Rotary Club of South Cowichan (Mill Bay)
3550 Watson Ave V0R 1L0 Cobble Hill, BC, Canada

Our Wednesday Feb 24th evening meeting went all out this week with our Pink Shirts. As Rotarian's, we believe in helping to lift each other up beyond just one day of the year! We also heard from speaker Chris Koehn, Professional Timber Framer and member of the International Timber Framers Guild, as he works toward lifting up an area of Cameroon West Africa by building a bridge that would provide much needed access. Included here are a couple of the international projects he worked on while locals will recognize his work any time they drive past the Evergreen Independent School in Cobble Hill.

Our speaker this week was Vanessa Tam who shared her experience on leg 13 of the Canada 150 C3 expedition. Her leg on the "Polar Prince" covered Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii and the Great Bear Rainforest. The decommissioned, retrofitted coast guard vessel known now as The Polar Prince resides in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Vanessa is a local resident and school teacher and is working on a second mural of upcycled bottle caps as shown in the last photo of the "River of Nations" piece. Click the links included here to view more of the expedition. peek of the adventure: https://canadac3.ca/en/expedition/ Leg 15 in review - the west coast https://canadac3.ca/en/homepage/

Thank you Dr. Rebecca Lamhonwah of Cowichan Eyecare for your presentation on Vision Therapy aka Developmental Optometry. We applaud you for making this therapy accessible to the Cowichan Valley (versus the need to go to a big city). Your presentation exemplified why the therapy is so successful in assisting children with autism and for athletes and professionals who suffer (or have suffered) from concussion syndrome. Thanks as well to Rotary's Dr. Trevor Miranda #cowichaneyecare

As Rotary commits to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advances ecological sustainability and fosters harmony between communities and the environment, it was perfect that we hosted Russell Markel, founder and president of Outer Shores Expeditions as our speaker this week. They are a niche travel adventure company offering tourism that contributes to conservation. This past year they were involved in Marine debris remov...al which resulted in a tremendous positive impact. These are just a few of the amazing photo's captured on expeditions covering sailings from Mill Bay to the Great Bear Rainforest and Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve. We encourage you to visit their website https://outershores.ca/ and view the stunning photography and learn more of their incredible projects. #outershores See more

Our Speaker this past Wed was Karalea Cantera, Aquatic Science Biologist with Dept of Fisheries. She shared with us the various enumeration methods utilized to track Salmon "Escapement", meaning those coming back. While we are unable to share any of the slides from her presentation we can share that the various methods include Technology, as with the DIDSON method, the PIT method (passive integrated transponder tags and the Human Powered method ... as displayed in these photos (yet another great opportunity to volunteer in your community every autumn).

Like the famous Louis Armstrong Song..."I see Trees of Green...Blueberries too....I see them bloom...for me and you...." What a Wonderful contribution Thanks to a South Cowichan Rotary "Group of Six" (gotta count the photographer too)....who recently planted blueberry plants across from the Cobble Hill Hall. Another way our Rotary Club is enhancing our community!

Our very own member Tom Shadlock shared with us the challenges and the rewards of building an incredible multi-family vacation home.. OFF THE GRID. From boating supplies in, to dealing with the elements of nature to seeing the near completion results, this longstanding group of friends are creating a "hidden gem" for themselves. We can't help but think that the real "gem" of this undertaking is that they have included all family members in the process, solidifying friendships for generations to come! Congrats Tom, Family and Friends!

Thank you Linda Roseneck, Director of Advancement, for your presentation this morning regarding the Clements Centre for Families. You definitely opened our eyes to the scope of the greatly needed services provided by this not-for-profit organization. We are extremely excited about the new centre being built right here in Cobble Hill. Congratulations on the organizational advancement attained thus far and our club will certainly be discussing ways in which we may contribute to it's continued progression.

What a morning it was giving and receiving thanks to and from two women making powerful impacts and creating legacies for our Community. Gretchen Hartley shared a virtual tour of the "House that Love Built", the New Cowichan Hospice House while Lori Iannidinardo described how the South Cowichan Community Kitchen initiative provides a hand up.

This Black Friday Why Not spend a little (or a lot) on support for a very important health topic! One of our Rotary members, John Thomas, is sporting quite the 'stache' this month. He has nearly reached his goal and here is how you can help him get there...make sure to donate under 'John Thomas' ....

GM Ken Bailey, and Mike Marshall of Kinsol Timbers Systems Ltd, provided us an update on the progress of the Malahat Skywalk this morning including the tremendous scope of this project as well as the finite details. This 100% Canadian Owned project is in progress and the tips you may be able to view currently signify the half way point (many more meters yet to complete). For those height adverse...not to worry, the view in these photos are taken from the cantilever deck that will be available. In addition, The Malahat Skywalk will also be wheelchair/walker accessible. Thank you for a fabulous presentation of this astounding project. You too can follow the progress on instagram @kinsoltimbers Kinsol Timber Systems Ltd.

Thank You Chef Sheffield for sharing your culinary expertise with our Rotary Club in the name of Fundraising. Our Virtual Covid Cafe cooking experience was a great success. We look forward to the next one!

Ok people The Countdown is on....Minus 2 hours and counting to our COVID Cafe FUNdraiser....let the chopping, cooking and sipping begin!