Voices for the Islands Book Launch

Published by Adrienne Brown on 08/26/2024 08/29/2024

On August 14^th, an informal afternoon gathering at the Mayne Island Brewery provided us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the publication of Sheila Harrington’s Voices from the Islands.

Thanks to Michael Garratt and Annette Wittman for hosting, and to Gail Noonan from Books on Mayne for having copies on hand for Sheila to sign. This large format soft cover book provides an impressive overview of land conservation and protection achieved over more than fifteen islands in the Salish Sea, and detailed descriptions of what individual organizations have achieved. The stories cover a wide diversity of circumstances, along with an impressive range of effective responses. These examples are worth studying if you want to understand a wide range of practical and proven approaches to land conservation.

The islands covered in this history include Gabriola, Thetis, Salt Spring, North and South Pender, Saturna, Galiano, Hornby, Denman, Quadra, Cortes, Savary, Bowen, Gambier, Lasqueti, and of course Mayne! Along the way the reader learns about the formation of various conservation organizations, and about the issues and challenges they have encountered. Each chapter touches on a wide range of initiatives and relates them to the founding and evolution of a local land trust and/or conservancy. Over the years these innovative groups have addressed countless threats to local ecosystems. And they have done this work in partnership with a wide array of collateral organizations, various levels of government, and with First Nations. Cross border partnerships with individual donors and with the American Friends of Canadian Conservation have led to impressive conservation achievements. Examples of these include Link Island off Gabriola, Brooks Point on South Pender, and St. John Point here on Mayne.

Along the way you meet the key figures who have founded and built the administrative, political, and financial capacities of their conservation groups, and learn about colourful episodes in their history. Stories include protests and lawsuits as well as successful fundraising campaigns – one of the most successful being the Salt Spring 2001 Nude Calendar, which raised $100,000! Sheila interviewed Michael Dunn, Helen O’Brian, Malcolm Inglis, and Rob Underhill for the chapter on Mayne Island, and the result is an engaging and informative story of the Mayne Island Conservancy and its achievements over the past two decades.

Sheila emphasizes that conservation work must continue to address the interface between natural spaces and human activity through both education and hands-on restoration work. Local First Nations have a deep knowledge of the history, culture, and ecology of the islands; knowledge which is indispensable to anyone who wants to really understand these unceded lands and waters.

One of the most inspiring concepts in the concluding chapter is the power of actively creating new partnerships, each tailored to an individual situation.

This is a wonderful book, one which will become both a reference text and an inspiration to so many in the land trust sphere, and to anyone who has an interest in the environment and the power of community. Copies are available through Books on Mayne.