
No vegetable family is as diverse and versatile as the brassicas. While you may not know the word, you’re ...

Curling saved my life. Sounds like an outrageous statement to make, but in 1999, the year I first threw a curling ...

Luc is a transplant from the prairies who made his way to the Comox Valley seven years ago in search of the ...

Shannon Ford is inspired by the magic of discovering beauty in chaos: “Walking up to a huge, empty canvas is pure ...
Words & Artwork by
Shannon Ford

Restful interludes are integral to the rhythm of life.
In the natural world, winter is ...

The dictionary says rest is “to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.” ...

Except for Indigenous people, Canadians are settlers—immigrants themselves, or the descendants of immigrants. ...

There are two basic ways to look at a forest you manage—as a tree farm or an ecosystem.
To see the difference, ...

Homelessness can happen in many ways: job loss, injuries and accidents, mental health issues, and substance use. ...

Music and theatre provide an environment where, through collaboration, we are encouraged to celebrate diversity, ...

In the early morning hours of the winter solstice, December 21, 2021, my life and health changed forever. I was ...

Things are often done a little differently on the Gulf Islands. Partly by necessity, partly by inclination, these ...

The legend of the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship doomed to never enter port, has been told and retold since the ...

I first became drawn to mead because of my Scandinavian heritage: mead plays an important role in many of the ...

While some of us were out celebrating Valentine’s Day this past February, Eugen Sushko was feverishly drawing at ...
Words by
Vivian Dean
Photos courtesy of
Supermod

Colin Garritty has an enviable job. Four days a week, all winter long, he gets paid to ski and snowmobile the ...

When we think about hunting and gathering, the season we usually think of is fall. For many of us, there’s nothing ...

My husband and I moved to the Comox Valley four years ago. From the start, we’ve enjoyed navigating our way around ...

When I was a kid growing up in the ’70s and ’80s in Montreal, stores were closed on Sundays. Every single store. ...

Born in Hay River, NWT, Shelley has lived in Edmonton, Switzerland, and five Canadian provinces.
Her work, both ...

Originally from Poland, Ania of AniuEmilia Photography has lived on beautiful Vancouver Island for 30 ...

Most people are shocked when they learn our family of five lives in a tiny home. “How many square feet?” they ask ...

SCOTT BELL
Scott Bell is an outdoor adventure filmmaker who has a commitment to capturing the beauty of the ...

The beginning of winter, with its transition from warmth to cold and from growth to decay, is a reminder of the ...

Not many people know this about me, but I’ve got a real penchant for fine, stiff Italian boots. This confession ...

Like many Vancouver Island folk, I’ve made plenty of happy memories in Strathcona Provincial Park. In the summer ...

My name is Ava, and I am ten years old. I was born in Vancouver and moved to Cumberland with my mom and dad when I ...

If there is one truth the pandemic has disclosed, it’s that, as humans, we yearn for connection to the elements. ...

Growing up in the Comox Valley, Mal Irvine, who uses they/them pronouns, often felt uncomfortable. They were ...

Every poem tells a kind of story, but poems are not short stories. They are a unique medium which is concerned ...

In 2015, on his way to Whistler, Duncan Hague flew over the Rocky Mountains and peered out the plane’s little oval ...

We’ve all heard the adage “It takes a village to raise a child.”
Now imagine we’re talking about your child. ...

I respectfully acknowledge that we are on the unceded traditional territories of the K’ómoks First Nation, and I ...

The late autumn sun lazily streams through dwindling golden leaves. Live music drifts across the smiling, ...

When I wrote The New Brewmox Valley for the inaugural issue of this magazine in 2014, I told a hopeful and ...

Imagine noticing smoke in the distance, then, less than ten minutes later, your property is fully consumed by ...

I grew up on Vancouver Island, the fourth of five generations of my family to have done so. I have had the great ...

I pull up to Kelsey Epp’s Merville farm, and, before my feet hit the ground, the silence of the long, verdant ...

May 31, 2021: “Hey, Meaghan, we’re thinking if some restrictions lift this summer we might try to book some shows ...

In case you haven’t noticed, the Comox Valley has been experiencing a population boom of late. Newcomers choose ...

The first time Tom (not his real name) had someone call the cops on him was in the winter. He was several blocks ...

This is a tale of resilience. A tale of how, if your resolve is true, you can make it to your destination.
Even ...

Everyone remembers the first time they met Thomas Dunn. He was a rare individual who made an impression—mostly ...

My mom used to make stuffed mushroom caps at the drop of a hat. “We’ve been invited to so-and-so’s for dinner. ...
Words & Photo by
Darren Howlett

My adventures used to involve adrenaline. Like the time I hitchhiked from Kamloops to climb Mt Forbes in Banff ...

Devin Burton grew up in the Comox Valley but only recently discovered the Bevan trails, a network of paths winding ...

