UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Regional Canada Goose Management
Do you see Canada geese in your neighbourhood, or parks, or grazing in your fields? Join Goose Watch and contribute to tracking the seasonal movements and patterns of our local Canada goose population. Population surveys are an important component of the Capital Regional District’s (CRD) Regional Canada Goose Management Strategy. The collected data will play a crucial role in shaping future wildlife management decisions in the region.
It’s easy to participate. Simply download and use the Goose Watch app at https://arcg.is/rbC110 and input your observations. Save to your phone for easy access to use every time you spot Canada Geese.
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for Monday, February 3, 2025, to participate in our Regional Canada Goose Winter Survey.
Regional Canada Goose Management Survey
Learn More and get involved. Contact us at goose@crd.bc.ca or 250-360-3196.
For more information, please contact:
Samantha Hammond| Goose Management Coordinator
Parks & Environmental Protection I Capital Regional District
625 Fisgard Street I Victoria, BC I V9B 2Z8
T: 250.360.3196 I E: shammond@crd.bc.ca I F: 250.360.3079
FARM FOOD HUB - OPEN MOST SATURDAYS FROM 9:30-1 BEHIND THE HALL. Contact us at penderislandmarket@gmail.com if you would like to sell your products there or to find out more about it. Everything is made, baked, grown on Pender Island - member of BC Farmers Markets
WORKSHOPS - CONTACT ROZ rozkempe@shaw.ca IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND. JAN 27 AT BRAELOCH FARM, FEB 22 AT AVONDALE FARM, AND MARCH 12 AT RAVEN ROCK. GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR NETWORKING AND LEARNING FROM OTHER FARMERS WITH MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT.
FALL FAIR COMMITTEE MEETINGS - EVERYONE WELCOME. NEXT MEETING IS FEBRUARY 11TH, 7 PM AT THE COMMUNITY HALL LOUNGE.
FOODSAFE COURSE - IN PERSON ON FEB 25 AT THE COMMUNITY HALL. CERTIFICATE GOOD FOR 5 YEARS, LAURA CULLEN INSTRUCTOR. $70 INCLUDES WORKBOOK, EXAM, LUNCH. CONTACT penderislandmarket@gmail.com to register. DEADLINE TO REGISTER FEBRUARY 8TH. REQUIRED TO SELL HIGHER-RISK FOODS AT THE FARMERS MARKET. NOTE THAT MARKET SAFE AS A MINIMUM IS REQUIRED FOR LOWER RISK FOOD.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY : FARMERS’ MARKET MANAGER - For Farmers’ Market during the summer. For more information please email penderislandmarket@gmail.com Open to all ages.
Fall Fair Event Coordinator Assistant - to assist with organizing and managing the Fall Fair on August 23. For more information please email - penderislandfallfair@gmail.com
All ages can apply for the Farmers’ Market Manager position. Both positions for the Farmers Market and the Fall Fair combined are suitable for Canada Summer Job Program - age 15 to 30. 35 hours/week, $25-30 per hour, 8-16 weeks.
Farmers’ Market - May long weekend to Labour Day weekend 9:30 to 1 pm - check out our market pages
Fall Fair - August 23 SAVE THE DATE! Check out our Fall Fair pages
past Events and opportunities:
November 8th - Free Water Workshop at Raven Rock Farm. November 7th on Galiano - Drought workshop and field day, Galiano Island and Pender Island. With BC Ministry of Agriculture. To learn how do deal with less water in the growing season - drip irrigation, dryland farming, improving soil conditions to hold water - will be among the topics to be discussed. Visit to local farm for demonstration. Brought to you by the Gulf Islands Food CoOp, the Pender Island Farmers’ Institute, the Galiano Farmers’ Institute, and the BC Ministry of Agriculture. Refreshments to be provided, registration is free but required. Contact rozkempe@shaw.ca to register.
