SRD deciding how to allocate wood chips

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - At their last meeting, the SRD Board approved a motion to keep the wood chips created by it Residential wood debris pickup in rural areas, but have yet to decide how they will be distributed

This pertains to the wood debris collected from local residences.

Nine organizations on Cortes, Quadra and Read Islands, have submitted applications for woodchips that have a public use component.

A second motion, “THAT the Regional District allocate woodchips to all applicants in accordance with the proposals received except applicants who are considered private entities.” was also approved.

Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson was concerned that there is not sufficient chips, “probably any of those applications could probably take all of the chips offered.” She preferred the idea of “giving fewer applicants, more chips to do more with.”

Three directors opposed the suggestion that staff talk to the applicants about volumes,

Regional Director Jim Abram explained, “Every organization will most likely say they will take all of them.”

He said the proposal was inappropriate and the wood chips should be divided equally among the applicants.

The board decided that staff board will talk to the applicants about volumes, but all applicants who are not private entities will receive some wood chips.

The five Cortes applicants are:

The Cortes Community Housing Society’s trail initiative
A community compost proposal from the Cortes Island Garden Club
“to suppress weeds and invasive plants, prevent erosion, and help maintain soil moisture which will benefit the native plants” in the Dillon Creek wetlands restoration project
And to increase the productivity at two community gardens, which will also increase the local food supply: The Cortes Island Garden Club
and Gaia Tree Gardens

All of these projects have a public use component

The three Quadra Island Applications are all for composting projects:

Terra Nova Farm isa 100 acre farm which is classified as a ‘private entity’ but intended to use the chips for composting and public education.

The Quadra ICAN and the Quadra Island Community Garden Cluba are both to distribute wood chips to local growers to help increase the island’s food security.

The Read Island application comes from the Surge Narrows Parents Advisory Committee Application which intends to resurface the children's playground.