Both children and adults are enjoying a new playground which has opened at the Ditidaht Community School.

“It’s something the students have wanted for a long time,” said Emily MacLennan, the principal of the school located on Nitinaht Lake.  “For years I’ve been trying to get funding for this project.”

Students started fundraising for a new playground a half dozen years ago, when MacLennan arrived at the school to serve as a teacher for those in Kindergarten through Grade 2.

From lying on the forest floor of Huu-ay-aht territory to standing 37 feet overlooking Port Alberni’s Victoria Quay, the multi-year journey of a totem pole realised by a Hesquiaht master carver is set to be complete with an unveiling on Sept. 18.

The shoreline of a Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation is considerably cleaner these days.

That’s because a massive six-day debris cleanup was held on the shores of the Ehattesaht First Nation recently.

The garbage-collecting venture was part of a larger Clean Coast Clean Waters Initiative fund made possible through the B.C. government.

The entire project spanned about 280 kilometres of mostly remote coastline and is believed to be the province’s largest marine debris cleanup ever.

In his Sept. 8, community update, Ahousaht elected chief Greg Louie confirmed that his office received news from provincial health authorities that another resident has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the current cases in Ahousaht to four.

Louie says the affected people are self-isolating at home, as recommended by provincial health authorities.

“Please be supportive…don’t be angry and don’t be blaming,” Louie reminded membership.

For five days, Rachelle Packwood removed mounds of Styrofoam, rope and tires that had collected along the remote shorelines of the Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound.

It was the first beach clean-up Packwood had participated in and she hasn’t stopped talking about it since.

“I feel really good about what we did,” she said. “Knowing how many tons of debris we took off that Broken Group is astounding. I have a sense of pride.”

With the fourth wave of COVID-19 sweeping across the continents, new provincial health orders are now in effect and new ones will be in place by mid-September.

Beginning Sept. 13, B.C.’s provincial health officer has ordered that people 12 and over attending certain social and recreational settings will need to show proof of at least partial vaccination for COVID-19. This means that people will need to carry their paper vaccination cards that were issued when they received vaccine with them to enter certain spaces.

With a growing community relying on aging infrastructure, Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' leaders are forced to look for alternate power sources to serve residents.

Kyuquot’s electricity comes from a privately-owned company that purchases power from the BC Hydro grid and resells it to Kyuquot. There is a single cable feeding the electricity to the village and it is at capacity.

“The old line is maxed out. It is a single-phase line and we need a three-phase line,” said Cynthia Blackstone, KCFN chief administrative officer.

As the death toll from B.C.’s overdose crisis continues, those who work closely with First Nations are urging people to look beyond the disturbing numbers and into the complexities of treating drug addiction.

On a community bulletin board outside of the Tofino Co-op Food Store, Shed restaurant advertised a $500 signing bonus for line-cooks and dishwashers. 

Live to Surf, TOFINO Kombucha and Wolf in the Fog also had job postings on display.

Meanwhile, the Dockside Smoked Fish Store has closed for two days a week.

“Staffing is the main issue,” said owner and Ahousaht Tyee Ha'wilth Maquinna Lewis George. “It’s super busy. We shouldn’t be closed, but we’re having to close.”

Wildfire conditions are improving, leading the province to lift its campfire ban for the north half of Vancouver Island on Friday.

This notice came from the province’s Coastal Fire Centre today, despite the fact that all of Vancouver Island remains under Level 5 drought conditions, the most severe rating issued by B.C.’s Water Management Branch. Currently most of Vancouver Island also remains under the “extreme” fire danger rating.