Farmers’ Market - Saturdays, 9:30-1 at the Community Hall from May long weekend to Labour Day weekend, after that the Hall runs the market inside, the Farmers’ Market is behind the Hall until winter. Member of BC Farmers’ Markets.
Wednesday Food-Only Market - Wednesdays 3-5 behind the Community Hall in the Farmers’ Institute barn until October 30. Member of BC Farmers’ Markets. Barn will be open on Saturdays as well from 9:30-1 nearly year round.
Fall Fair “THEN AND NOW” - Saturday, August 24th!
Fall Fair Wrap Up Meeting - October 15th, 7 pm, Hall
- Employment Opportunity : Farmers’ Market Assistant Manager - to assist with set up and running of Saturday and Wednesday Markets during the summer. For more information please email penderislandmarket@gmail.com or check this link for full description. Any age can apply, but it is also suitable for Canada Summer Job Program - age 15 to 30. 35 hours/week, $20.00 per hour, 8-16 weeks.
CLOSED - please apply: Employment Opportunity: Fall Fair Event Coordinator Assistant - to assist with organizing and managing the Fall Fair on August 24. For more information please email penderislandmarket@gmail.com or check this link for full description. Also suitable for Canada Summer Job Program - age 15 to 30. 35 hours/week, $20.00 per hour, 8-16 weeks.
Seed Planting at the School, May 16th
Farmers’ Market Vendor Meeting - April 6th at 1:30 pm- Pender Island Community Hall
Seedy Saturday March 30th, 2024. Saturday, 10-1 at the Community Hall.
October 27, 2018: Sheep Shearing Class
A group of sixteen sheep producers and wool enthusiasts came to Karl Hamson’s barn on Pender Island for the first Wool Classification course in BC, taught by wool education coordinator for the American Sheep Industry Association, Dr. Lisa Surber.
The course was to improve wool education for producers and fibre enthusiasts and to assist in improving the overall quality and economic value of the Canadian wool clip.
The participants came from around BC and the US for the course held October 25-27, joined by two local farmers, Jodi Schamberger and Austin Davies, who provided the sheep for the shearing demonstration and hands-on wool classification.
The course was organized by Charlene Thompson, a wool enthusiast who saw a need and a way to support the growing interest in local fibre and the new mill in the Saanich Peninsula.
Lisa McKinley Surber, PhD, a certified wool classing instructor, has been offering this curriculum across the US. The potential for increasing the value of BC and Canadian wool, diversifying products from wool, including non-textile products, were emphasized.
Dr. Surber was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta and went to Montana State University, receiving a BS in Animal Science, a MS in ruminant nutrition, and a PhD in forage genetics. She worked in the wool lab at MSU for 7 years. She took every opportunity “to see more wool”, becoming a level 4 wool classer by visiting ranches and farms in her spare time to practice her classifying skills.
“A wool classer is a professional who provides expertise to growers, shearers, and wool marketing agencies, following an industry-accepted code of practice in the preparation of wool and sorting by quality,” says Surber.
Pieter Demooy was the shearer for the course, adding his own expertise as a professional shearer. Peter was trained in New Zealand and Australia and has sheared sheep for 40 years. He shears most sheep on the Pender Islands and is a regular attraction at the Pender Island Fall Fair.
One market to explore is non-textile wool products, including felting around new trees, roadside reclamation and prevention of erosion, pelleted wool as a garden amendment, insulation, and wool booms to clean up oil spills.
Dr. Surber added that sheep should be promoted more as part of a multi-species improvement enterprise, given their role in controlling noxious weeds and reducing forest fire risk through grazing.
The course was supported by the BC Sheep Federation Sheep Industry Development Fund, Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers, Canadian Sheep Federation, Inter Island Sheep Breeders Association, the Southern Gulf Islands Community Resource Centre, and the Pender Island Farmers’ Institute.
Many thanks to Charlene Thompson for organizing this event, to Karl for providing the venue, to Jodi and Austin for providing sheep, Karl, Jodi and Barb for set up and take down, and the sponsors who made this event possible.