Jesse Woodward

When you think of invasive species on the West Coast, you might think of  Scotch-Broom or English Ivy or European Wall Lizards. The Gabriola Island Shore Keepers Association (GISKA) is thinking of a different invasive species, the European Green Crab. They're hosting a talk Tuesday evening with Christine Spice about the crab and preventing their spread. Today on the program we speak with Isobel Pearsall, a volunteer of GISKA, about this invasive species and also about what the association is doing more broadly in the community. We also speak with Tom Therriault from Fisheries and Oceans Canada for further information about the crab and Nick Wong from the Invasive Species Council of BC  about how we can prevent their spread.Website: Gabriola Island Shore Keepers AssociationWebsite: Pacific Salmon Foundation page on identification Website: DFO page on European Green CrabsWebsite: ISCBC European Green Crab PDF: European Green Crab factsheet Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month.

The future of a drop-in centre and overnight shelter in the south end was the subject of extensive discussion at a pair of council and committee meetings this past week.The Hub is a facility on Nicol Street and Victoria Road that offers daytime services for people experiencing homelessness run by Island Crisis Care Society, and an evening shelter run by the Nanaimo Family Life Association. Between a Finance and Audit Committee Meeting and a Regular Council Meeting, council heard from more than ten community members about the impacts they feel the service has had on their neighbourhood. Council ultimately voted to extend funding for the site through the end of next winter. Nanaimo City Councillor and south end resident Erin Hemmens spoke with Midcoast Morning about the issue.Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month.

Qualicum Beach has a plan to acquire tens of acres of green space without raising taxes. The town has reached an agreement to buy the Eaglecrest golf course for $8.5 million. The goal is to cover the purchase price by selling about ten per cent of the newly acquired lands, which would then be developed into housing. It’s anticipated there will be around 40 acres of new parkland, with a 9 hole golf course continuing to operate. The deal is subject to due diligence and public consultation. The town’s director of planning and community development speaks with Midcoast Morning about the plan.Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month.

Running August 7th to 17th the Nanaimo Fringe Festival returns for its 15th anniversary! A milestone year, the “the little Fringe that could” is yet again bringing an assortment of creative acts from across the continent to Nanaimo for ten days. We talk fringe with the organizers and performers.

With the lighting of the torch for the 55+ BC Games having happened this past June 19th and with just over a month and a half until competition starts in September. Today on the show we have former two term Nanaimo City Councillor and Host Society President Diana Johnstone on to talk about the big event. Leann Rose Crook, Director of Participant & Volunteer Services joins her.The 55+ BC Games, is the province’s largest multi-sport and activity event having first started as the BC Senior Games in 1988 with 650 attendees participating in 15 sports. As the BC Senior Games, it was last held in Nanaimo in 2007, before the games were renamed in 2015. Cancelled in 2020, and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games returned in 2022 to Great Victoria. Last year in 2024, Salmon Arm hosted.Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month.

On July 7th, the City of Nanaimo moved forward this past week on a long-standing need for recreational and gathering space in the south end of the city, with the purchase of land in Chase River for a South End Community Centre. Mayor Leonard Krog speaks with Executive Producer Jesse Woodward about the purchase, and the project. At that same meeting, council also finally adopted its amended off-street parking regulations bylaw after three previous readings of the amendment. This decision removes off-street parking minimums in a part of downtown Nanaimo referred to as the Downtown Urban Centre. Michael Basilli of Strong Towns Nanaimo, joins the show to discuss that decision, and their thoughts regarding parking reforms in Nanaimo.Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month.

History is being carried into the future in the town of Comox with a viewing platform planned to be built on the foundation of Mack Laing's old house, Shakesides in Mack Laing Nature Park. The outdoor space will honour the historic figure's life, legacy, and wishes for future generations. But the decision is a hot topic of debate in the Comox Valley, and the question still remains, what will be done with the old historic house? Will Shakesides be demolished to make way for the new ode to the past, or will it be relocated to a new site where it can be restored and maintained?

The BC Government wants to hear your input on how to improve our democracy. The province’s special committee on democratic and electoral reform is accepting written submissions from members of the public with something to say about democratic engagement, voter participation and models for electing MLAs. CHLY speaks with Nanaimo-Lantzville MLA and committee member George Anderson. Two West Vancouver twins plan on speaking with the committee and calling on the voting age to be lowered to 16. They speak with Midcoast Morning about the issue.

A visit from the city’s namesake ship helped people in Nanaimo mark Canada Day Tuesday. Large crowds gathered to take in the sunshine in Maffeo Sutton park, where local musicians performed,  community groups showed off their work,  and a bevy of food trucks saw their services in high demand. Midcoast Morning brings you sounds from the event, including an interview with the CO of HMCS Nanaimo.

