By Lynn Moss

We woke up silly early on June 5 due to being on slug patrol and were delighted to find the deck rails and grass were very damp and that there was a heavy fog in the air which stayed in the Strait all day. People complain about fog in summer or tease people living in the “fog zone” but it helps keep things cool.

It is only thanks to the moisture in the sea air and greater rainfall here than in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan that we are not being driven by wildfires from our homes, our  communities, our occupations and our ancestral lands.  All across the northern hemisphere is a natural ring known as the boreal forest. During the massive wildfire that took out Fort McMurray it was predicted that it would only be stopped by Hudson Bay. People were wrong in 2016, but fire is back, now destroying the same wilderness.

During the heat dome of 2021 Tofino suffered extreme shortages of rain, and then again in 2023 nearly ran out of water.  Mayor Dan Law opened a town meeting by acknowledging and thanking the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and protesters who defied court injunctions in the 1980s and stopped old-growth logging on foggy Meares Island, where four creeks fill reservoirs and feed a sea-floor pipeline that supplies Tofino with water.

Water is a major basic need for a safe and good life everywhere and for all beings. Let’s not take it for granted. Short showers and not leaving the tap running are good habits for most people nowadays, but we also need to use water in ways we haven’t before.  Anyone old enough to be retired may remember all the bugs smashed onto the windshields on family drives when we were kids. Not anymore.

Many pollinator insects are much diminished, and they need our support. In summer, we need to put out shallow pale crockery saucers of water – not metal, as it gets too hot and only very shallow water because, unlike wasps, bees cannot swim and will exhaust themselves before they drown.  Yes, such dishes are also helpful on decks and balconies, not just in gardens. But pollinators don’t just need water—they need nectar too.

Garden plants may not appear to need watering but if we do not give them some water their flowers will be too dry for nectar production. The bees will bump each little flower without pausing, going to all the little flowers in hope. This is a perfect use for the water saved from warming up the shower water or for the rinse water from dishes. 

How can we not feel responsible for all the varieties of life with which we share this wonderful place to live?