Finding a family doctor or health care professional is difficult enough in urban centres, but it’s even harder for ...
The ROAM team has selected some of their favourite winter items that we think everyone should know about. All are ...
In the summer of 2023, approximately 70 local emergency services personnel from the Comox Valley were deployed to ...
The earliest inhabitants of the Comox Valley lived lightly on these lands for millennia and didn’t capture their ...
i will always choose the trees
if i have to choose
between society
or the forest.
it makes sense
to me in ...
As I’m writing this, it’s October 24, and it’s snowing—the earliest snowfall I have experienced in the Valley—and ...
Reflections from an older resident.
Congratulations to the Comox Valley Collective on ...
Changing seasons, changing times
As I hear my feet crunch on the frosty ground beneath me and feel the crisp ...
Born and raised on Hornby Island, Kali Wexler is a self-taught Canadian wildlife conservation and nature ...
Jared was born and raised in Saskatchewan but spent his adult life in various pockets of British Columbia before ...
The Comox Valley has undergone some big changes since we published our first issue back in December 2014; many of ...
Words by
Zoë Cooper
Illustrations by
Alex Maertz
When I catch up with concert pianist Sarah Hagen, she is sitting on the floor of an airport concourse, halfway ...
In October 2023, I had the chance to speak with Wedlidi Speck. Wedlidi is Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-cha-nulth, and ...
Interview by
Dave Flawse
Photos courtesy of
Wedlidi Speck
I’m here to talk about winter squash: the wondrous genetic diversity they display, the dedicated farmers who grow ...
I was asked to share my story with you, and to keep it short at that. Bit of a hard ask for an old clock, but I’ll ...
Men’s broadly defined health issues—heart troubles, diabetes, liver disease—are deadly. So is depression. Many of ...
Paul Vroom grew up on Vancouver’s North Shore, ripping the slopes of Mt. Seymour. As a kid, he loved hanging out ...
Comox Valley Transition Society (CVTS) was founded in 1987 by a group of caring community members concerned that ...
Imagine two scenarios. The first is a quiet suburb of single-family homes—the Canadian dream—but with vans, ...
There is pure magic when the storm winds begin to blow from that direction. The sky glows and the air smells ...
One of the oldest buildings in the Comox Valley stands silent vigil on the highway to Campbell River. You can see ...
Words & Photos by
Jim Whyte
A group of women were gathered around a propane fire pit on Kye Bay in the fall of 2022. The sun was setting; they ...
The mountains beckon me throughout the year, but somehow their call in winter is different and holds a special ...
Words & photos by
Joanne McElroy
My name is Doris Wagner and I was born in Innsbruck, Austria. I grew up with parents who loved the music of our ...
Words & photos courtesy of
Doris Wagner
As we go into our 10th year of publishing this magazine, I am stepping out of my comfort zone. It’s often assumed ...
Publisher's Introduction & Photo by
Jenn Dykstra
Tyler and I stood crouched at the start line in Winnipeg this past April. Snow blew sideways, but our nervous ...
When I was 17, I was accepted to participate in the Tall Ship Millennium Challenge out of Southampton, England; a ...
Tradition is a funny thing. It's something we hold on to when the lights go out—guiding, connecting, grounding us. ...
Bob Wild considers himself a late bloomer—photography wasn’t on his radar until he was in his late 40s. As a kid ...
Kimberly Thompson moved to Campbell River in 2020 after many years as a resident of Sooke. Born and raised in ...
My name is Shaelynne and I am in my fourth year of running a wild kelp harvesting operation off the coast of Port ...
Communities in the Pacific Northwest are essentially human settlements in logging clearcuts. Whack down trees, lay ...
A curtain flutters through broken glass as fiery flakes litter the snow-covered ground. Despite the cold, ...
My phone is set to a special sound just for Search and Rescue calls and, while I have learned over the years to be ...
Words by
Tim Fairbank
Photo courtesy of
Daniel Gelson
As the owners of The Lost Faucet Sauna House in Courtenay, we are constantly seeking out more knowledge and ...
In the fall and winter, most people don’t immerse themselves in the Salish Sea, but for geoduck divers, it’s ...
PHOTOS BY GWEN MONNET, SANDI PHYE, & CRAIG SOROCHAN
We respectfully acknowledge that the land we gather on ...
Reflections from an older resident.
I grew up and lived for much of my life in northern ...
Alex Guertin is the newest proprietor of Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery. On a warm evening in July, he tours ...
From one nest to the next
Nests are everywhere when you spend lots of time outside.
My mom has a ...
Nestled among the trees on Cortes Island is Hollyhock, gently nurturing the ancient lands of the Klahoose, ...
