Historical Timeline

Historical Timeline

2009

Autumn

  • Briony Penn speaks to a Wildstands Forest Alliance gathering on Cortes Island, discussing practical strategies for land preservation along the BC coast. As one example, she discusses the QQS Projects Society and Koeye River Youth programs; donor funded purchase of lands then entrusted to the youth of the Heiltsuk First Nation. This provides the spark for the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island initiative.
  • Inventory of provincially designated rare species and ecological communities observed in the sensitive ecosystems, on forest lands targeted for purchase by the Forest Trust, is undertaken.

2010

Spring

  • The Forest Alphabet, A-Z, is written and inspires the Forest Alphabet art initiative: providing a valuable educational component presented to the public through the irresistible artwork of children inspired by a love of place! Linnaea School students creating the artwork.

Summer

  • Community announcement of the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island initiative with the target of ~600 acres of forest lands, within the James Creek watershed and immediately adjacent to Carrington Bay Park, for purchase from Island Timberlands. $5000.00 are immediately secured in pledges from the community.

Autumn

  • Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island prints its first colour brochure, just in time for the Forest Alphabet Art Exhibit at The Old School House gallery in Whaletown; a gala community event!
  • The Banner project initiated by Revelstoke youth, Tashi and Shey; in support of the Children’s Forest.
  • Forest Alphabet art cards (360) are created for 12 alphabet letters; Christmas fair sales.

2011

Spring

  • Forest Alphabet: Artistic Visions of a Forest in Trust to the Children book project initiated, featuring the Forest Alphabet artwork and personal writings by Cortes youth in support of the Children’s Forest. Rachel Bevington, professional web designer and former Cortes youth, volunteers to draft the print ready file. Sponsors sought for printing.

Summer

  • Forest Ent project; Oh! For the love of Ents!!! Clayworks of art created by Cortes youth and summer visiting youth as fundraisers towards the Children’s Forest.

Winter

  • Filming of youth on location in the Children’s Forest by Ramshackle Productions; the Children’s Forest video takes the children’s voice internationally.

2012

Spring

  • Ramshackle Productions completes the Children’s Forest video.

Summer

  • The Artists’ Journey sees visiting artists join local artists on Cortes Island for plein-air art sessions in the Children’s Forest. Artwork created to be donated to raise funds to print the book, Forest Alphabet: Artistic Visions of a Forest in Trust to the Children.

Autumn

  • Lisa Gibbons creates 10 celebratory banners: Imagine… a forest in trust to the children, which are displayed throughout the community to herald our community announcement.
  • The official community announcement of the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society takes place with an opening blessing by Norman Harry/ Klahoose First Nation. Society Directors are introduced to the community alongside youth performances
  • The Cortes Island Teen Szene hosts a community showing of  The Lorax, as a Children’s Forest fundraiser.

Winter

  • November 15, 2012 the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society (FTCCIS) is officially registered under the Society Act of British Columbia.
  • The first Artist’s Journey Art Auction takes place at Artspring on Saltspring Island with Ann Mortifee and Paul Horn as guest hosts. Sales of donated artwork dedicated to the printing of the Forest Alphabet book.

2013

Spring

  • The FTCCIS board of directors initiate an application to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for charitable status.
  • A logo contest was initiated by youth to provide the FTCCIS with a professional logo.

Summer

  • The FTCCIS directors meet with the current landowners to discuss possible purchase.
  • The second Artist’s Journey Art Auction takes place at the Natural Food Coop on Cortes Island. Sales of donated artwork from the two combined art auctions raises the funds necessary to print the Forest Alphabet book. Research initiated into the printing firm of choice.
  • Tara’s Artshow at The Old School House art gallery; dedicated to the Children’s Forest.

Autumn

  • Application for charitable status submitted to CRA.

2014

Summer

  • May 15, 2014 the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society (FTCCIS) is granted charitable registration under the Income Tax Act (Canada Revenue Agency).
    The fundraising begins!
  • FTCCIS adopts winning youth logo design on Society letterhead, buttons & magnets.
  • Forest Alphabet: Artistic Visions of a Forest in Trust to the Children is printed by Friesens Press.
  • FTCCIS is the community co-host at Seafest 2014: 700 guests on the grounds at Gorge Harbour Marina; this is a Society fundraiser and educational event.
  • The children of Cortes Island launch their book, Forest Alphabet: Artistic Visions of a Forest in Trust to the Children. Over 100 community members join in the summer celebration at Linnaea Education Center & Trude bakes one of her famous cakes!
  • Cortes Day educational display and parade of forest Ents.

Autumn

  • FTCCIS welcomes new board members: Andrew Smythe and Ashe Biela; Ashe stepping into the newly designated role of Youth Director.
  •  Streamkeepers Training Workshop sponsored by FTCCIS & FOCI; Oct. 25 & 26
  • Chum salmon observed returning to James Creek with subsequent predation, most probably by local wolves!

