Holding the torch high - together

On December 26, 2012, Rebecca Tarbotton died in a freak accident while on holiday with her family in Mexico. From everything I've read about Rebecca in the media reports that followed, she was a passionate, intelligent, committed and funny person, loved by those who knew her and respected by many more – even those against whom she battled. The Vancouver native’s passing at the age of 39 was tragic and as Executive Director of the Rainforest Action Network, her loss reverberated beyond her organization to the worldwide environmental movement. We lost one of our brightest leaders, someone who had made an incredible difference in our world. One can only imagine what other great things she would have done had she had the chance.

I didn't know Rebecca, but her passing has been on my mind a lot in the last few months. Like so many of us who have chosen environmental advocacy and social change as our professions, Rebecca struck me as someone who believed that her hard work today was going to create a better, healthier world for everyone. The motivation of an ‘environmental activist’ is unselfish: to speak for those who cannot take action, against those who are driven by self-interest.

Photo: Bryan Nichols

Just before I sat down to write this, I read a Guardian article on how the Canadian government is now using taxpayers’ money – yours and mine – to spy on organizations they describe as “enemies of the state”. These groups only want to ensure that the health of future generations is factored into government decision making, yet their peaceful marches and expressions of opposition are labelled “terrorism”. How exactly did we get to this point?

Somehow the PR machine of our democratically elected federal government has decided that the same groups whose work resulted in the banning of toxins such as DDT and PCBs and the protection of waters and lands across this country – all of which benefit individuals in the government as well as other Canadians – are now to be viewed as impeding what is best­­­­­ for our citizenry.

This is scary enough, but what concerns me more is the power and influence of the vocal minority who openly agree with this assessment. When did ensuring we had clean air and water become a negative? At one not-so-distant time in history, Presidents, Prime Ministers and even industry leaders stood up for the protection of forests and rivers and oceans – and they were lauded for it. Today, in Canada, these are deemed as impediments to “progress” and those that want their protection are “the enemy”.

Our country is at an important crossroad. The damage that the energy and mining sectors, with the help of our federal government, are doing to our environment will have heavy ramifications for generations to come. The vilification of environmental advocates, along with efforts to silence them through media attacks and threats to their charitable status, will give added strength to those efforts to destroy what we citizens have spent decades trying to protect.

In the face of these forces, silence is not an option, and the great news is you haven’t been silent at all.  You have signed petitions, attended events and made what you value clear to our leaders. Beyond this, many of you have made the important decision to support groups like GSA, so that we can be an even stronger voice for you. In 2012, GSA’s membership jumped by an incredible 36%, at a time when so many people’s budgets are tight. We can’t thank you enough for your support, as it tells us we’re on the right track - and puts us in a great position to do even more.

Since there is “strength in numbers” – and the challenges facing us require a great deal of strength - we hope you will help us build our community of donors even more in the coming year. You have made the decision to support GSA because you believe in what we do. We’re certain there are many in your network who feel the same, so why not invite a friend or colleague to become part of the GSA family? They can make a donation online or by mail and when they do, they will be helping us grow even stronger. 

The coming year promises to be very exciting and in the coming months we look forward to sharing more ways for you to be involved. Being a part of this great and growing community is inspiring.

Now, whenever I read about another attack on our environment or on environmental groups, I will think about Rebecca Tarbotton – and about how more and more of us are coming together to build on the amazing work she did.  We are growing, and we will hold high the torch she handed us.

Down at the Dock: Vancouver International Boat Show a success

(L to R) Ruby Berry, Christianne Wilhelmson, Robert Dick,
David Macdonald and Mike Richards at our booth.
Photo by Michelle Young

What a fantastic time we had at the Vancouver International Boat Show, put on by our supporters at the BC Marine Trades Association! Attendance was strong with thousands of people enjoying the event every day, and many boaters, from rookies to sea dogs, came by our booth to chat.

Not only did we talk to recreational boaters, but we also got to meet lots of wonderful people in the boating industry too, as we continue to spread the word about Clean Marine BC, our growing marina eco-rating program.

Many people left our booth with a greater knowledge of green boating practices:  from where pumpout stations are located, to alternatives to toxic bottom paints, as well as cleaning products more friendly to our marine environment, fuel efficiency tips and how to prevent small spills.

Lots of people also went away happy with a new key chain float in hand, kindly donated by Sean at Dolphin Insurance.

Also available at the boat show were our two newly designed GSA burgees. Check them out and find out how you can proudly fly yours and support our marine conservation work too!

All in all it was a very successful time ‘Down at the Dock’.

Times They Are a-Changin'

How many times have those words from Bob Dylan's 1964 song been used to describe a current situation? Who knows for sure, but I do know that those words are as true today as they were back then. Indeed I believe we are on the cusp of tremendous change. Some good, Some not so good.

