What is that building?
If you have walked across the field between Squamish Elementary School and Howe Sound Secondary lately you may have seen a new building being constructed in the parking lot at the high school.
It is a central boiler to replace a couple of the old boilers in both schools, according to Ian Currie, director of operations for the Sea to Sky School District. It will provide heating for both schools. It is a closed-loop hot water system that is about 85 to 95 per cent efficient, according to Currie. “So it is much more efficient than the existing boiler and it runs on biomass,” he said.
Initially it will run on pellets, but the hope is eventually less refined wood material will be used. “We are thinking if there were local entrepreneurs who could salvage slash or fuel from local sources, it may be an opportunity so we could provide the fuel source locally.”
Bears galore
There have been double the amount of calls about bears in B.C. this year compared with 2015 and 2016, according to WildSafe BC’s Vanessa Isnardy.
Squamish is matching that trend with 278 calls so far this year, compared with 125 in 2016, 139 in 2015 and 118 in 2014.
Four people have been injured by black bears in the district since last year, Isnardy said.
Reports were fairly average until May when the number of calls started to spike, she said. In May, Squamish had 109 calls compared to 35 calls on average from 2014 and 2016. What is driving this is not clear as there can be a number of factors, Isnardy said, including a high-conflict year in 2016.
“Squamish had over 25 bears active in the community in 2016 and some of them returned this year to known food sources,” she said.
“Bears are always weighing the risk versus the reward. With enough time and persistence, they can learn how to access food by damaging totes. They also know the locations of fruit trees and have learned that this is a reliable source of food year-after-year.”
As September approaches, we will be entering a historically busy season of bear activity and high levels of conflict as they enter a phase called hyperphagia – or extreme eating – Isnardy told The Chief.
“The good news is that we all have the power to make a difference,” she said.
For more information on how you can help keep wildlife wild and our community safe, please visit www.wildsafebc.com.
Search and rescue incidents
Summer is always busy for Squamish Search and Rescue members and the first week of August was no exception, even with the prevailing smoke.
On Aug. 1, five SAR members were dispatched to rescue an injured paraglider on the Stawamus Chief, however the RCMP then notified SAR that the paraglider was no longer stuck and so the rescue was called off, according to Emergency Management BC’s weekly incident report.
Twenty-two Squamish Search and Rescue members were deployed to rescue an injured hiker near the top of Mount Tantalus on Aug. 4.
The woman was brought out of the area where she was passed to the BC Ambulance Service for transport to the hospital. The next day, 16 rescuers helped a climber stuck in the Cheakamus Canyon. The team brought the climber out to safety, according to the incident report.
Also on Aug. 5, 15 members rescued a fallen climber at Murrin Provincial Park. The climber was brought out and transferred to BC Ambulance Service paramedics for treatment.
Howe Sound Flotilla
Environmental activists My Sea to Sky, Patagonia, Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative, Skwomesh Action and Backbone Campaign are taking to the water to send a message about protecting Howe Sound.
A flotilla will launch from the Stawamus Waterfront on Saturday, Aug. 26.
Demonstrators will paddle out onto Howe Sound to “demonstrate support for the protection of Howe Sound from unsustainable industrial development,” according to a My Sea to Sky news release.
Participants are asked to bring water craft and lifejackets to the waterfront behind Squamish Nation’s Totem Hall at 8 a.m. Motorized boats, kayaks, canoes and SUPs are welcome, according to the release. For more information, go to www.myseatosky.org.
Signs arrive
New wayfinding signs have arrived in downtown Squamish. The signs are installed at the north and south ends of town on Highway 99, and a series of vehicle and pedestrian/cyclist signs are going up downtown, extending out to Squamish Adventure Centre and Brennan Park along Loggers Lane.
The sign designs were developed with input from a group of community members representing the Squamish Nation, tourism and business leaders, brand leadership team members and trails groups, according to a District of Squamish news release.
“This phase will allow us to test a variety of aspects of the wayfinding system and make any adjustments before rolling out future phases,” said Gary Buxton, general manager of community planning and infrastructure in the release. “Priority setting for phase two will follow as we look to develop a fulsome system throughout the community.”
The rollout of the signs will extend over five years. Phase one will cost $221,500 in 2017, 77 per cent of which is being funded from accumulated surplus this year, the release states. The total budget over five years is proposed to be $1,275,000.For more on the project, go to www.squamish.ca and search “wayfinding.”
Input on new playground sought
What would you like a playground in Dentville to look like? The District of Squamish has some funding for park improvements in Dentville and is seeking public input. Meetings will be held at Squamish Elementary’s playground at 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 22 and Aug. 31. If you can’t make the meetings, a questionnaire is available at surveyanyplace.com/s/dentvillepark until Sept. 15.
