosolids in the CRD Update
In April 2025, the Province of BC approved in principle the CRD’s preferred option for thermal conversion of biosolids into a biochar and non-fossil fuel gas. Until the CRD received this approval, it was reluctant to proceed with adjudicating the Request for Proposals... Read more
Canada Could Learn From Nordic Countries About Well-being
What can Canada learn from other countries about achieving well-being, happiness and a good quality of life? As the 2023 World Happiness Report noted, people “increasingly think of well-being as the ultimate good,” and…
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B.C.’s Environmental Laws Are Key Public Infrastructure, Not Mere Red Tape
Courtesy of Vancouver Sun Photo: The powers in Bill 15 are akin to a blank cheque for current and future cabinets to rewrite publicly debated and enacted environmental laws in the name of removing so-called red tape, write Andhra Azevedo and Deborah Curran. Photo by... Read moreCacao & The Fire Spirit
Cacao is a powerful way to produce nitric oxide and increase its ability to exert its effects on our body and mind.
Read moreNew Youth Climate Podcast
Greetings friends, Claire here, the Social Media and Community Manager at The Starfish (a youth climate charity dedicated to celebrating and lifting the voices of Canada’s top youth environmentalists). We recently got funding to produce an eight-episode long... Read moreWalter Russell – Revelations Reimagined
This article was submitted, but not written by, Jon Sun Tan. The original author is unknown. In May 1921, American polymath Walter Russell entered a 39-day coma-like state, during which he claimed to have accessed “the source of all knowledge.” Upon awakening, he... Read moreForest Ecosystem Improvement in China
I think you’ll enjoy this story on how China is improving its monoculture forest ecosystem in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The program cost $150 million. If BC just stopped allowing old growth forests to be mowed down, we would achieve a better result... Read moreMajor Media Columnists are Calling for Proportional Representation
Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne took questions and advocated for proportional representation. You can also read Coyne’s recent column in the Globe and Mail, “Canada is not as divided as some claim – or as its electoral system makes it... Read more
Gene Miller: Turn Centennial Square Into A World-class Park With Sequoia, Fountain
Gene Miller is the only person we can think of who could write such a biting, funny and true article about what it would mean to Victorians if the city goes ahead with cutting down this beloved tree. “It’s worth wondering how our electeds and our urban design... Read moreKnow Thy Soul
All psychedelics help to expand our consciousness by connecting us to our subconscious and unconscious mind and none more powerfully than that of E-DMT (endogenous DMT), as it facilitates our deepest shadow-work by degree.
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