Throughout the world we are seeing and hearing about dramatic changes in political stability, economic viability and environmental health. We are seeing record breaking climatic events every week and the emergence of movements like Idle No More and Defend our Coast. We are hearing about a public, here and in other countries that is dismayed by the actions (or inactions) of their leaders. People are standing up for what they believe is right and it seems that enough is finally enough.

Whilst I do not profess to have the answers to why or how much of this is happening, I do suspect much of it has to do with economic and social models based on continuous growth. Anyone who has studied ecology understands that ecosystems have resource and energy limits and can only adapt to change at a certain rate before they start to collapse. And like it or not, humans and our sometimes weird ways are part of those ecosystems and part of the ecosystem of the whole planet.

Once that is understood by more of our politicians and our business leaders, perhaps some of the conflicts we are seeing now will be unnecessary as we evolve to live in a more harmonious way with our home and each other. We cannot continue to use up all the resources of our planet. We cannot continue to poison our planet and we cannot continue to support a lifestyle that we in so called developed counties seem to believe is our right and that now is desired by less developed nations. With around 7 billion people on this fragile third planet from the sun something really has to change if we are are to survive as a species long term.  Let the changes happen. Support them happening. Lets make our own changes even though they can be scary and lets change to a more sustainable world.

Good things come in small packages

Back in the day when I was a school-kid, slogan t-shirts were all the rage – many of them went over my 9 year-old head (and remembering them now, I can’t believe how inappropriate some of those sayings were) but the kernel of truth from my best friend’s  "Good things come in small packages" shirt has stuck with me over the years. I was reminded of my friend and that shirt recently, when a small envelope was received at GSA’s Nanaimo office.

The enclosed note said: I want to help save the world and the oceans and the animals  I hope the five dolers from my pigey bank is good

The sincerity behind that note, carefully printed by a child’s hand, brings me back to what drives us at Georgia Strait Alliance to do what we do every day, and to what motivates each of our members and donors to give what they can, even in these hard times, to help us to continue our work to protect and restore Georgia Strait and its surrounding communities each year.

Photo by Cheryl Onciul

From the $5 from our young donor to the $5000 first-time gift from a new donor, we are grateful for the contributions we received in 2012 from the wide range of individuals who share our belief in a future for our region that includes clean air and water, healthy wild salmon runs, rich marine life and natural areas, and sustainable communities. As we begin 2013, we want to thank our long-time members, new members, and those who have recently renewed their memberships after a period of inactivity. Your monthly gifts, one-time gifts, bequests – small and large, donations through online crowd sourcing platforms, and donations of stocks have helped us to increase our membership by 36% in 2012! 

With more members standing with us, GSA’s voice is louder as we speak out in opposition to increases in infrastructure for fossil fuels, like Kinder Morgan’s new TransMountain pipeline proposal. Your donations help us to publish materials that inform individuals about the ways we can all minimize our unintended negative impacts on the marine environment and allow us to participate in community events on both shores of the Strait to connect with communities around the region.  Together we are helping more marinas than ever before go green, through our Clean Marine BC eco-certification program. And our increased membership gives even more weight to our work to protect Species at Risk, including our southern resident killer whales, whose existing protection is tenuous at best and under threat of being weakened even further through anticipated changes to federal environmental legislation.

So yes, our young environmentalist friend, the $5 from your piggy bank IS good. We need it, just like we need the gifts of our hundreds of members and donors – our diversity and our numbers make us stronger. Thank you! We will do our best to help save the world and the oceans and the animals for you and your friends for generations to come. Good things really do come in small packages!

This blog was submitted by Cheryl Onciul, Georgia Strait Alliance's Grant Coordinator.

Down at the Dock: from boat shows to cruising magazines

2013 is upon us, and you know what that means! Soon we will be mingling with boating enthusiasts at the Vancouver International Boat Show. We hope you will stop by our booth February 7^th to 11^th where we will be featuring our award winning Clean Marine BC green boating and marina eco-certification program.

You can even pick up one of our brand new burgees – I ♥GeorgiaStrait.org

If you have the time, we would sure appreciate your help. We are looking for volunteers to staff our booth during the five day boat show, and all the better if you are familiar with green boating and GSA programs ~ if not, it is a great opportunity to learn! If you are interested, please email Michelle Young, or call our office at (250) 753-3459.

We are also very excited to let you know that GSA is in the Suncruiser Westcoast 2013 cruising guide. You will need to get your copy to check out our full page spread, Down at the Dock: Hop on Board!, chock full of Clean Marine BC news and information.

Suncruiser also has our wonderful full page ad:

See you down at the dock…or at the Vancouver International Boat Show, as the case may be!