LivingHere

16/10/2024

🎉 A big congratulations to one of our writers, Ari Lord, for being named the 2024 winner of the Richard Carver Award for emerging writers!

The award is presented to emerging writers

09/10/2024

As a father and business owner, Harvey Su is committed to building a more comfortable and sustainable Coquitlam.

🌱 From supporting new building policies to improving local transit, he’s making sure his community thrives for his daughters and future generations to come.

👉 Read more about Harvey here:

https://livinghere.ca/business-owner-and-community-volunteer-wants-a-more-livable-coquitlam/

05/10/2024

Growing up in Quesnel, British Columbia, Gracie Smith has seen firsthand how mill closures have impacted her friends, family, and community.

And while she wants jobs in this industry to exist in towns like hers she also cares about the environment and wants to see forests managed for more than just timber.

Read Gracie's story to learn more about how and why she hopes to be part of an industry that she and future generations can be proud of.

https://livinghere.ca/forestry-student-says-her-future-industry-can-do-better/

23/09/2024

This summer, did wildfires or smoke cancel a live show you were excited to see? 🎶🔥

In our latest Living Here story, Coquitlam musician Etienne Siew shares how wildfires have impacted his career as a touring artist.

Despite the challenges, Etienne remains deeply connected to nature and community—and he offers hope through his music. 🌲✨

Read the story and discover how he’s turning setbacks into songs and inspiring others to take action on climate change.

https://livinghere.ca/coquitlam-resident-speaks-out-on-wildfires-threatening-musicians-livelihoods/

12/07/2024

Meet Nathan Bartel, a high school shop teacher turned Forestry-Trades program leader at Charles Bloom Secondary in Lumby, BC. For Nathan, it's not just a job—it's a passion.

In this hands-on program, students learn everything from trade-related skills to sustainable logging practices in a 600-hectare woodlot. Nathan believes in responsible forest management and instills these values in his students, preparing them for a future in forestry.

“The forests are an amazing renewable resource if we manage them responsibly,” says Nathan. 🌲

Read more about Nathan and the program here:

https://livinghere.ca/teaching-future-forestry-workers-to-log-with-care/

As a logger and third-generation caretaker for his acreage near Castlegar, British Columbia, Quintin Sperling has carried on the legacy of working hard, by spending his life in the forests both on and off his family’s land.“I’m a certified faller and in B.C. I've done practically everything re...

11/06/2024

🌲🪓 Quintin Sperling has spent his life working hard in B.C.'s forests, from timber harvesting to firefighting.

But he's recently left the industry he once loved and no longer feels proud to be a part of. 😔

“Many timber tenure holders have lost their privilege to be in the forest,” Quintin says. “They’re depleting the resource. For future generations, there’s nothing left. It saddens me.”

In this week's Living Here story, Quintin urges those who depend on healthy forests to raise their concerns and create meaningful change. 🌍💪

"There can be a sustainable forest industry that supports communities and the environment. But it's going to take people like you and your children to stand up for their rights." 🌿👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Read about it here at:

As a logger and third-generation caretaker for his acreage near Castlegar, British Columbia, Quintin Sperling has carried on the legacy of working hard, by spending his life in the forests both on and off his family’s land.“I’m a certified faller and in B.C. I've done practically everything re...

05/06/2024

🌧️ We're happy it's been a wet and chilly spring in the Kootenays, keeping wildfires at bay.

But today, we are happy to see a little ☀️, and we thought we'd share our story about the Jenners, a family in Thrums who went solar a few years ago.

It all started with Mark Jenner, an engineer for an oil and gas company in Alberta, wanting a more comfortable commute to Calgary.

He bought an electric vehicle and liked it so much that he and his wife switched out their second gas vehicle for an electric one and installed solar panels so they could produce their own electricity.