My draw to the water started at the age of 17. My stepfather owned a tugboat company just outside Victoria, and he ...
Chuck Burdick is a self-taught photographer working in multiple genres including macro, landscape, and abstract ...
WORDS BY LOIS TAYLOR, TRACY SINCLAIR, & JUANITA MACLEAN
PHOTOS BY CARLA DUFFEY
Established in 1895 by Mr. ...
As a creative generalist working in an array of art practices, Sarah Clark is less interested in becoming an ...
It was late summer when my husband and I first rolled into Cumberland in our old Ford pickup. The year was 1996 ...
There is a mystery that surrounds pregnancy and birth—a real sense of wonder. Cross-culturally, the practice of ...
Many witches, including myself, when asked how and why we became witches, will answer that they didn’t become a ...
We used to live in Cumberland when we were little. It was fun! We would walk to our friends' houses to play. One ...
Ancient DNA (aDNA). The term immediately brings to mind visions of dinosaurs, ancient civilizations, megafauna, ...
PHOTOS COURTESY OF KATHLEEN O’REILLY & FAMILY
My husband, Michael (Mick) Taylor, was an avid traveller, ...
Adam Swift has been bow hunting and fishing on the West Coast since he was a kid growing up in Campbell River. “My ...
Words by
Alison Bell
Opening photo by
Scott Bell
It takes a special kind of person to teach. If you're teaching in the public school system, you're likely signing ...
Twin Islands, tucked against Cortes Island’s southeast shore, has been a haven for a fascinating cast of ...
The year was 1990. On the steep, raw edge of a Mount Washington ski slope, summer wildflowers stood in stark ...
I’m writing these words in the height of summer, when I barely have enough time to juice a cucumber. But it will ...
Nature, specifically the ocean, has long been the undercurrent of photographer and sailor John Kelsey’s life. It’s ...
Words by
Camilla Sampson
Photos courtesy of
John Kelsey
Seated in one of my college classrooms, I received an email from Canada Olympic Park—a confirmation that I would ...
Darren Howlett is sitting in Locals Restaurant, a place he has a long history with. He’s worked in this dining ...
It is a universal truth, I think, that the further you move through adulthood, the more you’re aware that life is ...
Since 1983, Comox Valley Hospice Society (CVHS) has been working to support the physical, psychological, ...
At Cumberland Chinatown’s peak in the years just after the end of World War I, around 1500 residents bustled down ...
Words by
Erica Keen
Photos courtesy of
The Keen Family
At its root, tradition is the sharing of stories. Perhaps our oldest tradition is exactly that: storytelling. ...
The practice of pressing and drying flowers and herbs dates back centuries and is part of many Indigenous cultures ...
“Fungi make worlds. They also unmake them. There are lots of ways to catch them in the act. When you cook mushroom ...
My husband and I sometimes travelled with our kids when they were tiny. If we ever stayed in a motel, we would ...
It was April 1912 when Hilda Mary Slayter packed her travel trunk with an elegant trousseau in preparation for her ...
Words by
Claire King
Opening photo by
Alan Hustak
Paige Whitehead was 13 years old when she saw bioluminescence for the first time, during a midnight dip in the ...
Photos courtesy of
NYOKA Design Labs
Did you know that in the heart of Courtenay, a local recording studio—decked out with audio and video gear, and ...
In my opinion, no fruit or vegetable epitomizes all that is sweet and ephemeral about summer better than the ...
Memories from a life well lived.
It started prosaically enough. Frances, at our dinner table ...
Born in the iron jungles of Vancouver, Rem Skolney, aka “The Western Skirted Tiger,” has been passionately ...
This quiet, unsung artist was born in July 1939 in North Vancouver. After a troubled time in boarding school, he ...
Variety is the spice of life when you’re growing up in Cumberland
Della and Winter Podmore-Goggins have grown ...
The vision for the Gravity MTB Garage sounds like a mountain biker’s dream. After a fun afternoon in the ...
In this Community in Action feature, we’ve profiled dozens of charitable organizations who work to improve various ...
Have you ever wondered what your body is physically and mentally capable of handling? I asked myself this question ...
The term “harm reduction” refers to a range of practices and policies with roots going back to the 1960s, when ...
When I phone Dave Hall to chat about his Comox Valley-based camera repair business, we struggle through a minute ...
People from all ages and walks of life are drawn to horses. I think it’s because horses seem to be able to touch ...
On a special day once a year First Credit Union (FCU) branches across Vancouver Island, Bowen Island, Hornby ...
An invasive plant is defined by context. A plant considered a noxious weed by one person or group may be used for ...
Words & Gallery Photos by
Juliana Bedoya
Opening photo by
Juan Martinezguerra
The nine-acre Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park is one of the most picturesque places in Comox. This historic ...
