Bowen filmmaker Bob Turner is using his talents to help chart a positive long-term environmental plan for the island’s ecosystem.
While many Islanders will know Turner as the former mayor, his work behind the camera documenting the flora and fauna of Bowen Island are another way he’s committed to helping the community. His latest movie, ‘My Adventures with the Wild of Home’, is part reflection and part call to action as climate issues enter a decisive period of history.
Turner’s commitment to environmental efforts on the island is long-standing, but there was a particular moment during last year’s municipal election where he realized it was time to return the issue to the forefront of people’s minds. Specifically, a question from the Bowen Island Conservancy about the environment during the BICS All Candidates Debate.
“One of the candidates said ‘well at least nature is okay’,” recalls Turner. “In other words that’s something we don’t need to worry about… And it made me realize that’s really our problem, is that we go through life facing all these urgent issues that are front and centre, and we live on an island where the forests stretch everywhere, and they’re easy to get to, and they’re a place where we all get great comfort or joy or relaxation. They’re doing great, it seems.”
“So we don’t invest in really figuring out how they’re doing. We just operate on an intuition that they’re good for us, therefore, they’re doing just fine. And it just made me realize that complacency is our enemy on this,” says Turner.
Turner’s movie was also borne out of island exploration. A windy and rainy winter last year prevented Bob from hitting the seas in his kayak as much as he’d like. So he took to more hiking around Bowen. Despite living here for 35 years – and exploring much of Bowen’s outdoor offerings – Turner found there were many nooks and crannies of Nex̱wlélex̱wm he had yet to discover. Together with his observations at the debate, the idea to create a visual work of his thoughts was formed.
“The movie really came out of this sense of, we have this issue of complacency. We haven’t done our homework that we need to do to really know how nature’s doing. And also the sense that, wow we have a lot. So I thought a movie would be a good way to just put that out on the table and get people talking about wild nature,” he says.
Turner has been collecting footage of the many life forms on Bowen for awhile, and the film is a compilation of many years-worth of views he finds inspiring – both above and below water. This includes the return of Humpback Whales to Howe Sound, the majestic creatures once thought to be long gone from the surrounding waters. Bob points out that while many residents may take today’s frequent whale sightings for granted, it took decades of environmental efforts in and around Howe Sound to accomplish this story of recovery.
“I find that really encouraging. In a world where there are a lot of tough environmental stories we have a little patch of ocean which is doing better in some ways – not all ways – but in some ways than it was 30 years ago. And that’s a rare story,” explains Bob.
While Turner’s film celebrates the present, it also turns an eye to the future to focus on work both he and the Conservancy will be embarking on. Turner says increased attention toward science-based planning is necessary.
“One of my big thoughts during the last election was this island doesn’t have an environmental rudder. I say that because as much as the Official Community Plan (OCP) and Parks Master Plan have fine words in them, they’re not built on science. It has not done the homework, which assesses what we’ve got and then builds a plan around knowledge, rather than just aspiration,” says Turner.
The Conservancy is therefore embarking on a mission to conduct an ecological assessment of the entire island, and use the findings to develop a Conservation Plan. It’s a project that is just beginning, and likely to take a good deal of time.
“I have never seen really good things accomplished in less than five years, and more often 10 years. This is not a quick fix issue… It’s a commitment to an enduring attention to wild nature, and to the community trying to figure out a way forward,” says Bob.
Every long-term venture starts somewhere though, and the Conservancy is making their way out of the starting gate by outlining their vision for the next several years of work. “The way we want to start is to engage the community in… what is it about wild nature that matters to us? What questions about wild nature do we have that we want answers for. And then design the project to answer those questions,” says Turner.
Turner will be discussing both his movie and the Conservancy’s project during a talk at the group’s annual general meeting this Saturday, Nov. 25, from 1 to 3 pm at Bowen Island Community School in the Multipurpose Room. Entitled ‘What is the Future for Wild Nature on Bowen?’, Turner is aiming to provide information and also inspire people to contribute themselves.
“A huge part of what we’re trying to do with this project is to empower the community to do good stuff voluntarily by equipping people with more knowledge and understanding,” explains Turner. This includes how to identify what life forms are rare, delicate, at high or low-risk, where wildlife corridors are, and more.
Contributing to upcoming municipal decisions is also on the Conservancy’s mind. “We’ve got an OCP review coming up… whenever it starts, we would like to have a foundation of good environmental information for any policy to build on. That’s a big, important part of the outcome we’re looking to achieve,” he says.
While much of that work is only just beginning, Turner hopes for now his film will help people appreciate why these efforts are important. “We have something precious here. And it’s worth working very hard to protect it, for ourselves, for our kids, for our grandkids. It’s a gift.”
Turner's film, 'My Adventures with the Wild of Home', page.