Find out how health, money, and security motivated them to switch from gas to an electric-powered life. 🌱💡

Read: Kootenay family gives solar two Thrums up!

https://livinghere.ca/kootenay-family-gives-solar-two-thrums-up/

23/05/2024

Meet Mike, the adventurer turned heat pump guru, warming up the Yukon one house at a time with efficient heating and cooling. 🏔 ❤️

We ran this story last December in our online magazine, LivingHere, but are resharing it because the federal and provincial governments recently 📣 that they are reinvesting in the grant program for people to install efficient electric heating and cooling systems in their 🏡.

Mike thinks every heat pump installation is a step toward the future, and Anton, a customer and friend in the cold Canadian north, advises you to “just get one.”

Visit the link in our bio to find out why.

https://livinghere.ca/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-a-heat-pump/

30/04/2024

“The first time I drove into a cutblock that I had developed I was deeply saddened and moved to tears 😢. We as industry professionals need to be emboldened to advocate for improvements from the inside, embracing the challenge of being positive change makers in our industry.”

Meet Angela French, a Salmo resident and professional forester with a decade of experience in B.C. In this week's story, she opens up about the highs and lows of working in an industry driven by profit, the promise of community forestry (only 3% of the annual provincial harvest), and her mission to drive change from within.

Read more about Angela Here

“Most people that get into forestry love the outdoors,” says Angela French of Salmo, British Columbia. Angela moved to the area from Abbotsford in 2013 for Selkirk College’s Forestry Program. Afterwards, she worked for a forestry consultant then at a local family-run mill for five years.“The...

26/04/2024

Are our homes harming us? 🔍 Marc Brillon of Ellenwood Homes, a builder on a mission to build healthy, energy-efficient homes, says yes.

“It’s proven that gas stoves are bad for the interior air quality and your health and everything,” Marc says. “We never heat with gas furnaces anymore. We haven’t done it for ten years.” 💡💡

🏡💡 Dive into Marc's story about why he builds the way he does and his hopes that British Columbians will encourage all builders in the province to build this way. 🏠🌱

For British Columbia builder Marc Brillon, construction is a family gene.As a teenager in northeastern Ontario, he honed his skills alongside his uncles and other contractors, learning invaluable lessons in teamwork and efficiency. “They were good at what they did and had grit and stamina,” Marc...

26/04/2024

Are our homes harming us? 🔍 Marc Brillon, a builder on a mission to build healthy, energy-efficient homes, says yes.�

“It’s proven that gas stoves are bad for your interior health and for the interior air quality and your health and everything,” Marc says. “We never heat with gas furnaces anymore. We haven’t done it for ten years.”��💡💡

🏡💡 Dive into Marc's story about why he builds the way he does and his hopes that British Columbians will encourage all builders in B.C. to build this way. 🏠🌱

For British Columbia builder Marc Brillon, construction is a family gene.As a teenager in northeastern Ontario, he honed his skills alongside his uncles and other contractors, learning invaluable lessons in teamwork and efficiency. “They were good at what they did and had grit and stamina,” Marc...

22/04/2024

It's Earth Day today 🌍🌱🪱

Maybe you are participating in a community clean-up, getting your hands dirty in your garden, or sipping on a coffee before work and watching your social media feed flood with environmentally friendly memes.

Or perhaps, Earth Day brings up some discomfort for you. 🤔

Because you've been wondering: should we be prioritizing the environment when many are struggling with things that impact their day to day life, like rising grocery bills and securing a place to live that's affordable and safe. 💳 🛒🏡

It's a fair concern. It is also why James, a Castlegar resident and electrician, thinks embracing clean and renewable energy in rural B.C. communities is an crticial piece of the affordable living puzzle. ☀️

Read more about James, the myths and job creation potential around solar power, and his belief that people producing their own electricity for themselves and their neighbours is not a utopian future. 🏡 🌻

https://livinghere.ca/everything-under-the-kootenay-sun/

05/04/2024

Morel season is soon upon us (🍄 😋), and mushroom expert Jean Hewat has been picking, eating, and selling all kinds of mushrooms in the Nakusp area since she was a child. She's also seen patches in places she’s gone to for decades, destroyed by logging activity. 🪵

Coming from a forestry family and community herself, she understands how important logging is to the area. At the same time, she would like to see more consideration for the other products and services the forests near Nakusp provide, like mushrooms.

