Another slice of Savary Island has been preserved from future development by a non-profit organization.
Savary Island Land Trust Society (SILT) recently completed a fundraising initiative to purchase six contiguous lots, making its personal tally of protected greenspace 17 pieces of land.
Executive director Liz Webster said she is delighted that the community pulled together and sufficient funds were raised during a relatively short period of time. “It’s a great accomplishment for the community,” she said. “This is our first effort to raise funds for the acquisition of small lots on Savary.” Other pieces have been donated to the society.
The six lots are located along Rodgers Road, near Indian Point and just inland from Sunset Trail. Four of the lots contain old growth forest while the other two are wetland areas. Lot 39, one of the wetland lots, was the final one to be purchased and heading into holiday season at the end of 2013 $8,000 was still to be raised.
“This was mostly done on email and Facebook,” said Webster. “I’d be putting notices in saying we only need $4,000, then I’d wait a couple of days. Then, we’d need $2,500. I was contacting individuals that I know are our supporters and also contacting adjacent property owners because that’s an advantage to them.”
SILT was formed in 1997 with an intent of protecting and preserving land on Savary. The island, only eight kilometres long and at most 1.5 kilometres wide, was divided into 1,700 lots to facilitate residential use. A scarcity of fresh water and space for septic fields on each lot has put the island’s natural ecosystem in jeopardy.
Home to Canada’s best example of coastal dune ecosystem, the island has drawn the attention of biologists worldwide. Approximately 100 people call the island home throughout the year and during the summer months island population soars to over 2,000, many making the trek back to vacation in holiday homes.
Purchasing the six lots was not something SILT had planned at first. In 2011 the society launched a fundraising initiative to purchase Johnson Forest. After receiving a commitment of $100,000 within a few days of the campaign starting, it looked as though things were on track to raise funds to purchase four lots to match the four the Johnson family intended to donate. However, after Mrs. Johnson died, the family was unable to follow through with the donation. Webster was asked by her board of directors to propose an alternative piece of land to preserve with the donated funds.
“We have a land acquisition policy which guided the selection of land,” she said. The policy suggests looking for contiguous pieces. “With that we are trying for more than one lot in a location because of the over-subdivision of the island. I made a report of 10 possible acquisitions and [the board] chose this one.”
Rodgers Road wetland is a rare ecosystem on Savary. Wetland vegetation provides rich organic matter for wildlife and acts like a giant water filtering system. As much of the island is dry and sandy, the wetland presented an ideal opportunity for preservation of the island’s biodiversity.
The four old growth lots were sold to the land trust together with a $30,000 donation from the owner. The first of the two wetland lots was donated by a family who had recently sold their summer home on the island. This left Lot 39 and the final campaign.
“The land is going to be conserved in perpetuity,” said Webster. “There’s a trail on the right of way but we don’t anticipate making more trails.”
As for future plans across the island, “We want to save more land for green space and try and deal with this legacy of the subdivision.” Webster is referring to Lot 1375 which is owned 50 per cent by The Nature Trust of BC and 50 per cent privately. Webster would like to see 100 per cent of this 330-acre lot, located in “the heart of the island,” preserved. “It maybe their land but it’s our heritage,” she said.
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