Shalu Mehta

Love a good community spotlight!

One simple thing you can do to support journalism in these days of AI summaries and social media walled gardens: click on the link. Go to the site. Yes it really is that easy.

Reclaimed Quw'utsun belongings on display at expanded Shawnigan Lake Museum – The Discourse. Repatriated Quw'utsun belongings are now on display at the expanded Shawnigan Lake Museum, honouring Indigenous history and culture.

Really love this week's story from @emrichards.bsky.social
Several Quw'utsun belongings have returned home after being repatriated from the Royal BC Museum. They're on loan at the newly expanded Shawnigan Lake Museum and will help tell the full history of the region.
thediscourse.ca/cowichan-val...

Comox Valley group calls on locals to support fundraising efforts for Gaza Comox Valley Fundraising Community has raised $17,000 for families in Gaza amidst hunger crisis, but more is needed as starvation continues.

Comox Valley Fundraising Community has raised $17,000 for families in Gaza amidst the hunger crisis. They are still sending pleas to fellow community members to donate. thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...
**A previous post did not have the correct headline. It has been edited and reposted.

Snuneymuxw Days 2025 in photos – The Discourse. Third annual Snuneymuxw Days featured canoe races, a longhouse jam and basketball and brought the community together

It was a sunny weekend on the waterfront in front of Snuneymuxw First Nation’s Reserve #1 as hundreds of people from as far as Hope, B.C. gathered to participate in war canoe races, enjoy comfort food such as Indian tacos, and soak up the good vibes.
thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/in-p...

In 2023, the Cowichan Valley Basket Society distributed close to 300 food hampers a month to Cowichan Valley community members. Now, 700 food hampers go out every month and feed an estimated 1,500 people.

"Nanaimo’s cycling infrastructure is a mash-up of bike lanes, cycle tracks, multi-use pathways, neighbourhood bikeways and trails but the way they are developed is often through piecemeal requirements ...

This results in bike lanes that start, run for a few blocks, and then abruptly end."

Last week, the Quw'utsun Salmon, a giant puppet built by the Quw'utsun Stseelthun Friendship Project, performed at 39 Days of July in Duncan. Read more about the project in our previous coverage: thediscourse.ca/cowichan-val...

Nice to see that the government, after push back from First Nations, has restarted consultation on updates to the Heritage Conservation Act. What’s wrong with the act? Read on ⬇️

Not writing a story on this, but both the violent and non-violent crime severity index for Nanaimo dropped in 2024. Here's an updated chart of it that shows the trends over time. datawrapper.dwcdn.net/kL0me/3/

Did you know some invasive species can exacerbate wildfire risk? Some of them even thrive after a wildfire, making it tough for native plant species to come back. Thanks, @madelined.bsky.social, for this reporting!

Courtenay organization turns to community after losing funding Lake Trail Community Education Society hopes the Courtenay community can help raise $50k to support its programming for all ages.

An organization in Courtenay is hoping to raise $50,000 before the school year begins after a loss of funding could mean a reduction in programs that support youth and community empowerment, connection, resilience and food security. thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...

bailey macabre, Indigenous engagement coordinator for the @nanaimoartgallery.bsky.social, is organizing a monthly Indigenous film series. You can watch a free screening of Rocks at Whiskey Trench by Alanis Obomsawin tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Read the full story: thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/indi...

Where can people shelter overnight in Duncan and North Cowichan? Here's what you need to know. Current sheltering bylaws — and how they are enforced — leave unhoused people feeling confused, frustrated and unsafe, local advocates say.

An altercation with RCMP and bylaw left an unhoused senior without shelter. Advocates say it’s time for clear rules — and a permanent encampment. Here's how Duncan and North Cowichan are responding:

On Saturday, July 12, our reporter @emrichards.bsky.social attended the opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new viewing platform built by the Cowichan Estuary Restoration and Conservation Association on Blackley’s Trail in the Cowichan Estuary. Check out some of Eric’s photos from the event!

HMCS Nanaimo bids final farewell to namesake city – The Discourse. HMCS Nanaimo to be transferred to the Atlantic later this year after years of service patrolling the west coast.

