Dear editor,
In days gone by, say 50 years ago, no one gave much thought to how we interacted with the natural world. The environment, the complex as we think of it today, simply didn鈥檛 exist. It was just something we passed through or the platform that delivered the sauce of life but not life itself.
I remember tossing empty pop bottles from our family car, as we travelled up or down Island. Candy wrappers and the contents of ashtrays weren鈥檛 far behind. The environment, which received these assaults, was devoid of any reaction. And no one seemed to care. Our house and home was neat and uncluttered and all was right in the world.
Field Sawmill on the Dyke Road (Comox Avenue) provided many families with their livelihoods.
We filled the land, removing drainage from the delta ( Farquharson Farm) in order to site the operation on the river. What we didn鈥檛 know was that by infilling the land and hardening the shoreline, we prevented fingerling salmon from reaching the ocean. Seals, always looking for an easy meal, became a constant pain for local sport fishers and salmon returns suffered.
These days, we know that every action of ours has an effect. Project Watershed鈥檚, purchase and rehabilitation of the Field Sawmill site, the Kus-kus-sum Project is another step which we are taking to heal our relationship with the K鈥櫭砿oks Estuary.
It has been said that to heal and not harm the natural world, people need to start thinking like an estuary.
Our estuary is the complex product of the interaction of ingredients from headwaters to intertidal zones. We, the residents of the Comox Valley, are a part of that estuary. Be a part of restoring our richness, support Kus-kus-sum. More information can be found at
Eugene Hrushowy
Courtenay
