Tag Archive for: legacy

Josee Bergeron

Okanagan Blogger, mom of three

What do you love about the Okanagan? 

I love that the Okanagan Valley has such unique ecosystems and so much diversity. There is always so much to do, learn about and explore, from swimming and canoeing on its beautiful lakes, to rock climbing and hiking to reach spectacular views and even skiing and pond skating in the winter. Pair these great activities with the ever changing seasons and it’s easy to see why people come from around the world to visit, work and study in our beautiful valley. 

What do you worry about when you think about the Okanagan and the environment in the future? Why is a healthy environment important to you?

I worry that people don’t know enough about the uniqueness of our area and because of this lack of knowledge they do not understand the importance of stewardship. We live in a “throwaway” culture and I think people forget that we cannot treat our environment that way. If we throw away what we have, we may lose it forever. A healthy environment means a healthy individuals and a healthy community. The two go hand in hand.

What will your own personal legacy for the Okanagan will be? What are you most proud of?

This is a good question. I feel like I am on a journey to help families know more about the Okanagan Valley through my blog so that they will have the opportunities to connect with the land and make beautiful memories together. This feels like a small thing right now but perhaps it will grow over time.

What do you think about a household levy of $10/average/year? What could the benefits of a South Okanagan Conservation Fund be?


I think that this is a very reasonable amount. I personally would be willing to pay more. It’s the cost of a couple specialty coffees at Starbucks at least. There are many benefits to this fund, probably more than I can even think about. To be sure there will be naysayers (there always are with any change). However, this is a very small investment for our future. I would encourage people to step outside and go for a walk, look around and ask themselves “do we want our children, our grandchildren and even our great-grandchildren to enjoy good health and access to plenty of beautiful land during their lifetime?” I hope the answer is a resounding “yes!”.

 

Kenn and Sandra Oldfield

Owners, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards

What do you love about the Okanagan? 

Sandra: For me having moved up from California I like the variedness of it. It’s not a monoculture here. It’s got good protection of farmland as well as lots of native areas. Not many people know that right behind us is the whole Kobau range, with native grasses and fauna that exist here. For me I like going up there, where the wildflowers and birds are bountiful.

Kenn: Right up behind our property is the Thompson plateau. I love that right from the edge of our farmland it goes straight into a natural rangeland native landscape.

What do you worry about when you think about the Okanagan and the environment in the future? Why is a healthy environment important to you?

Sandra: I have long term concerns about water, and development pressure. I don’t like to see our native rangeland turned over to development. We’re always going to see those pressures because we’re always going to be growing but it’s a matter of how you balance people and wildlife. The only way to do it is if you’re in a group, collaborating, talking about it together. I think the conservation fund will provide that opportunity.

What do you hope your personal legacy for the Okanagan will be? What are you most proud of?

Sandra: Being stewards of our own land is as much as we could ever hope for. I think we’ll turn this land over in better condition than when we took it on. But from a wider Okanagan perspective I think the only thing that I can do is trying to show businesses that you can be financially successful and you can be sustainable. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. Our sustainability programs here on the farm have saved us money. I think that’s the opposite of what most business owners think. They think to become sustainable takes a lot of capital input and instead it actually just means making your operations more efficient.

Kenn: I think the best that we can do, is be a good example, to show people what can be done. I’m most proud of our reputation for the things we’ve done here on the vineyard. Some of the loyalty from our customers comes from how we feel about the environment and what we do here to make a difference. It’s the little steps that can help a great deal.

What do you think about a household levy of $10/average/year? What could the benefits of a South Okanagan Conservation Fund be?

Sandra: People have the opportunity now, for literally a buck a month, to have local control over resources, to have a local discussion and prioritize things. Do I want to see more taxes? Probably not, but every household here takes advantage of everything that this levy would fund. Everybody loves nature, but they can’t just expect it can go on without funding. Show me someone here that use or doesn’t look at or respect the nature that’s around us. There’s a reason why we choose to live here and it’s because of nature, so even if you’re not physically partaking you’re here because of it and we need money to sustain it.

Kenn: The nicest thing for me about the conservation fund is local money means local control. If you put it in to the pot yourself then you’ve got a say over how that pot gets used. If we can leverage it to get federal funds then so much the better.