Geese and marmots: a tale of two critters

The Canada goose and the Vancouver Island marmot, two iconic species in very different situations.

We’re going to hear about a pair of efforts on today’s show, one to get our goose population under control, and one to bring marmots back from the brink.

Nanaimo’s launched a bid looking for contractors to do some Canada goose egg addling.

At the same time, The Marmot Recovery Foundation is hiring for a pair of positions this summer.

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Joe Pugh
Nanaimo's new youth poet laureate

Page Pierce is Nanaimo’s new Youth Poet Laureate.

The Vancouver Island University education student will spend a two year term raising awareness of poetry and the impact that literary arts can have on community life.

Pierce, 21, has published 7 books of poetry, the first of those coming when she was 15.

CHLY reporter Mick Sweetman spoke with her in our studio.

We also follow up with Nanaimo's Poet Laureate Kamal Parmar, who reflects on her two years in the role so far.

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Joe Pugh
Food and beverage festival kicks off in Nanaimo

For the next two weeks It’s Dine About Mid-Island, as Nanaimo’s Food and Beverage festival returns for a second year.

During the event a variety of independent restaurants from Ladysmith to Qualicum Beach will be offering special menus.

Midcoast Morning is taking a look at the local food scene to mark the occasion.

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Joe Pugh
Touring Nanaimo's public works yard

Nanaimo is offering tours of its public works yard this weekend.

The city is looking to borrow $48.5 million to begin replacing and upgrading parts of the facility, which was built in the 1960s.

Members of the media were invited for a separate tour Tuesday, we’ll bring you excerpts from that..

We’ll also explore the Alternative Approval Process that’s opening up this week as the city seeks voter approval to borrow the money it will take to complete the project.

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Joe Pugh
Reffing the beautiful game in Nanaimo

The stoppage time winner, the penalty save, the last second tackle, the dazzling dribble.

There are a lot of reasons why people might call soccer the beautiful game, but have you ever thought about beautiful refereeing?

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Joe Pugh
2023 in review with Mayor Krog (part one)

From speeding up adoption of the zero carbon step code, to a contentious alternative approval process, there’s plenty to look back on in municipal politics in 2023.

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog stopped by the CHLY studio to help wrap up the last 12 months.

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Joe Pugh
2023 in books (part two)

As Nanaimo gets ready to turn the page on 2023, we’re taking a look at the year in books.

In this episode, we head to the Vancouver Island Regional Library to learn about the most checked out titles. We also hear from Literacy Central Vancouver Island’s Indigenous Literacy Coordinator Aimee Chalifoux.

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Joe Pugh
2023 in books (part one)

As Nanaimo gets ready to turn the page on 2023, we’re taking a look at the year in books.

In this episode, we explore the world of Literacy Central Vancouver Island, and hear from an independent bookseller in Nanaimo about the year in letters.

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Joe Pugh
International students face work restrictions

International students have received some answers about how much they’ll be allowed to work over the coming months.

The federal government provided an update on a number of temporary policies impacting international students, which had been set to expire at the end of the year.

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Joe Pugh
A petition for The Island Rail Corridor

It’s been more than twelve years since passenger rail on Vancouver Island ground to a halt.

Back in the 19th century, governments gave away around two million acres of land on southeastern Vancouver Island to get The Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway built. Now it sits abandoned.

But the unbroken 289 kilometre corridor stretching from Esquilmalt to Courtenay is still almost entirely intact.

In March, a small portion of the land was returned to the Snaw'naw'as first nation. At the same time, the provincial government announced it would provide 18 million dollars to study the future of the corridor.

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Joe Pugh
The world's largest hockey stick

If you’ve so much as driven through Duncan in the last thirty years, chances are you’ve seen the World’s Largest Hockey Stick.

Now, with its wooden structure rotting, its future is in doubt.

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Joe Pugh
Harewood Plains

Nanaimo’s MP is speaking up amid concerns that the habitat of the city’s official flower is at risk.

There’s a an application to build a subdivision on land in Harewood Plains, a site that the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust describes as home to critically imperiled ecological communities including Garry Oak woodlands and vernal Pools.

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Joe Pugh
Artwalk and local art

Art is in the air this weekend in Nanaimo. To mark Nanaimo’s 25th annual artwalk, Midcoast Morning spoke with the artists behind some pieces you might see around town.

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Joe Pugh
Derelict and abandoned vessels

Where do boats go when they die?

There are more than a thousand tugs, ships, and other seafaring craft in British Columbia listed on the Canadian Coast Guard’s inventory of wrecked, abandoned or hazardous vessels.

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Joe Pugh
Shelters and the building code

In theory, building and fire codes exist to protect us. But what happens if someone’s last resort for a place to spend the night doesn’t meet the building code? This week Nanaimo city council acknowledged that reality this week.

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Joe Pugh