Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) have a full slate of events this summer.
They started July with a tour of the off-grid agricultural oasis, Blue Jay Farm, followed by a low tide exploration of the natural and local history of Mansons Lagoon.
“They've gone really well, and we've got these other six events coming up,” explained to Helen Hall, Executive Director of FOCI.
On Sunday, the 23rd of July, we've got a wonderful wetland tour with Autumn Barrett Morgan to learn about the Dylan Creek Wetland at Linnaea Farm and also about the restoration project that's gone on there.
Starting on Saturday the 20th of August, we have a Linnaea Farm tour, which is always really popular and that gives people a chance to learn about Linnaea, get up close to some of the farm animals and see the bed garden too.
On Tuesday, the 23rd of August, we've got a sunrise with seabirds event with Bill Ophoff, the naturalist from Hollyhock. it's gonna be an early morning walk along the beach looking for seabirds and other marine life.
On Saturday, the 26th of August, we've got an eco poetry workshop with Soma Feldmar. It's a day long workshop. Where we're gonna be exploring the natural world and writing poems.
Finally on Tuesday the 29th of August, we've got another gum boot in the Lagoon event with Dew Cowper, who's a brilliant marine biologist from Campbell River and Melanie Boyle, who's the general manager at the museum. That's going to be exploring the lagoon at the low tide, looking for marine life, but also learning about local geology and history.
“It's gonna be a great summer. I think these activities are a great way for people to discover the island and learn about the natural environment. We get a mix of people. These are really nice outings for locals, as well as for people visiting the island,” said Hall.
“We are encouraging people to do is book early because the events are really popular. Email us at friends of cortez gmail.com or phone us on (250) 935-0087 to book your spot.”