On the longest night
Tuck tiny love notes
Written with winter berries
Into the dark earth
Whisper them ...

Originally from Comox, Zoey currently lives in Victoria. Her work is inspired by nature, the seasons, the cycles ...

Jarrett Lindal is a Vancouver Island-based outdoor adventure and wildlife photographer who grew up in the Comox ...

One day, the Itatsoo Lake Trail will connect the community of Hitacu, near Ucluelet, to the lake hidden in the ...
Words by
Ryan Stuart
Featured photo by
Scott Horley

My name is Zoë, and I am nine years old. I have lived in Cumberland my whole life and I really love winter in the ...

It was late August in the Great Bear Rainforest and the salmon were starting to return to their nascent streams ...
Words & Photos by
Oriana Smy

In the last few years, you may have noticed the resurgence of vinyl records and local record shops. What is it ...

On January 1, 2019, a large group of adventurous Cumberland residents gathered on the shores of Comox Lake. ...

Famed feminist leader Gloria Steinem is quoted as saying: “Revolutions that last don’t happen from the top down. ...

It began in a small kitchen on a small island, with peanut butter, honey, and oats.
It was 1993 when Trish ...

Few manmade structures have the universal allure of the lighthouse. We are drawn to them, as much for their ...

I never know what to expect during our visits. Often, she is not home; her tiny body is present in a mobile chair ...

I’ve been intimately involved in the ground-source heat pump (GSHP) industry for 20 years. I began with mud up to ...

Katherine Kirk suspected the roof of Forbidden Plateau’s day lodge was going to collapse. “One day, a woman in the ...
Words by
Mike B.
Featured photo by
Lindsey Pattinson

I began to write this letter on a rainy, blustery day in early November—possibly not the best time to reflect on ...

Bula! Pronounced “boo-la,” this is Fiji’s version of “aloha,” an all-purpose word that makes you feel instantly ...
Words and Photos by
Paige Owen

Have you ever parked at Mount Washington’s Raven Lodge and wondered about the impressive, yet solitary, building ...

My name is Kellan and I am 8. I was born here at the old hospital in Comox and have lived here my whole life. I ...

Q: What do beets, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, carrots, yuca (cassava), kohlrabi, onions, garlic, celery root (or ...

A former dog sled and kayak guide, Anouk’s paintings amplify her love for the outdoors. If she could, she would ...

Brett Kroeker is a photographer based in the Comox Valley. His deep love for outdoor adventure is perfectly paired ...

“What was that?” says Scott. His head swivels in the direction of the sound.
I raise my hand above my head and ...

Even in the darkest winter
under the frost-hardened earth
the roots are deep in discussion
through mycelium ...

You have been stuck on the glacier for three days and whatever has been stalking you is closing in. Night is ...

The stopwatch on the computer screen read four minutes and counting until the Great British Columbia ShakeOut. ...

It’s two in the morning. I just turned the last page of Kim Bannerman’s book, Bucket of Blood.
I flip through ...

This year, we’ll be exploring possible futures for the communities of the Comox Valley based on current community ...

Gaining popularity in the mid-1950s, the modest A-frame, with its inherently simple aesthetic, defined a way of ...

The first thing you need to know about Glen Alwin Farm is that nobody involved is named Glen. Or Alwin. The people ...

It’s a Tuesday, and when the doors of St. George’s United Church hall open at 11:30am, Gail, who is 70, comes in ...

Driving north out of Courtenay on an October day, one really notices the changing seasons. The wet leaves and ...

While looking at a 1931 photo of a crew of men seated on a logging raft, long-time Cumberland resident Karl ...

Almost all the ancient civilizations identified four similar basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water. I ...

I’d heard of Ecuador for years: stories of great rivers, easy transportation, and friendly people. Now was the ...
Words & Photos by
Dave Prothero

Every person is made up of water. The Comox Valley Art Gallery Youth Media Project is nine folks coming together ...
Words & Photos by
Paige Brown

Walk into any garage in Canada and you’re likely to find a hockey stick or two, tucked in a corner or shoved ...

On a late October day, a pale sun shines through sparse golden leaves, making sparkles on the Orford River. I know ...

When my Mom asked me what I wanted to write about for the CV Collective, I said climate change! It’s a big problem ...

I am a mother bear, yoga instructor and acrylic artist living in the village of Cumberland. I spend as much time ...

Living in the rugged, rain-soaked wilds of rural British Columbia, Sheryl finds ample inspiration in her own ...

When people in the community fear getting sued for speaking freely about a controversial land development ...

Have you ever wondered about parked cars at the side of Highway 19, near the bridge about three kilometres south ...
Words & Photo by
Pat Trask

I can safely say that mountain snow sports are for pretty much everyone. Think about it. With downhill skiing and ...