The Vancouver Island marmot has lived on Vancouver Island for hundreds of millennia. In all that time, it has only ...
Around the world, many children study dance from an early age, learning the vocabulary, foundational movements, ...
“Energy moves in waves. Waves move in patterns. Patterns move in rhythms. A human being is just that energy, ...
Dance is a language that transcends borders, barriers, and abilities. We use it to share stories, communicate ...
An enlightening interview from our last issue led me down a rewarding rabbit trail. The conversation was an ...
Welcome to our ZEST issue, which has nothing to do with citrus fruit and everything to do with gusto, enjoyment, ...
All of us who love the alpine have our own reasons for getting out there. A hiker I once passed in the Kweishun ...
Words & featured photo by
Eryn Tombu Haigh
When your family moves to Spain for a year, there’s a lot to learn
My name is Farrah. I am eight years old ...
Articles in this issue (my first as editor) feel like a love letter to our region. A testament to the vast melting ...
Does the phrase “you are a product of your environment” sound familiar? Many cultures have long recognized the ...
Vancouver Island has remote valleys, salmon streams, and mountainsides that, in summer, are ripe with plump ...
When I think of innovation, I think of the external: technology and system upgrades that make our lives better. ...
Words & Photos By
Hayley Zumkeller
Although Cumberland-based Black Cat Skateboards is a relatively new entity, its founder’s love of skateboarding ...
Terry Lewis sits in his home office, staring at a computer screen displaying a GIS map that’s a spider’s web of ...
40 Knots Winery is alive with potential energy. I sit in the glassed-in terrace across from Layne Craig, who owns ...
I remember the sweet satisfaction of pushing peas into the slowly warming spring soil of my first garden “plot,” a ...
Words & Art by
Sally Podmore
“Deputy Minister Department of Mines offers services of H. M. Laing of Comox [to] accompany Expedition … to act as ...
Introduced in 2018 by Comox Valley Nature (CVN), this event encourages Comox Valley residents to pay attention to ...
GALLERY PHOTOS BY REGAN HATLEY, DARREN HULL, BEN POWELESS, CHASE TERON, & DESTINATION CANADA
You’re greeted ...
It’s a beautiful summer day and, just as I’m arriving home, Jonathan and the kids call me from the backyard. I ...
Content warning: this article speaks about suicide prevention, self-harm, addiction, and genocide.
My name is ...
As a small collect-and-release aquarium facility, displaying a selection of animals in an ethical and sustainable ...
The ocean is full of creatures. Humpback whales, orcas, barking sea lions, playful dolphins, and curious seals ...
Born in Campbell River, raised on Cortes Island, and now living in Victoria, David Ellingsen is an artist whose ...
Kiley Panziera is the woman behind the lens of Panziera Photography. Her photography journey sprung to life in ...
Meeting the growing demand for sustainable food production is becoming increasingly important for our global ...
Hi, my name is Autumn, my mom is Francesca, and we love to go hiking and adventuring together. We have been hiking ...
Rolling into another year living aboard our 34-foot sailboat, we often reaffirm why we moved from the mountains, ...
It’s just past midnight when I wake to a familiar sound; R Clan is back. Jumping out of bed, I scurry down the ...
As I look in the mirror to wash my face, car loaded, kayak on roof, ready to embark on the drive to Gold River, I ...
Words & Photo By
Dave Prothero
Wanderlust. We’ve all heard of it, and many of us dream of packing a bag and heading out into the wilderness for ...
You sit in a softly lit theatre; a buzz throughout the red, velvet draped room. You sip wine, whispering to a ...
The first thing I remember hearing about Maya was that she kept goats. As I got to know her better, and eventually ...
Words & Photo by
Dood Turner
On the northeast corner of Campbell River lies Snowden Demonstration Forest. For mountain bikers, the Snowden ...
To call Hornby Island “ferry dependent” is not just a figure of speech. If you live on this idyllic Gulf Island, ...
The Comox Valley is known for its abundance of fresh seafood and farm produce. At the right time of year, shoppers ...
In 2017, I attended a Soldier On ski camp at Mount Washington that changed (and maybe even saved) my life.
It ...
Words by
Nick Holyome
Photos courtesy of
Soldier On
Hi there, I’m Max and I was not born in St Joseph's Hospital. I was, however, born in Addenbrooke's Hospital, ...
We live by stories. By stories we understand the world, and ourselves. Each culture has its cosmology: an ...
I am willing to hazard that you enjoy the results of fermentation in some way, shape, or form. What I'm not going ...
After our vegetable gardens has pumped out all of the food and flavour it can, one very important job remains: ...
Restful interludes are integral to the rhythm of life.
In the natural world, winter is ...