CV Collective Winter
Except for Indigenous people, Canadians are settlers—immigrants themselves, or the descendants of immigrants. After my parents and I arrived in Canada from England and Ireland when I was four, we were helped with settling in by family and friends who had come before us. Being English-language speakers eased our family’s transition to the new country. […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhoto by Jenn Dykstra
CV Collective Fall
Decades ago, I was sitting in a cinema seat in Toronto, gripping the armrests as the tension heightened, and whispering, “No, don’t touch that egg . . .” I was just about blown out of my seat when the baby creature exploded out of its incubation and into the face shield of Executive Officer Kane. […]
Words by Mac NewtonIllustration by Ian Adams
CV Collective Summer
Two “very pregnant” cats. That was the delivery at the door of the Kitty Cat P.A.L. (Prevent-A-Litter) Society at 8 a.m. the day I spoke with the society’s executive director, Lee-Ann Dixon-Phillips, and it’s a common occurrence. Dixon-Phillips tells me about Cherry, a kitten dropped off two years ago at a Woofy’s Pet Foods location […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhotos by Jenn Dykstra
CV Collective Spring
In a field next to the ruddy red barn of the Black Creek farm owned by Margaret Douglas and Fred Hinz, a group of children with nature nicknames like Short-Tailed Weasel, Cooper’s Hawk, Douglas Squirrel, and Pileated Woodpecker gather with their instructors from the Fianna Wilderness School. This day, the children listen to the story […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhoto courtesy of Fianna Wilderness School
CV Collective Fall
In 1845, Henry David Thoreau went into the woods of Massachusetts and built a simple cabin beside Walden Pond. For two years, he wrote observations about the place and reflections about a fulfilling life. His resulting book, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, remains a meditative guide for those who seek a life in balance with […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhotos by Lorenz Jimenez
CV Collective Spring
I enjoy the practice of traditional karate for many reasons, including what it teaches me about Japanese and Okinawan culture. But it could be considered surprising, given my family’s history with the Japanese, that this practice has become such an influential part of my life. World War II was a global calamity, and it was […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhotos courtesy of Cumberland Museum & Archives
CV Collective Spring
As the sun breaks through in a brief respite on a day of steady rain, the 11 acres of the MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre in Merville are alive with activity. Volunteers are, of course, the vital drivers of any non-profit organization, but on the day of my visit, there is an energy buoyed by purpose […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhotos by Alexandre Crouzet
CV Collective Winter
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 with about 100 other people for the Sonshine Lunch Club’s free hot lunch. She’s been coming five days a week for many years. Gail sits near a big man who she describes as […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Summer
For two decades it traveled and camped with couples and families, as most RVs do, but for the past 10 years the big Ecoline 350 has been fitted out as the Comox Bay Care Society’s mobile health unit. Known as the Care-A-Van, you’ll see it stopped at various Valley locations where the need is greatest. […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Spring
The Baynes Sound herring spawn in March is a spectacle, and the largest of its kind. About 38% of all the herring on the west coast spawn here. Amidst the spawn, the waters along the beach bubble with countless silver fish. The skiffs launch among them, carrying nets from large ships. The fishers call, the […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhoto by Keith Clark
CV Collective Fall
On a sunny afternoon six years ago while riding my motorcycle home from Campbell River on the Old Island Highway, I noticed a pick-up truck waiting to turn from a driveway onto the road in front of me. I prepared to slow down. The pick-up rocked forward and I applied the brakes. Then the pick-up […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhotos by Jenn Dykstra
