Explore Collective Magazine Articles By Topic

Browse our growing collection of articles from current and previous issues of both the Comox Valley Collective and Strathcona Collective magazines by topic.

A mayor revisits the path from past to bright future

ELDER RIVER: REFLECTIONS FROM AN OLDER RESIDENT I first arrived in Tahsis by boat in 1978. Coming up the ...

Guided by Nature

Words by

Photo by

ACF field type unsupported

A home in The hills

Eight years ago, with a new baby in our arms, my partner and I stood at the edge of 65 wooded acres in the ...

For one young family, the design/build process began with connecting deeply to the landscape and taking their time

Words by

Photos by

Featured Photographer: Jackson Photografix

Dave Jackson is a self-taught photographer who works under the name jackson photografix. He began shooting ...

Embracing weirdness to live an honest life.

Normality’s worst fear is being trapped in a cage labelled weird.Discovering my identity has been a continuous ...

Digging into myself

Words by

Photo by

How an independent living retirement community empowers our elders

The lively residents of Berwick by the Sea are proof that life doesn’t need to slow down at 80, 90, or even 100! ...

Pursuing Wonder Later in Life

What we learned when designing our own hockey-inspired board game

The idea of creating a board game based on hockey came to me largely out of the blue. As a former hockey player, I ...

Upping our game

Words by

Photos by

Featured Music: Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet is a globally influenced trio that comprises guitarist/touch guitarist Oscar Robles Diaz (from Mexico ...

Threshold Choir eases The end of life with the gift of song

In a quiet room, a woman lies in a zero-gravity lawn chair, covered with a blanket. Her eyes are closed. Three ...

They’ll sing you home

Words by

Illustration by

A freediver happens upon enchanting sights

Armed with a new mask and snorkel from the local dive shop and my old surf wetsuit from high school, I was on my ...

Where sea lions dance

Words by

Photos Courtesy of

Petals and Purpose

In November 2024, a new retail space opened on Comox Avenue: Wildflower Mercantile. Bright and airy, filled with ...

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SEA LION SOLILOQUY

A poetic young pinniped and the art of storytelling.

Words by

Rhianna Walz

Photos by

Ryan Miller

Engineering a new life at Surf Side Fungus Farm

How to quit your day job

Words by

Matt Macdonald and Shannon Reeb

Photos by

Wild Shay Photography

Feeding Futures School Food Programs

Yes, there can be a free lunch

Words by

Thea Cockerton

Photos by

LILLIAN PORTER

Art and loss

How individual practice and community engagement aid in the process of healing

Words & photos by

Nadine Bariteau

Karaoke. Why?

Because it’s damn fun to belt out a banger in public.

Words by

Drew Henderson

Photos by

Jared Popescu

EMERGING ARTIST – TENLEY PRATT

A young fibre artist/entrepreneur explores her creative possibilities

Words by

Tenley Pratt

Photos by

Jenn Dykstra

Campbell River’s shifting trail running culture

The joy in being out there

Words by

Camilla Sampson

Photos by

Nick Thornton

The World Through the Eyes and Soul of the Poet

The world needs more poets

Words by

Chad Morse

Illustration by

Lindsay Ness

Get Lost!

Editor's introduction to Vol. 11

Words by

Camilla Sampson

Photo by

Sara Kempner

When Roads were Roads

A Satirical Look at How Ryan Road is Resisting Change

Words by

Dave Flawse

Photos Courtesy of

Courtenay Museum and Archives

A Look At Our Beloved Canada Jay

Theft from above

Words By

Ryan Stuart

Photos By

Dan Strickland

A Volkswagen Bus gets a makeover

Electrifying Results

Words by

Tina Willard-Stepan

Photos by

Meredith Rose

Ready to launch

An Introduction to Vol. 41

Words by

Bevin Clempson

Photo by

Sara Kempner

Featured Poet: If I had nine lives

Words and Photo by

YOSUKE HASUMI

The Story of Cortes Island Academy

A Crisis in Rural Education

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER: MATHEW WANBON

REFLECTIONS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SPORT

The coaching circle

Words by

Gillian Clayton

Photos by

Jenn Dykstra

Featured Artist: Maggie Ziegler

HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY FAMILY’S JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD

Japan to Iceland and everywhere in between

Words by

Violet Tunnah

Photos by

Gray Tunnah

Telling the stories of Cumberland

One village, many histories

Words by

Dawn Copeman

Illustration by

Jennifer Eaton

CEDAR BARK WEAVER

Traditional techniques, patience, and care go into Mahatta Price’s cedar bark designs

Words by

Jen Groundwater

Photos by

Meredith Rose

ELDER VALLEY: A JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES KIND OF ACTIVIST

Reflections from an older Comox Valley resident

Words by

BRIAN CHARLTON

Photo by

Sara Kempner

LOCAL TEA PURVEYORS

In pursuit of the perfect brew

Words by

Nicole Bergot

Photos by

Jenn Dykstra

THE REMARKABLE FATHER CHARLES BRANDT

A priest, a hermit, and an environmental activist walked into a forest . . .

Words by

Anne Arseneau

Photos by

Sara Kempner

THE MUSICAL JOURNEY OF HELENA JUNG

From Korea to Comox

Words by

Caroline Lenardon

Photo by

Crystal Chowdhury

HACK YOUR BRAIN

How finding flow makes you better at life

Words by

Tanja Yardley

Illustration by

Lauren Spinner

A LIFELONG JOURNEY INTO GRAPHIC NOVELS

Creative imagination, fantastical worlds

Words & Illustrations by

Matt Boucher

AN EMERGING COMOX VALLEY PHOTOGRAPHER

A young photographer shares some of his favourite work so far

Words & photos by

Jax McAllister

TIDINGS FROM PORT AUGUSTA

How two ships reshaped the Land of Plenty

Words by

Dave Flawse

MORNING SONG

We are ravens. Our nests have been here since the beginning of the world.

Words by

Kim Bannerman

Photos by

Bruce Moffat

CR LIVE STREETS: A NIGHT OUT DOWNTOWN

Cozy up in Campbell River with music, comedy, and art on a chilly February night

Words by

Hollie Ferguson

Photos by

Alison Dawn

LOOKING AT LICHENS

This amazing life form is a portal into interspecies collaboration

Words by

Marie Maccagno

Photos by

Courtney Brown

FALL RISE: THE COMOX VALLEY’S HIDDEN WHITEWATER

Cold November rains unveil epic whitewater adventures in the Valley

Words & Photo by

Dave Prothero

POETSKIS

Inspiring human connection, one ski turn at a time

Words by

Dave Nowak

Photos by

Jenn Dykstra

A CONSIGNMENT STORE ADVENTURE

Swimming in potential

Words by

Kayleen Turner

CELEBRATING HORNBY ISLAND’S ANNUAL HERRINGFEST

The CHI of land and sea

Words by

Melanda Schmid-Ochieng

Photos by

Kali Wexler

INVISIBLE STRINGS

An introduction to Vol. 40

Words by

Jen Groundwater

Photo by

Amy Shaw

BOHEMIAN/BAVARIAN RHAPSODY

Their instruments got lost. They still had fun.

Words & Photos by

Tereza Tomek

THE MANY COLOURS OF BUTE INLET

A magnificent fjord

Words by

Catherine Marie Gilbert

Photo by

Jenn Dykstra

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER: MICHAEL HACK

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