Kus-kus-sum Unpaved; A look at our progress in 2021

It has been a big year for the Kus-kus-sum property. In February, the property, which was secured at the end of 2020, was put into our name in trust for the K’ómoks First Nation and the City of Courtenay. By the end of March, we had the old office building torn down and were gearing up for the summer work period. Over the summer, we worked with Copcan to remove all the hard surfacing from the site. This included asphalt, and concrete embedded with rebar. The asphalt was removed to be recycled. The rebar was separated from the concrete, put into bins, and recycled by ABC recycling. The concrete was then crushed and purchased by local businesses and individuals who trucked the material offsite. In total 33 bins of metal, 99 loads of asphalt and 750 loads of crushed concrete were trucked off the site to be repurposed. Even some of the PVC pipes that were unearthed will be reused locally by the United Riders of Cumberland (UROC) for trail building. In October and early November, we worked with Copcan to tidy up the site and get it ready to overwinter. We have created a short VIDEO of the work completed and a PHOTO GALLERY for your pursual. While the work on the Kus-kus-sum site has wrapped up for this year, we are now busy looking for funds to reach next year’s restoration goals.

In 2022 will be working with heavy equipment to remove subsurface concrete and utilities. Then the site will be regraded to recreate natural streamside elevations. We will start at the north end. Once this area is ready it will be planted with upland plants such as trees and shrubs. The idea is to integrate the north end of the site with the preexisting bank that leads up to the 17^th Street Bridge. The amount of funds we raised will determine how much regrading can be accomplished. If we have all the funds lined up, it would be possible for us to regrade and replant the entire site.

We are currently about 50% short of the total needed to complete the restoration. We are writing grants and planning fundraisers to make up this shortfall of approximately $2 million. Donations are greatly appreciated.