This story isn’t new, but we think it's still relevant today. So why not go saute yourself some fresh mushrooms, grab a glass of your favourite white B.C. wine, and give this story a taste.

14/03/2024

Join us this International River's Day as we celebrate Glen and Kelly Hall, stewards of Timber Ridge Ranch in Alberta's eastern Rocky Mountains and their journey to restore health to Mosquito Creek and protect the watershed they live and work on.

Their land isn't just their home and livelihood; it's their legacy to their grandkids and future generations. Through regenerative practices and the support of organizations like Cows and Fish, they've revitalized the land, ensuring clean water not just for their cows, but for all downstream users.

Read it here:

https://livinghere.ca/healthy-creeks-happy-cows/

08/03/2024

Robin Unrau is a lifelong hunter and angler who spent his childhood outdoors in Kaslo, British Columbia. 🎣 His family hunted, fished, hiked, chopped firewood, and picked mushrooms and huckleberries, and as an adult, he goes back to enjoy the wilderness in this area as often as he can.

Given his lifelong passion for the outdoors, ⛰️ it’s not surprising that Robin is worried about how a large ski resort proposed to be developed in the mountains he grew up near could put sensitive animals, like mountain caribou, and their habitat at risk. 🦌😔

Robin is your relatable and warm uncle or neighbor who owns the impact he has had on the land while also wanting to leave nature better, not worse off, for his grandkids. So if you haven’t read it yet, grab a slice of elk jerky and chew on this story from Living Here. 🥓📖

Robin Unrau is a lifelong hunter and angler who spent his childhood outdoors in Kaslo, British Columbia. His family hunted, fished, hiked, chopped firewood, and picked mushrooms and huckleberries.

04/03/2024

“The first time I drove into a cutblock that I had developed I was deeply saddened and moved to tears 😢. We as industry professionals need to be emboldened to advocate for improvements from the inside, embracing the challenge of being positive change makers in our industry.”

Meet Angela French, a Salmo resident and professional forester with a decade of experience in B.C. In this week's Living Here story, she opens up about the highs and lows of working in an industry driven by profit, the promise of community forestry (only 3% of the annual provincial harvest) and her mission to drive change from within. 🌲

“Most people that get into forestry love the outdoors,” says Angela French of Salmo, British Columbia. Angela moved to the area from Abbotsford in 2013 for Selkirk College’s Forestry Program. Afterwards, she worked for a forestry consultant then at a local family-run mill for five years.“The...

22/02/2024

Sometimes, bullying is simple and obvious. 😔

Other times, it's subtle and more complicated and comes from the parents whose kids you teach, the union members who have a job to keep, or the industry bosses who have shareholders to please and bottom lines to meet.

But for Kitimat's Pam and Steve, standing up for clean air in their industry-heavy, small, B.C. town was simply the right thing to do. They knew industry could do better, and spoiler alert, they did (and no jobs were harmed in the process).

In honour of Pink Shirt Day, we are re-sharing this story today, because we could all learn how to be braver.

https://livinghere.ca/how-kitimat-b-c-is-catching-its-breath/

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09/01/2024

Mill closures impact more than just jobs 💔. Families, youth, and communities suffer. Mackenzie, B.C.’s Jesse Wright believes that if the forest industry in B.C. wants a future, it must put the well-being of locals before distant corporate gains. 🌲🙌

Read more about Jesse and why our mill towns deserve better.

If you told Jesse Wright at 19 that he would end up supporting youth in a rural logging town in northern British Columbia, he wouldn’t have believed you. But today, he is proud to call Mackenzie, B.C., home, and he wouldn’t choose to be anywhere else.“The town is in the middle of a forest, we....