News from our 2024 AGM

Our AGM on June 22 was a great success! We had 36 people attend in-person as well as four people in attendance by Zoom. Caitlin and Caila shared some exciting updates and information about new projects and Marika gave a very interesting keynote about native bees. We also said goodbye to some outgoing directors and hello to three new ones.

Kus-kus-sum Project

Caitlin gave an update on the Kus-kus-sum project announcing that the plan is for the steel wall to be taken down during the winter of 2025/2026, pending completion of all the earthworks, plantings and site stabilization preparations currently underway. The Kus-kus-sum project began in 2017 and is one of the most ambitious habitat restoration projects undertaken on Vancouver Island. The work is transforming a derelict sawmill site into a living saltmarsh and deepwater pool like what existed before the industrial period. This restoration is key to a healthy salmon population, which uses the Courtenay River estuary as a transit point between spawning grounds and the ocean. 

Dyke Road Saltmarsh Project

It was also announced that we will be working on revamping the Dyke Road Park in partnership with the Stewardship Centre of BC, Comox Valley Regional District, K’ómoks First Nation (including the K’ómoks Guardian Watchmen), and the Guardians of our Salish Estuaries over the coming year. The work will include removing the shoreline armouring and invasive species, recontouring the site, planting saltmarsh and installing a new boardwalk. Some of these activities have already started, with saltmarsh planting occurring in the fall and next spring.

The Project Watershed Team

We have welcomed five new staff members to the staff team over the past year, and elected three new directors to the board this AGM. The new directors — Ben Kingstone, Clarke Goble and Lynne Kilpatrick — will complement the continuing directors Kathy Haigh, Alisha Drinkwater, Tom Grimmer, James Godwin, Brodie Guy, and Geoff Wickstrom. Since the meeting Tom has taken the position of Chair, Brodie – Vice Chair, Geoff – Secretary and Clark – Treasurer.

It was bittersweet to say goodbye to our outgoing directors Pat Sloan, Brian Storey, and Bill Heath. Our thanks go out to them for their many years of service to Project Watershed.

Learning about Native Bees

In a keynote presentation at the AGM, Marika Ai-Li, Project Watershed Restoration and Monitoring Manager, stressed the importance of the relationship between native bees and native plants saying that “some native bees only pollinate certain native plants – if the bees disappear these plants will disappear and vice versa”. She highlighted ways to identify native bees and closed by saying that the protection of wild spaces and native plants is key to native bee survival.

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