Around 11am on a sunny Monday, Dan Espeseth, Sean Manara, and Chris Hancock show up for work. Instead of riding to ...

If you live close to a ski hill, the couch surfer is a species you’re intimately familiar with. Much print space ...

Despite living on the water in the Valley, you have few options for surfing and it helps to get creative. I met ...

NAZANEEN DIZAI: CONNECTOR
Nazaneen Dizai brings ideas and people together. Whether in the corporate heart of ...
Words & Photos
Ross Bodenmann

We are made of the place we came from. If you eat locally and don’t drink bottled water, your body becomes a ...

Jane Wilde and Monika Terfloth are waiting for me at a patio on 5th Street. Not far from here, Terfloth once ...
Words by
Allie Jenkinson
Photos courtesy of
Jane Wilde

It’s a crisp November morning and the autumn sun has just breached the Beaufort mountains, casting gold and pink ...

Dance has always been a significant part of Cathy Stoyko’s life. Her mother was a ballroom dance teacher, and with ...

The rivers of the Comox Valley are made in the winter. All season long, drop by drop, the rain falls and they ...

In the small coastal towns of BC, long-time locals are often suspicious of newcomers. Yet when former professional ...

In the late seventies, Sandra Dykstra skied into Skoki Lodge, an historical backcountry destination in the ...
Words & Photos by
Jenn Dykstra

Nala'atsi is a word in the Kwak'wala language with more than one meaning, but one in particular conveys what we’re ...

My favourite things about living in Black Creek are that my house is close to my school, which is nice, and also ...

Hallucinations. Feelings of bliss or excitement. A turbo-charged memory. Chocolate and cheese, those classic ...

“Nature abhors a vacuum.” This is what Jeff Jones, the secretary of Mount Cain’s board, used to say. And then ...

What a difference a year makes. I’m watching a small train of two-foot waves roll through a pack of paddlers at ...

If you’re of a certain age, you’ve likely watched Flashdance. As a full-blown Gen Xer, I’ve watched this iconic ...
Words & Photo by
Bevin Clempson

Calm gravity of a misty morning rise —
Waves tickle the shoreline into a smile.
Cricket song lingers, entangled ...

While California’s Marin County is credited with the invention of mountain biking, there is little debate that ...
Words by
Mike B
Photo by
Amy Kumler

Armed with a limited budget, dedicated volunteers, and a substantial amount of exuberance, the Downtown Courtenay ...
Words & photos by
Ross Bodenmann

GALLERY PHOTOS BY SARAH KEER
& KAIN MCCOLLUM
There is a well known Western idiom that “work is a means to ...
Words by
Dave Nowak
Opening photo by
KAIN McCOLLUM

Shinrin-yoku, sometimes known as “forest bathing,” is simply the act of being mindful and present in the forest ...

“I just want to wake up one day, open the company’s books, and not see the Field Sawmill property there,” John ...
Words by
Tim Ennis
Featured photo by
Robert Lundquist

YANA’s Executive Director Marcie Dumais has agreed to meet me at their office in Tin Town. I’m a few minutes ...

Avalanche forecasting on Vancouver Island is getting a boost this winter thanks to the installation of two remote ...

I grew up in a cheaply thrown together subdivision in Fort McMurray, erected during Alberta’s oil boom. Surrounded ...

In my 20s I was thrilled by the promise of a blank slate. I moved often, believing each new location was rich with ...

At the end of a road in Black Creek, in the heart of our region’s agricultural belt, my daughter Cadence and I ...

The coffeehouse dates back to the Middle East, with origination suggested as early as the late 1400s, where they ...

If you're a true powder junkie, you're always on the hunt for the deepest, softest, and fluffiest snow. I live my ...
Words & Photos by
Max Oudendag

The rain patters the roof. Again. It feels like every morning for the last week started this way. Me lying in bed, ...

Mention to someone that you want to live off-the-grid and it will conjure up images of a smoke-filled tarpaper ...

In its infancy, much of the development of Vancouver Island was the result of exploration and the search for ...

They’ve been compared to a hive of bees trapped in a mailbox. If there’s truth to this metaphor, don’t be ...
Words by
Kerry Hale
Photos by
SauvAir

Smooth leather reins are held tightly in the hands of a nervous six year old who is guiding an eternally patient ...
Words & Photos by
Kyle Hansen

I’ve been a knitter most of my life. I consider it a sort of meditation. In the past, it felt novel, or cute, to ...

Whether it’s hanging out with High Lamas in the Himalayas, studying palaeontology in Drumheller, hosting poetry ...
Interview & Photo by
Ross Bodenmann

A high level of competency and skill is required in order to function in the high-risk environment of search and ...

Hi, my name is Zakary Wallace Baikie and I live in Campbell River.
My favourite sports are skiing, mountain ...

As you walk through the sliding door of the barn, the smell of the earth is the first thing you notice; then, the ...