Winter

  • Nature Study Days in the Children’s Forest are initiated, on November 2; the first Sunday of every month dedicated to youth spending the day in the Children’s Forest making seasonal observations; Dec. 7, Jan. 4, Feb. 1 follow.
  • Youth director initiates youth workshops in preparation for 2015 Forest Alphabet Tours to coastal BC schools:
    -Meinsje Vlaming facilitates creation of a Tribe of Forest Puppets
    -Dan Peters facilitates composition & recording of The Forest Alphabet Rap
    -Diane Brussell writes the Mycorrhizal Hokey Pokey for song & dance
  • A solstice celebration, The Tree, presents the youth’s work to date, to the community.
  • November 22 FTCCIS AGM
  • FTCCIS fundraising dossier printed & assembled for distribution.
  • Cortes youth champion species at risk in the Children’s Forest; art cards & felted species sold at Christmas fairs.

2015

Winter

  • Connie Brill & Colin Funk with ReWild Theatre provide professional training for Children’s Forest troupe.

Spring

  • Nature Study Days; Mar.1…continuing through the year the first Sunday of every month
  • March 1 – 5, Forest Alphabet Tour to Saltspring Island, BC. Children’s Forest troupe performs for ~500 youth at Saltspring Schools: Saltspring Center, Phoenix, Saltspring Island Middle and Fulford, Fernwood & Saltspring Elementary.  Taking the vision of… a forest in trust to the children, to Saltspring Island!
  •  Youth Workshop: The Art & Science of Interpretation

Summer

  • Forest Interpretative Walks by forest apprentice, Tosh Harvey; weekly from Gorge Harbour Marina into the Whaletown Park and Whaletown Commons.
  • Shades of Green theatre performance by Children’s Forest troupe premieres at Gorge Harbour Marina.

2016

Winter

  • Jan. 31, first public AGM for Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society, at Linnaea Education Center.
  • Children’s Forest Youth Group initiates weekly meetings to continue their enthusiastic engagement with the Children’s Forest.

Spring

  • Nature Study Days in the Children’s Forest, the first Sunday of every month, continue into their second year! Immanuel McKenty produces a Nature Study Day video.
  • So, You Want to be a Naturalist? April 9 workshop facilitated by Sabina Leader Mense.
  • April 16 & 17, our inaugural BioBlitz! 2016 featuring Purnima Govindarajulu/ BC Provincial Small Mammals & Herpetofauna specialist and Frank Boas AKA Moss Man! A Bioblitz is a 24 hour inventory…blitz! of a given place; an FTCCIS research initiative.

Summer

  • May 21 is Seafest at Gorge Harbour Marina with the Children’s Forest Theater troupe performing The Lorax. Under the direction of FTCCIS director, Connie Brill

Winter

  • November 6 – 15 FTCCIS youth count spawning chum salmon in James Creek and film the event from Grandmother Grove
  • Weekly Friday theatre & arts programming begins and carries out through to the end of the year.
  • November 26, AGM for the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society, at the Linnaea Education Center.
  • December 18 – first annual Christmas Bird Count in Children’s Forest; partnership w/Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society (CIMAS) and Bird Studies Canada

2017

Spring

  • February 18, Children’s Forest Youth perform at CKTZ Lip Sync; video online.
  • March 11, BioBlitz! Benefit at Gorge Hall; 64 dinners served!!!
  • April 28, 29 & 30 BioBlitz! 2017 with 7 renowned BC entomologists; we launched our Youth Mentorship Program, where Cortes youth interact 1:1 with visiting naturalists & scientists on the ground in the Children’s Forest.

Summer

  • May 1, Shorekeeper training for FTCCIS youth; standardized quadrat methodology at FOCI foreshore monitoring Site #1/ Seaford.
  • May 12, Gently Down the Creek, Streamkeeper training for 15 youth with DFO biologist Dave Clough at Hansen Creek; offered by FTCCIS in partnership with FOCI.
  • Land valuation completed by Frances Guthrie for FTCCIS; timber valuation completed by Econ Consulting. FTCCIS Acquisitions Committee meets with Children’s Forest landowners, Island Timberlands.
  • Without One, None, murder mystery centered around the disappearance of an ecosystem. May 30 the Children’s Forest Theater Troupe of 22 youth perform at schools in Campbell River and on Quadra Island.
  • Imagine… A Forest In Trust to the Children Art Show at The Old SchoolHouse (TOSH); July 28-30 & August 4-6, Curated by Krista Smith as culmination of Friday programming art classes.

Winter

  • Friday Youth programming continues on a weekly basis out of the Linnaea Education Center.
  • Nature Study Days, the first Sunday of every month continue with the focus on place-based, experiential education!
  • October – November – youth monitor James Creek for spawning salmon
  • FTCCIS attends the Land Trust of BC (LTABC) Land Summit in Victoria, Nov. 15-17, to connect with BC conservation based community.
  • November 4, streamside restoration Whaletown Creek by FTCCIS youth
  • November 23, AGM for the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society at the Linnaea Education Center
  • Fairy Tea Party: a delightful afternoon of youth improv theatre alongside delectable treats!!!

2018

Winter

  • Nature Study Days really hit the ground; EPIC hikes to the far side of Blitz Bluff!