Nanaimo is looking to ban the sale of invasive plant species at shops in town. This Monday at a governance and priorities committee meeting councillors voted in support of a plan to ask staff to draft a bylaw banning the sale of invasives. A number of species including English Ivy, Himalayan Blackberry, Scotch Broom, and Daphne were listed in a staff report as impacting the city’s parks and natural areas. CHLY' reporter Lauryn MacKenzie speaks with ecological consultant Hunter Jarratt about invasive species in Nanaimo. Midcoast Morning also hears from Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who responded to recent comments from Nanaimo City Council that followed a letter in which the minister declined a request to meet and discuss funding for daytime shelter spaces.

Nanaimo is debating how much new developments should have to pay to support community infrastructure. The city is looking at updating its Development Cost Charge (DCC) bylaw for the first time in seven years, and creating an Amenity Cost Charge (ACC) bylaw. Midcoast Morning breaks down what DCCs are, what the timelines are for changes to the bylaws, and what the province and members of the development community have to say about potential updates to DCCs.

A group promoting local food took to Nanaimo City Council Monday,  The folks behind the Nanaimo Food Hub are looking to boost awareness of the project, and lay the foundations for future growth. Founded two years ago, the hub has a vision of connecting people to locally grown food. They’re getting ready to start a second season of Friday markets at the Nanaimo Montessori School. Midcoast Morning spoke with co-founder Tina Fabbro

Nanaimo is asking for voters' permission to sell an acre of parkland to pave the way for a road to a planned subdivision. At a meeting Monday, Nanaimo city council approved a plan that would ultimately see the north edge of Elaine Hamilton Park in the city’s south end become a road that would serve as the main entryway to a residential development, one of six sections of the Sandstone Project. A washroom at the park would need to be demolished, with the developer building a new facility on a different part of the park. After initially voting against an running an AAP, council reconsidered and voted 6-3 in favour of the process, with councillors Paul Manly, Tyler Brown, and Ben Geselbracht opposed. Midcoast Morning brings you coverage of the meeting, and speaks with the developer behind the project.

Midcoast Morning speaks with Gordon Robinson of the Coastal Fire Centre in Parksville to assess wildfire risks on Vancouver Island. The program also speaks with Steve Mjaaland of Mosaic, who manage nearly 1.5 million acres of private land on southeastern Vancouver Island.

Dinosaurs of BC, a traveling exhibition from the Royal British Columbia Museum, is making its way to Nanaimo for the summer. Midcoast Morning speaks with paleontologist Victoria Arbour about the kinds of fossils around what’s now B.C, and what the mass extinction event at the end of the cretaceous period 66 million years ago was like.

A Documentary filmed on the front lines of what’s been called Canada’s largest act of civil disobedience is coming to Nanaimo. Fairy Creek from director Jen Muranetz tells stories from the anti old growth logging protest and blockade that began in 2020.  Midcoast Morning spoke with the filmmaker ahead of the documentary’s theatrical run in the city.

Two stories about making a change in the environment, one on a systems level, and one about a community member trying to make a difference The British Columbia Community Forest Association gathered in Nanaimo for a three day conference this week, Midcoast Morning explores the state of community forests in the province with the group’s executive director. Plus Jim Senka says an experience in Northern Manitoba changed the way he looked at development and the environment. He shares the role that story played in leading the 81 year old to seek out a habitat restoration grant for his home in Harewood.

The O in Nanaimo’s downtown sign is getting a new design after several incidents of vandalism over the last few years.  The sign was installed in Maffeo Sutton Park in 2021. Each of the five foot letters in Nanaimo are painted white, except for the O, which features a rainbow design made up of 15 coloured segments. A release from the city at the time the sign went up said that:  “The colourful "O" can mean different things to different people. For example, the different colours in the “O” represents(sic) the diversity of the 100,000 plus voices who have shaped and continue to shape our spectacular City. It also represents an inclusive Nanaimo, full of opportunity for generations to come.” The O has since been vandalized on multiple occasions, most recently it was painted entirely white. At one point last year, the O was spray painted with the words “no WEF”, a reference to the world economic forum. At a meeting Monday Nanaimo city council voted 6-3 in support of a staff recommendation to commission a new design for the sign. Midcoast Morning brings you the debate on the issue and speaks with Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog.

A new project puts the Coast Salish Wooly Dog in the spotlight. Several sources suggest the dogs, which are now extinct, experienced a severe population decline in the 1850s. The pelt of one Coast Salish Wooly dog that was lying in the Smithsonian for more than a hundred and fifty years inspired a research project that brought together knowledge holders from a variety of Coast Salish communities. That project has resulted in a new book called The Teachings of Mutton. Liz Hammond-Kaareema, Violet Elliot and Elliot White Hill all contributed to that book, and they joined Midcoast Morning to talk about Coast Salish Wooly Dogs. The trio will also be part of a launch event on Saturday May 31st at the Nanaimo Museum, more information about that event can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-the-teachings-of-mutton-tickets-1347238820579?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Midcoast Morning visits a temporary housing site in Cedar that is set to welcome 50 people over the coming months. Located at 1300 Island Highway South, the site is described as temporary housing, funded for three years through the provincial HEART/HEARTH program, which is intended to respond to homelessness. Made up of small modular units, day to day operations will be managed by Connective Support Society.