Navigation is integral to our daily lives. It’s not just for seafarers, mountaineers or explorers, but a learned ...

Upon moving to the Comox Valley at age seven, I developed a newfound appreciation and sense of amazement at the ...

Fall, winter, and spring storms rolling in from the Pacific push strong winds up the Georgia Strait, where they’re ...

By the time you read this I will have awoken from my first ski dream of the winter; the one where I’m ...

The opportunities we have, the choices we make, and the decisions we face each day determine how our life will ...

As the light dims, we must find ways to fill our hearts, challenge our minds, and keep our bodies healthy. We turn ...

Handmade, gluten free and using 100 per cent certified-organic ingredients, Abuelo’s tortillas are a delicious, ...
Words & Photos by
Ross Bodenmann

Strike inwards on foot from Vancouver Island’s inhabited perimeter and, in a few hours walk beyond the strip ...
Words & Paintings by
Clive Powsey

The summer months have faded into fall as many look forward to the winter adventures the Comox Valley has to ...

When I arrive at Horne Lake caves, I’m warned by the guide that “it will be wet.” Myles leads us to Main Cave. ...

Quadra Island is the kind of place that offers free wood, free books, free money, and free hugs; the kind of place ...

Contrary to the expansive vision of the young, it’s often the tiny details where we live the largest parts of ...

It took momentous effort to get to the top of this hill and I celebrate the fact that I haven’t vomited on Mt. ...
Words by
Sandra Szabo
Photo by

In a list of quintessential Comox Valley events, it can be argued that the World Community Film Festival sits ...

There may be no finer view in the Comox Valley than the one from the top of Mount Becher in mid-winter. On a ...
Words by
Ryan Stuart
Illustration by
Ian Adams

Desperately clinging to a blob of wall-mounted epoxy plastic can be considered a contrived experience by many rock ...

I pulled up to my desk with a fresh Earl Grey and Carolans. It was a sunny afternoon to begin what I thought would ...

It was a moment that I knew I would cherish long after the crowd departed. I stood in Village Park during The Big ...

An authentic Italian Circus Tent was shipped half way around the planet to Vancouver Island this past summer. It ...

Roaming north along Royston’s Union Colliery Line, the air is damp and heavy with the scent of smoke wafting from ...
Words & Photos by
Bevin Clempson

Adventure is dirty business. With piles of gear comes the need for novel ways to store, stow and transport gear ...

Emilly Johnston is a force of nature on local singletrack. At only 13 years old, Johnston is quickly establishing ...

A bucket bumps gently against my hip, filling slowly with ripe purple-black berries. This is high summer gathering ...
Words & Photos by
Kristy Pedersen

The wearable art of jewellery has been a form of self-expression for millennia. These adornments have been seen as ...

Oscar was a beautiful, flamed point feline who lived out his days on sunny counter tops and in the laps of locals ...

Three years ago I first laid eyes on a Kindred snowboard in a local sporting goods consignment store. The top ...

It’s Saturday morning at Mount Cain. The 50 centimetres of new, inbound snow is becoming tracked out. You begin to ...

One of our most memorable experiences in the Comox Valley began on March 1, 2015, when we received an email from a ...

I was born in the Comox hospital overlooking the ocean and trees and mountains. As soon as I was born I was ...

Marla Limousin and her husband George are the fermentation alchemists conjuring up the innovative wines coming out ...

While it is a small community of athletes, it is a passionate community that craves what most others dread, the ...

When I moved up to the Comox Valley from Victoria over 10 years ago, I noticed a huge lack of what I call ‘good’ ...

Dull, dark and rainy days are inevitable during winter on Vancouver Island, but thanks to a local gem shining ...

In the fall of 2011 I walked away from my role as the director of a big-budget video game production at a studio ...

There is a deep-rooted satisfaction in food production for both commercial and personal use. On the outside, the ...
Words by
Nik Dunn
Photos by
Nik Dunn

Though Comox Lake is a short drive from Cumberland’s west end, past the Chinese town site and a quaint collection ...

Trail building in Cumberland dates back to the 1980s, when a freewheeling group of tree planters and mountain ...

Our associations with the notion of inspiration are more fiction than fact, made evident by the familiar image of ...

It was the perfect storm for backcountry success on Vancouver Island; a skier’s dream.
Okay, ...

If you’re rattling down the back roads of Merville on your way to Mount Washington or searching the Tsolum River ...
Words & Photos by
Ross Bodenmann

Old school, new school, ski school no school. Freestyle, freeride, slopestyle, no style. Front side, back side, ...
Words by
Eugene Chung
Opening photo by
Jenn Dykstra

A few months ago I traveled all the way from Norway to visit Vancouver Island for the first time. My Islander ...

Some say it’s simply where they grew up, the place they remember most or where they count most familiar. Others ...