General News · 21st January 2022
FOCI - Helen
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the Jo Ann Green Environmental Award 2021 is Bruce Harrison.
The award recognizes a Cortes Islander who has made significant contributions to the environmental well-being of the community.
Congratulations to Bruce for all of his fabulous work and dedication to Cortes and its environment. Here is his nomination in full:
Bruce has been a resident of Cortes Island for about 30 years. He has always exemplified what it means to have a small footprint in terms of his own lifestyle (he is often seen commuting on his bike between Whaletown and Manson's) and over the past few years he has made significant contributions through the work he has done constructing and maintaining access trails, which are now widely used by the community.
His work on the trails at the Ester Rd beach access, the Whaletown Commons, and the adjacent Crown land have all been a great benefit to the wider community and in fact have helped to secure the Crown land as protected park land.
The trail access in the Whaletown Commons area has made Whaletown into a very walkable neighbourhood, which has significantly decreased the need for motorized vehicles.
The new trails he made connecting Jocelyn Rd with Carrington Bay Rd (and also the new connector through the Whaletown Commons and the adjacent Crown/park lands) have been very extensively used. Residents in Whaletown can now easily access the store and Post Office from all corners of Whaletown without needing a vehicle. People can also park their cars overnight for the ferry and then walk down in the morning without needing a second vehicle.