PenderPOD has much to celebrate.

We have many people to thank, and there have been many
accomplishments,  so the list is not complete but rather I will give
the highlights:

*Sarah Gayle created a bright, beautiful, banner that was painted by
Pender youth.

*Thanks to Misty McDuffy, Margot Venton, David Boyd and Adam Olsen for
speaking at our events.  Misty advises us of scientific developments
and Margot with legal developments.  David works with the UN and Adam
is our Provincial Member of Parliament.  They eloquently speak truth
to power.

*Misha Kleider helped Julia Nicholls set up our website and patiently taught her how to administer it.

Our group consists of 8 Sinister Seniors who meet at the Elder
EpiCentre to plot, plan and ponder our projects.  Our work is powered
by food, fun and friendship.  I am not able to delineate who does what
because everyone jumps in to help where ever they can so the following
is only a rough estimation.

*Monica Petrie along with other concerned Penderites, created Pender
Ocean Defenders 6 years ago.  She also administers the Pender Ocean
Defenders facebook page and she made the silver shiny herring that has
led our marches.  She also manages our finances.

*Lisa Baile manages the emails and communications with the public.
She spearheaded the letter-writing campaign and built the plywood
Orcas.  She organized Orca-straitions, our commemorative prayer flag project.

She is the art director.

*MaryAnne Pare created and performed her spoken word pieces and wrote
chants for the group to perform.  She organized Orca Songs.  She is our music director.

*Paul Petrie wrote the submission to the NEB.  He is also organizing
the ṮEṮÁĆES Climate Action Project.  He keeps us nourished.  He is the food director.

*Gregory Nicholls sent a critique to CBC on the Podcast they did on
the Orcas.  He also wrote many of the PenderPost articles.

*Peter Pare is our techie and coordinator extraordinaire, smoothing out wrinkles
and linking us with other organizations on the island.

*Julia Nicholls administers the website: PenderPOD.ca

Since their creation, the banner and orcas have been part of many
events: Orca Songs, Penders' first Pride Parade, the Fall Fair and
Lovin' the Earth (the climate action fair in Vancouver).  For the
world wide youth climate strike in September, we divided our banners
and orcas so that we had a presence in Victoria and supported the kids
from the Epicentre who organized the march on Pender.

We have made two extensive submissions:  one to the National Energy
Board detailing their flawed process, and another to the CBC with a
critique of their podcast about Orcas.

We have petitioned the Islands Trust to declare a Climate Change State
of Emergency.  This has been passed.

We have Petitioned the Parliament of Canada to increase the allowable
approach distance of vessels to whales from 100m to 200m. This was
achieved in 2018.  June 1st, 2019 the approach distance for the southern resident killer whales has been
increased to 400m.

A letter was written to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans - DFO
Canada, to support Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s call for a
closure on the Chinook fishery. The 2019 closure included the ocean
surrounding Pender and Saturna Islands and a no go area for all boats
- a Sanctuary for the JClan Orcas.

Peter, Gregory, Julia, and Lisa dressed in their best black dresses
with frills and feathers to be Sinister Sisters and to walk the
catwalk at the ZooIslander fashion show.

We have advocated  for the Whale Trail, an international organization which
advocates land-based whale watching to inspire everyone with an
alternative to whale-watching boats

We produced a pamphlet which shows the best Pender Island spots for
watching Orcas from the shore.

We commissioned and installed “Be Whale Wise” signs at 3 Pender Island
marinas - Otter Bay, Browning Harbour and Bedwell Harbour.

We have held several public events with expert speakers and films to
inform and inspire the community, including letter-writing sessions to
government ministries.

We organized a town hall meeting for the Green New Deal.

 

We organized Orca Songs parade and festival at Browning.

 

We marched in the Pender Pride,  and at the Lovin' the Earth ( the climate action fair in Vancouver). where we also performed and made speeches.

PenderPOD.ca enjoys wide support in our community and we collaborate
with other organizations such as the Pender Conservancy, The Capital
Regional District, the Southern Gulf Islands Community Resource Centre
and the youth group, Salish Sea Stars.

The challenge before us is immense. But it’s not insurmountable. We
need to summon the courage to act now. Our group is action focussed.
Learn more about the issues and what you can do at PenderPod.ca.