Spring

  • April 6, FTCCIS youth tour Klahoose salmon hatchery prior to chum fry release
  • Camp Skills Workshop April 20; youth learn how to hone their outdoor skills in preparation for BioBlitz!
  • Cortes Wild! launch at the Linnaea Education Center on Earth Day, April 22!
  • FTCCIS joins this partnership of 5 Cortes organizations to operate & expand on natural history programming at the Cortes Museum’s new satellite natural history display Wild Cortes, located at the Linnaea Education Center. FTCCIS joins: Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society (CIMAS), Linnaea Farm Society (LFS), Friends of Cortes Island Society (FOCI), and Discovery Islands Ecosystem Mapping project (DIEM).
  • June 6, Gently Down the Creek, Streamkeeper training for 10 youth at James Creek with DFO biologist Dave Clough; FTCCIS in partnership with FOCI/Streamkeepers and Pacific Salmon Foundation

Summer

  • May 4, 5 & 6 BioBlitz! 2018 with featured guest, Andy MacKinnon, forest ecologist extraordinaire! Our Youth Mentorship Program enters its second year and we polish the Cortes Community Campout component of BioBlitz!

Winter

  • October-November – FTCCIS youth count spawning chum in James Creek
  • Friday, weekly youth programming operates out of Linnaea Education Center with a bursting new demographic of younger youth; Forest Tribe recruitment is strong!
  • December 17 – Christmas Bird Count w/ CIMAS & Museum & Bird Studies Canada

2019

Winter

  • January 12 – AGM for the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society at the Linnaea Education Center.
  • Quadra Outdoors Club explores the Children’s Forest with FTCCIS directors January 23
  • Nature Study Days continue to introduce families to the Children’s Forest; in March we welcomed 11 month old Zorah on her first visit to the Children’s Forest!
  • On February 26, FTCCIS directors gathered for a Strategic Planning session; heads together all day at the Linnaea Education Center.
  • FTCCIS Friday Youth programming continues on a weekly basis out of the Linnaea Education Center and incorporates the Cortes Wild! natural history exhibits

Summer

  • July  20 – FTCCIS Board tour Children’s Forest with Mosaic Forest Management’s Vice President, Forest & Logistics and Chief Forester, Domenico Iannidinardo and his family. Since 2018 Mosaic Forest Management has managed the forest planning, operations and product sales for Island Timberlands and Timberwest. Island Timberlands are the present landholders of the Children’s Forest lands.

Autumn

  • The Forest Tribe of youth give Australian guests, Faunaverse, a  forest tour;  alligator lizards sunning themselves…
  • October 26 – Whaletown Creek native plant restoration with FTCCIS youth; joint project with FOCI Streamkeepers and financial support from Pacific Salmon Foundation

Winter

  • November – youth continue to monitor & count spawning chum in James Creek

2020

Winter

  • Monthly Nature Study Days continue throughout the year on the first Sunday of every month.
  • January 5 –annual Christmas Bird Count in the Children’s Forest; in partnership with the Cortes Museum & Bird Studies Canada
  • February 8 – FTCCIS AGM @Linnaea Education Center w/Cortes Wild! open house

Spring

  • Community leadership; FTCCIS collaborates with the Cortes Community Health Family Support Group to offer an 11-week series of innovative nature activities for families in response to the outbreak of Covid-19.
  • May 2 – Spring Bird Count in the Children’s Forest undertaken by 10 keen birders in conjunction w/ Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society & Bird Studies Canada

Summer

  • James Creek Restoration Project initiated early July to conduct stream surveys and map restoration sites in conjunction with Department of Fisheries & Oceans.
  • Children’s Forest Summer Art Show hosted by Cortes Natural Food Coop.

Autumn

  • September 5 & 12 – James Creek Restoration Project underway with two epic work bees move spawning gravel by bucket, wheelbarrow and zipline into James Creek; 22 volunteers involved in this important stream restoration project to enhance chum salmon spawning habitat in James Creek.
  • iNaturalist workshop at Manson’s Lagoon September 27, for FTCCIS Board & youth; hosted by Kelly Fretwell and sponsored by Hakai Institute & BCParks.
  • October 17 & 18 – FTCCIS holds its inaugural MYCOblitz with renowned mycologist, Paul Stamets mentoring six youth & young adults in mushroom identification; 63 macrofungi documented in the Children’s Forest.
  • MYCOstations established for second day interpretative… Family Mushroom Day, hosted by youth apprentices and Paul Stamets; Covid-19 protocols in place.

Winter

  • Basic Streamkeeper orientation, November 6, for families with salmon & predator counting at Basil Creek; FTCCIS in partnership with Friends of Cortes Island Society.
  • November 8 – James Creek spawner counts with energetic youth counting!
  • Monthly Nature Study Days temporarily suspended due to Covid-19 BC Provincial Health Orders; FTCCIS promotes family excursions into the forest
  • December 1 – Giving Tuesday & Canada Helps provide the framework for generosity and community donations towards operational support for the FTCCIS;
  • $2020.00 raised in one day for the year 2020! Thank you Cortes community!
  • December 28 – annual Christmas Bird Count in the Children’s Forest, in partnership with the Cortes Museum & Bird Studies Canada; Covid-19 protocols.