The wind kept us all awake and the highway at Tlell was hijacked again. All those logs! It was not a good time to be on the road. Although Masset didn’t seem to be hit as badly as some of the other island communities there was still a sense of post-storm shock and plain old tiredness from lack of sleep. Someone suggested that we might need counselling! There you go. Storms are the norm, there will probably be a few more before winter is out. They used to say that a good south-easter is needed from time to time to clear the air.
Lots of kids from the Greater Massett area go to the Mount Moresby Adventure Camp every year. They love it and there’s all sorts of things to learn about forest lore, the lure of open water and the importance of the forest integrity for plants, fungi, insects, birds, mammals and everything else that thrives in a healthy forest. However, a 16-hectare patch of forest around the camp came pretty close to being clear-cut recently as the BC Government was going to give Timber West a permit to do so. Friends of Mount Moresby Adventure Camp (MMAC) brought the issue to light, noting that the Camp was the “most highly used outdoor education facility on Haida Gwaii. The educational programs that use this small forest are part of the school curriculum…the camp has been running for 10 years, and over 1,300 students have attended.”
MMAC generated a petition and the good news, according to a recent note from MLA Jennifer Rice, is that “Timber West has decided not to log the concerned area and will go back to the table with the Province and the CHN… the company has decided to rethink the area for the time being.” Toby, friends and kids from here will be happy. As Ghandi said “whatever you do will be insignificant. It is very important that you do it.”
Things are gearing up for the All-Native Basketball Tournament starting on February 8 in Prince Rupert. Fundraising is ongoing and fresh sushi and home-made goodies are on sale at the Co-op Lobby this Friday and Saturday. A fund-raising dance with ‘Out of the Blue’ will occur at the Howard Phillips Community Hall on January 30. Four teams from Masset are heading to Prince Rupert; Women’s, Intermediate, Senior Men’s and Masters. The Seniors are up first on February 8 and it goes from there.
Want to learn food skills for families? Latasha is organizing classes to help with good home-based cookery skills with visits from the nutritionist to help plan meals for diabetics. It will be a fun, hands-on, six week course; it starts on Feb 3 and runs into March at George M. Dawson High School. Contact Latasha at 626 3911 ext. 232 to register. There are only 10 places so book soon.
The Masset Lectures are back. On February 1 Vanessa Hammond will give a talk on “The co-op business model - your road to success.” Vanessa is an expert on co-ops and has worked with co-ops, and the legislation under which they are established, in over 30 countries. Sandlanee Gid Raven Ann will also speak on: “Intergenerational trauma, resiliency, and me” the same evening. Want to get the word out? The Masset Scroll is now on Channel 232 or email me at hecatebird@gmail.com with news for this bi-weekly column.