I was lucky to get a personal tour of HMCS Nanaimo on a final farewell visit to its namesake city before it transfers to the East Coast. Come aboard with me and meet some of the ship’s crew.

thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/hmcs...

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Want to hear what Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog has to say about a legal warning letter sent by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms over bylaws that ban recording of city council meetings and in city spaces? Subscribe to our Nanaimo This Week newsletter for free! thediscourse.ca/newsletters

Inside the project restoring Indigenous plants and a vital estuary – The Discourse. Students from Quw'utsun Secondary School and Le'lum'uy'lh Daycare Centre learned how to care for Indigenous plants at the Hulitun Spulhxun/Tumuhw nursery.

The Discourse was on hand last month to document a plant care workshop at the Hulitun Spulhxun/Tumuhw native plant nursery. Check out photos from the event below.

Comox Valley bat count volunteers monitoring devastating disease As this year’s Comox Valley bat count kicks off, the flying mammals remain at risk of white-nose syndrome.

The little brown bat is the only federally protected bat species on Vancouver Island. In the Comox Valley, volunteers are on guard against white-nose syndrome, a disease that is killing millions of bats in the U.S. and Canada. Read the latest from Dave Flawse:
thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...

BC Wildfire Service BC Wildfire Service App

BC Wildfire Service reporting an out of control wildfire between Port Renfrew and Lake Cowichan, near Harris Creek along the Pacific Marine circle route.
wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/incidents?fi...

Cumberland Home & Garden tour raising funds to buy 261 acres from private timber companies The Cumberland Community Forest Society is hosting its annual Home & Garden Tour to support the protection of Cumberland forests and lands with its sights set on purchasing 261 acres of land from private timber companies.

The Cumberland Community Forest Society is hosting its annual Home & Garden Tour to support the protection of Cumberland forests and lands with its sights set on purchasing 261 acres of land from private timber companies.

Transgender prisoners will be detained according to their sex at birth in Quebec Transgender prisoners will now be detained in provincial prisons according to their sex assigned at birth, Public Safety Minister François Bonnardel announced on Wednesday.

There are six trans people incarcerated in QC provincial prisons. Six. That's 0.1 % of the incarcerated population. This is a highly politicized move that will have an outsize impact on a tiny # of people. This doesn't bode well for other comité des sages "findings." www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/art...

This man is reviving traditional Indigenous food preparation to make it commercially available – The Discourse. Jared Qwustenuxun Williams hopes that a new processing facility will help Quw’utsun People benefit economically from their traditional food.

Regulations are holding back traditionally prepared Indigenous foods in B.C., one man is working to change that. Jared Qwustenuxun Williams hopes that a new commercial food processing facility will help Quw’utsun People benefit culturally and economically from their traditional cuisine.

Being in community and meeting our readers is one of my favourite parts of this job. I may be biased, but I think The Discourse has some of the best readers and supporters! 💜🌿

A group of people sit aroud a patio table holding beer laughing, with plates of food on the table.

We ❤️ meeting other community builders. Thank you to all who came out last night to celebrate 8 years of in-depth journalism by and for the #CowichanValley!

We still need 25 more supporters for our spring fundraising goal. If you value local journalism, please support it thediscourse.ca/support-us

Hey #Cowichan, #Nanaimo and #ComoxValley readers! We're thrilled to meet up with you tonight for a Local News Appreciation Party at Red Arrow Brewing in Duncan. Click the link for event details, hope to see you soon 🎉https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1383173953529/?aff=oddtdtcreator

A woman hugs another person while holding flowers and smiling. Text reads: Local News appreciation party! The Dicourse logo and Red Arrow Brewing logos in bottom right.

Come find @thediscourse.ca team at Red Arrow Brewing in Duncan this evening and celebrate eight (!) years of local, independent news in the community. Can't wait!
www.eventbrite.com/e/local-news...

One of the highlights of the Nanaimo Pride Festival for me was the crowd singing along and dancing to a cover of Pink Pony Club. #pride #NanaimoPride2025

I had the pleasure of meeting Tlithl'Kaw a couple of years ago when he gifted a totem pole - that he carved alongside the community and school children - to the HUB at Cowichan Station, a local community centre and gathering place. He's such a lovely person, and his art is beautiful!