October 2025 Children’s Forest Update

As the October rains fall, mushrooms appear -  revealing the work of the mycelial network underground. At the same time, the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortes Island Society (FTCCIS) is steadily working to purchase two Children’s Forest parcels.

We recently received a $200,000 grant commitment from a private foundation with strong biodiversity values. To date, we have secured over $1.7 million in community pledges. We are still waiting for confirmation of a $3.57 million contribution from our conservation foundation partner, contingent on the award of federal funds from Environment & Climate Change Canada. Other significant grant applications are in process and we continue to reach out to donors for pledges prior to launching a public fundraising campaign in November. Note: we are currently asking for pledges rather than donations because as a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency, we cannot return donations should there be a need. This protects both donors and the FTCCIS. 

Thank you to all those who came out to the Children’s Forest this month! We had 8 participants at the monthly forest walk. Fifty-five attendees from the Hollyhock Mushroom Workshop spent half the day in the Children’s Forest. The FTCCIS Board is in gratitude to Paul Stamets, Dr. Pam, Autumn & Whitney for facilitating more mycelial connections within our ecosystem. In partnership with Cortes Wild, The Great Canadian Bioblitz also took place in the northern wilds of Cortes this month. This event was supported by the Canadian Wildlife Federation, and co-hosted by Sabina Leader and Dan Tucker with professional participants from the Starzomski Lab in the Environmental Studies Department at UVIC.

Our monthly forest walks are open to people of all ages, both islanders and visitors! Take a walk into this incredible forest or reach out to a director for a guided walk. We don’t currently own the Children’s Forest, but expect to soon. 

Here’s how you can help make this a reality:

• Make a pledge by following this link. We are looking for significant ($1000.00 or more) pledges to close the deal. We look forward to accepting pledges of any amount when we have come closer to our goal.
• Expand the mycelial web by sharing the Children’s Forest purchase project with friends and contacts off-island!

With Gratitude,

Mia Gregg and our awesome team of directors - Chris Dragseth, Andrew Smyth, Christine Robinson, Mary Lavelle, Forrest Berman-Hatch, Angelica Raaen and Robin Saxifrage.